 Cowen had made a short film and planned to enter it into CUNY's film festival when he was surprised to find that CUNY did not have one that drew on work from numerous CUNY schools.In starting CUNYFF, Cowen hoped to foster a "sense of community and to promote cross campus projects" among students at CUNY's various four-year commuter colleges.CUNYFF's inaugural festival was held on March 29, 2009 at the Macaulay Honors College and screened 14 CUNY student films to over 150 attendees.