Neil Barsky's Film KOCH Opens in NYC and Long Island, 2/8 & 15

Former Mayor Ed Kochwas the quintessential New Yorker. Always ferocious, charismatic, and hilariously blunt, the recently deceased (he died on February 1, 2013 the day the film opened in NYC) Koch ruled New York from 1978 to 1989-a down-and-dirty decade of grit, graffiti, near-bankruptcy and rampant crime. Directed by Neil Barsky, the film KOCH is produced by Jenny Carchman and Zeitgeist Films. It will open wider in New York and Long Island, beginning tonight, Feb. 8, 2013.

With KOCH, first-time filmmaker (and former Wall Street Journal reporter) Neil Barsky crafts an intimate and revealing portrait of this intensely private man, his legacy as a political titan, and the town he helped transform. The tumult of his three terms included a fiercely competitive 1977 election; an infamous 1980 transit strike; the burgeoning AIDS epidemic; landmark housing renewal initiatives; and an irreparable municipal corruption scandal. Through candid interviews and rare archival footage, KOCH thrillingly chronicles the personal and political toll of running the world's most wondrous city in a time of upheaval and reinvention.

KOCH is a beautiful documentary examining one man's fascinating journey into rehabilitating the very unhealthy city of New York in the 1980s. Sometime stubborn and unapologetic, Koch also opens the door to his much-speculated-about private life, which he doesn't mind being asked about, so long you don't mind being told to mind your own business. With his trademark greeting "How I'm Doin, ' his combative energy and his charming wit, Ed Koch makes for the perfect documentary subject. Says director Neil Barsky: "Making a documentary about Ed Koch was an easy call. I cannot think of a New Yorker as popular or as polarizing. Ed Koch's story is in many ways the story of the city."

KOCH opened on February 1, 2013 at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Angelika Film Center in New York. It will open at the Cinemas 1, 2 & 3 in New York and the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington L.I. tonight, February 8; followed by Kew Gardens Cinemas, Malverne Cinema 4, Roslyn Cinemas & Sag Harbor Cinemas on February 15, 2013. The film will open in additional cities following New York, and opens in Los Angeles on March 1st.

For more information about the film and to watch the trailer, go to www.kochthemovie.com or visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KochTheMovie. Plus, check out a still from the film and archival photos below!

Ed Koch as seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky

Ed Koch campaigning for New York Governor on Election Day at Grand Central, 1981. As seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky. A Zeitgeist Films release. Photo- The New York Post.

Ed Koch in the office of his campaign manager, David Garth, September 1977. As seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky. A Zeitgeist Films release. Photo- The New York Post.

Ed Koch on a farm in Jamestown, NJ, 1982. As seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky. A Zeitgeist Films release. Photo- The New York Post.

Ed Koch on the bus with Bess Myerson on the way to his mayoral inauguration, January 1978. As seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky. A Zeitgeist Films release. Photo courtesy of the Municipal Archives of the City of New York.

Koch and Mario Cuomo before their last debate in the 1977 mayoral race. As seen in KOCH, a film by Neil Barsky. A Zeitgeist Films release. Photo- Janie Eisenberg.