Underground movies outdoors.
July 2008
Cave Flower (Sam Fleischner | 19:31 | Drama)
By Rooftop Films on 07/31/2008
Filed under: Drama, Rooftop Filmmakers, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove(1701198742, 594, 445, "#ffffff"); Sam Fleischner's story about an unlikely romance sprouting between two people living at polar opposite ends of society. Cable lives in an abandoned building and operates a freight elevator, while Claire with her suit, bluetooth and PDA, appears to be all business. Shot in both HD and Super 8, Cave Flower captures how New York is an amalgamation of people living in distinct and separate social spheres. Fortunately for Cable and Claire, its also a city where chance often conspires to create opportunities for people to connect despite the gaps between their respective worlds. Cave Flower... MORE »
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A FILM ABOUT VIOLENCE
(Ethan Knecht | 1:05 | Drama)
By Rooftop Films on 07/30/2008
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Home Movies, Watch Short FilmsIf you like this film, see similar ones this Saturday, August 2, at Rooftop's unique and wonderful "Home Movies" show!callBrightcove(1683828054, 594, 445, "#ffffff");The simple and powerful example of the ways the film frame shapes (and distorts) our understanding. Like many great short films, this one starts by making you laugh. A Film About Violence presents us with the awkward situation of the filmmaker, on camera, undergoing a series of slaps to the face while he spills his thoughts on what exactly violence is. It's all about the context--how we would feel if there was a context in this situation, if... MORE »
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 25-26
ANIMATION, FAMILY DRAMA, AND A VISIT FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Rooftop Films on 07/28/2008
Filed under: Animation, Documentary, Drama, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop News, Rooftop Weekend Recap, Sparrow, Watch Short FilmsFRIDAY: Animation Block Party at Automotive High School We always have an amazing turnout for our partnership with the exuberant Animation Block Party but this week we set a record: two screens at Automotive High School allowed some 1,000 people to check out the packed program. The night began with comments from AHS teacher Jenny Kessler, who has started a student gardening program at this uber-urban school, growing vegetables on the very lawn we were watching films. She was selling a lush selection of produce to fund student activities, and our wonderfully supportive audience was thrilled to learn a little... MORE »
ROOFTOP'S FAVORITE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
- SPARROW -
TO APPEAR LIVE AT ROOFTOP ON JULY 25
- SPARROW -
TO APPEAR LIVE AT ROOFTOP ON JULY 25
By Rooftop Films on 07/24/2008
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Political Films, Rooftop Filmmakers, Sparrow, Watch Short FilmsOn July 4, America's holiest of days, a day of patriotism and political awareness, celebrated by setting off fake bombs and drinking enough beer to ruin a lesser nation, one man towered above the thick and rowdy crowd at Rooftop Films, and gloriously announced his 5th successive run for President (that is, every election since 1992). The much-heralded campaign was met first with disbelief, then astonishment, then wild laughter. Which is good. Because Sparrow doesn't want you to vote for him. He wants you to revolt! Sparrow is a poet, a politician, a plebe. He writes bumper stickers ("I'm crazy... MORE »
SNAKE
(Becky James | 3:03 | Animation)
Screening at Rooftop Films on August 1
By Rooftop Films on 07/23/2008
Filed under: Animation, Rooftop Filmmakers, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove (1634709670, 594, 445, "#ffffff") ; Deceptively playful, Snake is a film about stubbornness in the face of change. Charming. When a simple snake goes out for some snacking adventures (which reminds me of course of the ever-popular Snake video game), it seems as if nothing can stop it from reaching the next carrot. But when some obstacles come its way that it's never encountered before, well, we see sadness and pain in its line-drawn form. What seems like a simplistic cartoon gives way to much more as the snake deals with the tools it is left with, and deals... MORE »
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 18-19
ANOTHER HOT WEEKEND AT ROOFTOP FILMS
By Rooftop Films on 07/22/2008
Filed under: Rooftop Music, Rooftop News, Rooftop Weekend RecapFRIDAY: RURAL ROUTE SHORT FILMS Friday Night temperatures were still hovering in the 90s, which often dampens people's spirit for going out. But we had yet another huge crowd at Rooftop Films, as people packed the lawn at Automotive High School to cool off in the pastoral grass for our annual collaboration with the Rural Route Film Festival. Sound Fix Records helped book Goddamn Rattlesnake a wild acoustic indie honky tonk band, who playfully batted each other around the head as they flicked bugs from each other's faces in between songs. A big group of people sat right up at... MORE »
CUSPS
(Sara Zia Ibrahimi | 14:28 | Documentary)
By Rooftop Films on 07/22/2008
Filed under: Documentary, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove(1634707660, 594, 445, "#ffffff") ; Paralleling changes in the city of Philadelphia with those in her own life, Iranian-American filmmaker Sara Zia Ebrahimi explores her experiences living as an urban nomad. Cusps is a unique visual journal of an artist on the cusp, caught between the lure of stability and the freedom one needs for artistic expression. Sara Zia Ibrahimi uses the film medium as a confessional, as a diary, of her experiences being pushed from place to place as Philadelphia changes, and as she changes along with it in the time of the rise of the creative class. With... MORE »
Rooftop Trailers!
By Rooftop Films on 07/17/2008
Filed under: Animation, Rooftop FilmmakersWe've gotten a lot of response from the first 45 seconds of our shows...so we have decided to post the Rooftop Films trailers. This year's trailer was conceived by Mark Elijah Rosenberg, animated by Fran Krause, and features music from Drew Henkels, with his band, Drew & the Medicinal Pen. Rooftop Films 2008 Trailer Here is the 2007 trailer, with Rooftop Films in miniature! Rooftop Films 2007 Trailer We owe this 44-second gem to: Ryan McFaul - Direction Lothar Osterburg - Models Dan Nuxoll - Music Matt Elkind - Cinematography Mark Elijah Rosenberg - Concept and Production Enjoy!... MORE »
Music at Rooftop Films
By Rooftop Films on 07/16/2008
Filed under: Rooftop MusicMusic has always been an important part of the Rooftop Films experience, and we take great pride in all the amazing musicians that perform both before and after our films. Highlights have included TV on the Radio, The Mountain Goats, members of Fugazi and Califone, Air Waves, Frances, Parts and Labor, Apollo Heights, O'Death, Deer Tick, Dirty Purpose and more! This summer, Rooftop is expanding our connection to the New York music scene and staying true to our mission to support independent artists by partnering with Sound Fix Records to present the music for The Rooftop Films 2008 Summer... MORE »
DOCK 5
(Paul Chaudet, Benjamin Devaux, & Simon Landrein | 05:00 | Animation, Short)
By Rooftop Films on 07/15/2008
Filed under: Animation, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove(1634709671, 594, 445, "#ffffff");A glorious animated musical celebration of the dockworker, another disappearing occupation. Dock 5 impresses us with its rhythm and the quality of its aesthetics. Superb graphic renderings place us in the dark, film-noir-like world of the dockworker at night, on the job. With the creation of musical rhythm through the manual actions of the workers, we catch a glimpse of industrial beauty. Danger and suspense arise in the visual environment of light and shadow, but a jazzy, flowing score as accompaniment soothes the viewer and take us along on the fast-paced ride. The workers and cranes dance... MORE »
THE MORNING SUN
(Bryan Wizemann | 05:32 | Drama)
By Rooftop Films on 07/15/2008
Filed under: Drama, Home Movies, Rooftop FilmmakerscallBrightcove(1556133939, 594, 445, "#ffffff");A study in available light and narrative restraint. A one-night stand. Friends with benefits. No stings attached. Call it what you will, but the sun always rises and someone has to go back home in the morning. In this beautifully crafted film (using only available lighting) it's up to the viewer to decide what events lead up to a woman waking up alone, in someone else's bed. Later on this summer we'll be featuring another film by Rooftop favorite Bryan Wizemann in our Home Movies Program. According to Wizemann, the short film titled Film Makes Us Happy... MORE »
ERIC THE SECRET
(Joe Quinn | 04:05 | Comedy)
By Rooftop Films on 07/15/2008
Filed under: Comedy, Rooftop Filmmakers, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove(1556133936, 594, 445, "#ffffff");Lonely and bored, two friends mess with their head (the one hidden behind the couch). A story of pathos, perversion and secret pals. Most people have forgotten coins and dust collecting behind their sofa, not a two-headed secret named Eric One day, a weird creature came and totally gave birth to him. But don't judge, he has feelings...we think. We at Rooftop love this film! How often to you get to see a giant hand-spider giving birth? Enter the weird and wonderful world of filmmaker and Rooftop alum Joe Quinn. His incredibly clever use of mirror effects... MORE »
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 11-12
TWO MORE SOLD-OUT SHOWS
By Rooftop Films on 07/13/2008
Filed under: Environmental Films, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Weekend RecapDiverse crowds flock to Rooftop FRIDAY This past weekend at Rooftop Films highlighted why diversity matters, and how much fun it is when it works. Friday, we were back on the roof of El Museo Del Barrio, in East Harlem. In 2007, Rooftop hosted the first ever public screenings on the roof, and this year, even though the museum is closed for renovations, we'll be hosting three screenings on their gorgeous roof, overlooking Central Park on 104th Street and 5th Ave. Friday's show began with a brilliant performance by Yerbabuena. It can be hard to create a full sound when... MORE »
HOT DOG MAN
(Joyce Ventimiglia & Jim Haverkamp | 5:45 | Comedy, Documentary)
By Rooftop Films on 07/10/2008
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Home Movies, Rooftop FilmmakerscallBrightcove(1556197798, 594, 445, "#ffffff") ; A hilarious and poignant home movie about an absurd American icon, a giant self-devouring hot dog statue in downtown Durham, North Carolina. What goes through your head when you drive downtown and one day, there is a giant and somewhat sinister looking statue of an anthropomorphic Hot Dog? Joyce Ventimiglia and Jim Haverkamp, a husband and wife filmmaking team, gave people a chance to talk about it in their short documentary. Some people are attached to the statue, and say the town wouldn't be the same without it; and of course, some hate it--but there... MORE »
VISION TEST
(Wes Kim | 6:00 | Documentary)
By Rooftop Films on 07/10/2008
Filed under: Documentary, Political Films, Watch Short FilmscallBrightcove(1556197803, 594, 445, "#ffffff"); Who would you feel most comfortable with as CEO of a Fortune 500 company? What begins as a routine eye exam turns into an examination of people's subconscious attitudes towards race, gender and power. Wes Kim really catches us off guard with this one. This well-developed 6-minute satirical documentary film has you questioning your own predispositions, making apparent the differences we perceive in people because of their race, gender, and power. We enter into a routine Vision Test, and for the first minute, nothing seems out of the ordinary, if perhaps a bit blurry...but when the... MORE »
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 4
SOLD-OUT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH
Introducing Rooftop's Presidential nominee - Sparrow
By Rooftop Films on 07/07/2008
Filed under: Political Films, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Weekend Recap, Watch Short FilmsOver 800 people attended Rooftop's annual 4th of July "Un-American Films" party--which is the only word to describe the "screening" which featured two hours of free wine and beer, great food, three bands, a program of short, political films, and the best fireworks view to be found in the entire city. Despite a flurry of rain storms, the crowd was dancing on their chairs for Frances, Aleks and the Drummer and Titus Andronicus . And the hardy crowd was astonishingly eager for the films, even as the hardest rain of the day poured down on them. A sea of umbrellas... MORE »
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