FRIDAY: My Effortless Brilliance at Automotive High School
A week after our blow-out Animation Block screening, Rooftop was back at Automotive for the New York Premiere of Lynn Shelton's My Effortless Brilliance, and we were pleasantly surprised that once again the audience filled the lawn. Fresh vegetables, popcorn and snacks were on sale, all produce grown on school grounds as part of AHS' new gardening program, which student Damon Singho described on stage to a supportive audience. Then, getting the crowd into a indie-folksy mood, was Drew and the Medicinal Pen, a fantastic band who are about to head on tour, and who just happen to be fronted by Rooftop tech manager Drew Henkels, who composed the music for Rooftop's 2008 Trailer.

Two short films preceded the feature (and all three films were directed by women, sadly still a rarity even in independent film). You can check out Becky James' Snake below to get a sense of the pleasantly off-kilter tone of the film program.

My Effortless Brilliance is a subtle film, but the crowd really took to it--laughing throughout at the uncomfortable friendship, and gasping at the fleeting moments of danger. Though set in the woods of Washington State, Williamsburg might have the perfect crowd for this narrative, which mocks pretentious literary references and snide passive aggressiveness with a genuine interest in friendship and belonging.

During the Q & A, Lynn said that she had made the film "from the inside out," starting with the actors and building a story around them as characters. The actors knew the entire backstory, but the details in the film are elusive, forcing the audience to focus on the moment, and the nuance of the relationship, rather than any specific plot points. When asked by Rooftop Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg if it was hard to have the characters re-forge their friendship but maintain their prickly attitudes which had forced them apart initially, Shelton remarked that the two leads are old friends in real life, so they had a rich history to draw from and play off of. The biggest challenge, she said, was keeping them from constantly laughing at each other's jokes.

At the packed Matchless after-party, with free drinks from Radeberger, Lynn chatted with many fans, including Woodstock programmer Michael Lerman, but was also barraged by text messages from her actors in Seattle, showing that clearly the friendships on this film are just as deep as those on screen.

SATURDAY: Home Movies at The Yard
Rain threatened Rooftop's Saturday night show, but Rooftop threatened right back, and the rain stayed away. The crowds, fortunately, did not stay away. We thought it might be a small show, but we really couldn't have had more people watching the movies at The Yard, with chairs filled right up to the canal and deep into the woods, and people perched on rocks, grass and picnic tables to catch a glimpse of the films. Our annual Home Movies program is always filled with very personal, intimate films, so this kind of setting was really perfect.

Photo (c) Sarah Palmer.
Also perfect was the opening act, presented in partnership with Sound Fix Records, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. The indie-vaudeville-conceptual-art-rock-slideshow band are an actual family who write catchy songs about slides (projected behind them) that are not actually their family. Dad's neurotic banter, mom's calm prodding, and daughter's steady upbeat spirit, make for an entertaining show filled with the kind of humor and pathos that we love about Home Movies. The audience loved it, too.

And, speaking of opening acts, we also filled out the evening with Home Movies-esque book giveaway, as the first 100 folks in attendance received a free copy of Rooftop veteran Jim Munroe's An Opening of Unspeakable Evil, a novel written in blog form about a demonic ritual that catches on with the kids as performance art.

At the after party, featuring food from Margarita from the famous Red Hook "Soccer Taco" Vendors, and free wine from Brooklyn Oenology, filmmaker Ethan Knecht was buzzing with excitement. He's been coming to Rooftop for years, and this was the first time he'd shown a film with us. Even if you missed the show, you can check the film out below, and read an interview with Ethan.