Checkmate (Casimir Nozkowski, Dallas Penn, Rafi Kam | New York City | 9:43)

Why are there always jewelry stores next to check-cashing spots? Why is there only 1 bank per 50,000 people living in Bushwick?

Q&A

Rooftop Films: Tell us about your film

Dallas Penn: Checkmate was a video we developed as a response from one of our viewers who after viewing our film 'Bodega' asked us to make a film about another one of the center city's ubiquitous retail locations - the check cashing store

RF: What was your inspiration?

DP: SInce Rafi and I had used check cashing stores previously (and I still do) we thought we could create a film that described them accurately

RF: Is there anything you'd like to share about the film that might not be immediately apparent (your conception of the film, backstory, production methods, etc.)?

DP: I think the interesting thing we discovered about check cashing locations as opposed to banks was that they were less predatory than we originally envisioned, especially when you consider all the latent fees that banks assess to customers who are less than wealthy.

RF: Any interesting stories about the production? Any particular difficulties or serendipitous events or pleasant/unpleasant surprises?

DP: The production for the film was an overall enjoyable experience. We found people on the street who were ready to describe their experiences when dealing with check cashing stores as well as banks. I think the biggest discovery for me was that making it rain (the practice of wantonly throwing wads of cash in the air) outdoors was the quickest method to losing all of your money.

RF: What initially sparked your interest in the idea of check cashing? Why this particular social exploration?

DP: Check cashing stores are fairly ubiquitous in the center city but not too many people know what takes place on the inside of these stores and the people that do know rarely examine them comprehensively.

RF: The tone of the film is comedic but it is clear that there is also a fairly dire social message about the nature of consumerism, debt, urban planning etc in America. How did you balance the two sides in making the film?

DP: I love to laugh before I cry so I don't think having a laugh at a funeral is a bad thing. Discussing serious issues with our Web 2.0675 constituency means that we need to inject some humor into our rants and and messages.

RF: Most of the film was shot in Brooklyn. Do you have any ties to Brooklyn or do the actors in the film?

DP: We all have ties to Brooklyn in various ways from growing up inside of the borough to actively using the landscape today to work, play and live. We would like to make a film in every borough of the city to help us get our points across on the universatility (my word bitches) of the urban experience.

RF: Are you a full-time filmmaker? If not, what else are you up to?

DP: I am a full-time shit-talker on the web log that I manage daily. My career goal is to make films full time since we are living in a post-literate society. I say that we are post-literate not because people can't read, but because they choose not to. They like to use video for delivering much of the information they use.

RF: What is your current/next project?

DP: We have several projects underway right now. I am anxious to complete them as opposed to talking about them.

RF: If you've been to a Rooftop show, how was the experience?

DP: The Rooftop shows have been the most fulfilling aspect of my filmmaking career up to this point. The audience contains the prime demographic that we target with our videos and to see and hear them laugh and enjoy our films is satisfying and energizing. It is one thing to have over a half million views of a film on YouTube and a totally different experience to commune with an audience full of your peers.

RF: What excites you about having your short film on Rooftop Films at IFC.com?

DP: I'm excited for more people to see our work and follow us as we make more films and tackle more subjects

RF: Do you have any questions for the viewers? We hope they'll post comments!

DP: What would you like to see us discuss in an upcoming film. We do make these films for fans you know.

AN EVENING WITH DON HERTZFELDT:
Wednesday, November 19 at 7:00, 9:15 and 11:15pm at IFC Center.

Don Hertzfedlt comes to New York's IFC Center on Wednesday, November 19th to present three screenings of his work. The highlight of the program is the New York premiere of I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, the sequel to his Sundance winning short Everything Will Be Ok.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU was funded in part by the Rooftop Filmmakers Fund.

Tickets are on sale now and quickly selling out - $15 general admission/$12 for IFC Center members. You can purchase tickets on the IFC Center website.

ABOUT THE SCREENING: An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt, a special event with the Academy Award-nominated animator in person to present the New York premiere of his newest film, takes place Wednesday, November 19 at 7:00, 9:15 and 11:15pm at IFC Center. Mr. Hertzfeldt will screen his latest, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, featuring his trademark hand-drawn animation, along with a selection of his earlier films. The evening also includes a on-stage interview and Q&A session with the audience.

Hertzfeldt's longest piece to date, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU is the eagerly anticipated second chapter to Everything Will Be OK, which screened at Rooftop Films on Opening Night 2007, was the winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award in Short Filmmaking and was named by many critics as one of the "best films of 2007." Like all of Hertzfeldt's films, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU was single-handedly animated and photographed by hand without the use of computers. It was shot entirely on an antique 35mm animation stand, one of the last remaining cameras of its kind left in America. The film's special effects were meticulously created directly on film, using traditional double exposures, in-camera mattes, and innovative experimental techniques. The 22-minute film was nearly two years in the making.

Mr. Hertzfeldt's appearance at IFC Center is part of a national tour, with additional screenings scheduled for Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Seattle and other cities. Find out more at http://www.bitterfilms.com/

ABOUT THE ROOFTOP FILMMAKERS FUND: Rooftop Films commits $1 of every ticket sold and every film submission fee to fund new productions, an innovative approach to the exhibition/production cycle which uses the support of our community to produce dynamic films. This year, Rooftop Films screened a number of films we co-funded, including Jay Hodges and PJ Raval's documentary Trinidad, Benh Zeitlin's award-winning short film Glory at Sea, a post-Katrina shipwreck epic; and an excerpt from Fabio Wuytack's upcoming feature Persona Non Grata, about his father, a radical left-wing missionary working in Venezuela in the 1970s. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU will likely screen outdoors as part of the 2009 Summer Series (dates announced in the spring).

In 2007-8, Rooftop Films gave away over $12,000 in cash and more than $10,000 in services to help produce work by filmmakers whose works have shown with Rooftop Films previously.

Read more about the fund HERE.

Deceptively playful, Snake is a film about stubbornness in the face of change.

Rooftop Films: What was your inspiration?

Becky James: I wanted to make something about growing up and I was kind of feeling like people were forcing me into situations that made me have to change. And then I knocked out nine teeth falling down the stairs. So I had the premise and then I just figured out each scene as I wrapped up the previous one. Animating by hand is so slow that you have lots of time to get to know the character and world and you can kind of just let the situations play out on their own.

RF: Are you a full-time filmmaker? If not, what else are you up to?

BJ: I also work at James Fuentes LLC, a downtown gallery that shows contemporary art. It is actually really great working there although the job makes it easy to feel satisfied and productive when I am doing nothing of my own stuff. Usually I am motivated by boredom.

RF: What is your current/next project?

BJ: I am working on a new film about a camel. I lost a couple weeks of work when I moved and kind of had a breakdown but actually just yesterday some friends found it in their basement. yay! although I already finished redoing that section last Tuesday.

RF: If you've been to a Rooftop show, how was the experience?

BJ: I went to a couple of shows and they were awesome. The crowds were just enormous which was super exciting and the other work was really smart and unique, the kind of stuff I was hoping to see when I first started going to festivals but remained almost completely elusive for ages.

This is borderline offensive, but insanely bizarre and brilliant. Made by a mysterious dude named zZalgern0n, who showed his film The Loneliest Probe at Rooftop in 2006.

If you like that, check out zZ's show in LA this weekend:

ZZalgern0n film retrospective, featuring selects from the 150+ short films he's made!

Existential kids cartoons, documentaries, music videos, cooking shows, and much more! Program features a great deal of not-as-yet-aired TV work, films unavailable on the internet, and a vegan halftime snack!

Steve Allen Theater
4773 Hollywood Blvd.
A paltry $5!

Watch out for a zZalgern0n show in New York City the first week of December.

THE EUROPEAN KID (Ian Martin | 22:03 | Comedy)


One night, the European kid turns up unexpectedly and wrecks havoc on all the relationships in the house.

Q&A

Rooftop Films: Tell us about your film.

Ian Martin: I tell people that "The European Kid" is about a young man who is forced to have dinner with a family who hates him. I don't know if that's really what it's about but my hope is that explanation will get them to watch the film.

RT: What was your inspiration?

IM: Growing up, I had a lot of friends who were immigrants or whose parents were immigrants. It's something I've always been kind of proud of: "I'm friends with immigrants." I guess that's the genesis of the idea.

RT: Is there anything you'd like to share about the film that might not be immediately apparent (your conception of the film, backstory, production methods, etc.)?

IM: The house in the film is actually five different houses edited together to appear as if it were a single house. We shot in the homes of family and friends and we wanted to piece together the perfect-looking house as well as not overstay our welcome in any one volunteered location.

RT: Any interesting stories about the production? Any particular difficulties or serendipitous events or pleasant/unpleasant surprises?

IM: We were fortunate to have a very smooth production. Probably our biggest challenge was banana continuity.

RT: Do you personally have any animosity towards the tight jeans and over spiced food of the Europeans?

IM: No. I love tight jeans and spiced food.

RT: Are you a full-time filmmaker? If not, what else are you up to?

IM: I also write. I recently had a short story published in Open City Magazine, issue 24, and I've been working on a novel for about two years. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it before another two years pass. I also wait tables.

RT: What is your current/next project?

IM: We're putting together a feature that will shoot this spring in Chicago. It's called An Abandoned Werewolf Novel and it's about a married man whose life falls apart when he reconnects with an old college friend.

RT: If you've been to a Rooftop show, how was the experience?

IM: I couldn't make it out to New York but a friend of mine attended and she said it was a lot of fun.

RT: What excites you about having your short film on Rooftop Films at IFC.com?

IM: Many things. I'm glad that we're online and more people will be able to see the film. I'm glad that we're alongside other Rooftop Films because I feel Rooftop works really hard to get a good selection. I'm glad that we're somehow associated with IFC because they help put out some really exciting stuff.

RT: Do you have any questions for the viewers? We hope they'll post comments!

IM: I'm always curious about the people viewing films online. Can you tell me about yourself?

SHINER!
(E.S. Wochensky | 05:20 | Comedy)


A black eye and a badass plan make for a rowdy revenge ride, pure and simple.

Q&A

Rooftop Films: Tell us about your film:

E.S. Wochensky: Shiner is a simple moment of revenge. I like those turning point moments. I don't think you need to make too much more out of it. No super deep meaning. There's a little humor thrown in there as well. 

RT: What was your inspiration?

ESW: A few things. You always see guys driving lawn mowers on the road in rural areas. They drive them for longer distances than they should. I never understood this. Then I got ticked off a friend. I drove by his house and had a little thought.  It's also amazing how many times I've seen tire tracks all over the high school lawn. It happens more often than you think.

RT: Is there anything you'd like to share about the film that might not be immediately apparent (your conception of the film, backstory, production methods, etc.)?

ESW: I don't think there's anything special to mention here.

RT: Any interesting stories about the production? Any particular difficulties or serendipitous events or pleasant/unpleasant surprises?

ESW: Our production started with a party to sell shares in the film. Those people who bought shares more often than not became the helpers on the film (main actor, musicians and wife included). You have to make do with what resources you have. I'm sure having few resources is a trait many of the films in this series share. I had a friend weld the car mounts. We got lucky with the owner of the house. We didn't get so lucky with the explosion which looked much cooler in real life. We barely got the shot. One of those not enough time, not enough experience issues. While we worried a lot about the car we actually had many, many problems with the damn lawn mower. Luckily the big guy driving it is a mechanic and was able to fix it. 

RT: Do you have any of your own revenge fantasies? Have you ever sought revenge in a similar manner?

ESW: If I ever sought revenge in that manner I wouldn't publicize it. The fact that I made a film about it indicates that I probably never did anything like this. I'm more interested in characters I wish I could be then who I am. Who wouldn't want to set a car on fire?

RT: Any significance to the kind of car the main character drives in the film?

ESW: The only significance the car had was that it was really, really inexpensive. It had to be big. It had to be rear wheel drive. It had to be cheap. I think we did alright.

RT: Did you have a particular back-story in mind for the way he got the shiner?

ESW: We talked about a few scenarios and I don't remember if there was ever one specific back-story. I told the actor to come up with his own. All of the stories had to do with women. Women and cars. 

RT: Are you a full-time filmmaker? If not, what else are you up to?

ESW: I spend a lot of time on film. I grow garlic for sale plus a lot of other food. I am completely restoring a house. I have a eight month old son. I do freelance film and video work for mostly cheesy television programs. In the last year I tore down a barn for the reclaimed wood. I have painted houses. I have probably done a few other odd jobs as well. 

RT: What is your current/next project?

ESW: I've been working on a full length documentary about a junk collector's 20 year battle with village authorities over his right to keep mounds of junk on his front lawn. It's called the Trial of Tiny Gleed. I'm also working on getting a street band going - The Springville All Stars.

RT: If you've been to a Rooftop show, how was the experience?

ESW: I had a great time at the Rooftop screening for Just Like Golf.  

RT: What excites you about having your short film on Rooftop Films at IFC.com?

ESW: My mom knows what IFC is so it makes her happy. 

PUMPKIN HELL
(Max Finneran | 21:42 | Horror-Drama)


A short coming-of-age horror film about sons, fathers and the roles they play and imagine for one another. Abandoned by his father at a highway-side pumpkin patch, an eleven year-old boy spends a peculiar and life changing night.

Q&A

Rooftop Films: Tell us a little bit about the film, and how did you come up with the story?
Max Finneran: "Pumpkin Hell" is a short coming-of age horror film about the roles sons and fathers play and imagine for one another. Eleven-year-old Terry is abandoned by his father at a highway-side pumpkin patch, and he discovers an alluring and kindred spirit in Mick, the odd-ball manager of the patch. Circumstances conspire to bring these two weirdos together, and we soon realize there is a dangerous and complex dynamic at play as fantasy and reality interweaves. My hope is that by the end of the film the audience is forced to ask itself: did Terry propel himself into a hopeful future with this new partner, or fall head first into a nightmare of his own making?

My imagination was sparked by a story my sister told me about a lunch-drunk pumpkin patch manager who scared the crap out of a group of school children, screaming: "This is pumpkin fuckin' hell kids!" And I've always been intrigued by pumpkin patches. They're these kind of liminal "no-where" zones that pop up every year and are particularly charged sites of American childhood. On the one hand, pumpkin patches evoke a romanticized agrarian past, where the American family comes together over a seasonal harvest. On the other, the pumpkin patch is the gateway into the collective performance of Halloween, where children are encouraged to put on their masks and purge themselves of their darker demons.

With that dynamic in mind, I envisioned this story about an odd-ball boy on the cusp of adolescence who forms an unusual bond with this strange man whom society has "exiled" to pumpkin hell. In a way, they are two sides of the same person and the psychodrama of their encounter plays out on the stage of the pumpkin patch as it externally reflects their internal states.

RT: In the film, there are some serious adult themes going on, and you were also working with a child actor. Tell me a little bit about that experience.

MF: I was blessed with the remarkably talented young actor Tolan Aman. It also helped that he looked younger but was mature beyond his years. He just really "got it" on an intuitive level (as did his wonderfully patient mother Tilda) so there really wasn't much negotiation involved. I never saw "Pumpkin Hell" as a film explicitly about pedophilia and it was very important to me that Terry be much more then an innocent victim. And that involved finding an actor who could tap into that "darkness" and loneliness of the human heart while still retaining the optimism and innocence of late childhood. That said, there were some awkward moments that Tolan bravely soldiered through.

RT: The actor who plays Mick gives a real super creepy performance. Who is he?

MF: Mick is played by the musician Dean Wareham - one of my indie-rock heroes - who was the front-man for Galaxie 500 and Luna, and currently plays with his wife and former Luna member Britta Phillips as Dean & Britta . I wouldn't have made it through high school without Galaxie 500 so I was incredibly excited when he signed on. I think Dean is a really gifted actor - this was only his second time in front of the camera! Like Tolan, he just had a spot on, intuitive grasp of the character and because he's not professionally trained we didn't get bogged down in the "actor talk" I've been plagued with as a trained actor myself. A great deal of the dramatic tension of the film is formed across the boundaries of these two characters - when do they reach out and step over the line, when do they retreat into themselves, when do they know they're going too far and when are they floating between feelings, unsure which way to turn. I think Dean really nailed this sad, desperate dance in a character who, on the surface, looks like a simple predator but is actually a complex and comically tragic man. I had so much fun editing because every take was so rich, each moment encompassing more then one simple feeling or expression. And Dean achieved that with a deceptively simple rule: "I just always make sure I'm thinking about something each and every moment."

RT: What is your current/next project?

MF: There has been some discussion of a potential sequel set at Mick's Christmas tree farm, but I'm ready to move on from the short form. I'm developing two feature projects right now, working with "Pumpkin Hell" producer Thomas Woodrow. One is a socio-political thriller entitled Ventures. It's about a real estate office worker who takes up an armchair investigation when his partner is found brutally murdered in the old growth forest his company is developing. His investigation eventually leads him to conclude the culprit is a mythical creature living in the protection of the woods. It might be even darker then "Pumpkin Hell"! It certainly plays around with similar themes of the world as it is vs. the world as we wish it to be. I'm also working on a milder road trip western about a grandmother in search of her missing grandson. I certainly haven't earned the right to say this but I see it as a cross between Thelma and Louise and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

RT: What are you doing for Halloween? Got a costume idea yet?

MF: The first time Halloween came around after our shoot I didn't want anything to do with it, I was so tired of pumpkins! Now, with some distance, I am ready to celebrate - although I'm going to save up my party energy for November 4th when Obama sweeps the swing states!
As for costume, it seems only fair to Dean that I man up into a skin-tight S&M "Ghoul" outfit which he boldly suffered through for two days on set. Or maybe I'll go as John McCain in the seventh ring of hell. Or the Keating-Five-headed monster? We'll see.

For more information about Pumpkin Hell, upcoming screenings, and to check out Max's other work please visit the Finneran Films website.

To purchase a DVD please email: info@finneranfilms.com

A candid look into the life and mind of Antwerp's sexiest native son and one of New York's great imported jewels, the inimitable and irrepressible Von Von Von.

Von Von Von: Von on Von follows the ups and downs of the musical career of international pop superstar Von Von Von . Through the film we a granted a rare, intimate view of Von Von Von as he speaks frankly about his liaisons with Persian nymphomaniacs, his failed attempts to star in a self titled situation comedy, flipping schnitzels at Bitchen Schnitzel, and reveals to the audience his irrational fear of Midtown Manhattan. All in all it is a hilarious parodic rendering of the glamorous (and at times completely unglamorous) world of European imported electro-pop music. A truly entertaining story of fame, fortune, excess, tragedy, and redemption.

Von Von Von was directed by Brooklyn based filmmaker Alex Castle who has another short film entitled Enrico Corazon which is available on myspace. Von Von Von was originally shown in the Rooftop Films 2005 Summer Series and was accompanied by a performance by Von Von Von himself.

Sometimes the Constitution is our best friend.

Brooklyn based filmmaker Andrew Sloat's brilliant short, 22nd Amendment played this summer as a part of Rooftop's Annual 4th Of July "Un-American Films" Program. With the Vice Presidential Debate just around the corner, there is no better time to enjoy this little masterpiece.

Andrew Sloat's newest and equally brilliant short A More Perfect Union can be found by clinking HERE, and many other works by Andrew can be seen by visiting his website.

If you are feeling extra political today, make sure you learn all you can about Rooftop's friend, poet and Presidential Candidate, Sparrow.

Sparrow'08 Campaign information and updates will be coming to the Rooftop Films Blog very soon!

If you like this film, see similar ones this Saturday, August 2, at Rooftop's unique and wonderful "Home Movies" show!



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 there was more to the frame. If we knew the identity of the slapper or the reasons behind it, it would most likely change how we react to the action of violence. Filmmaker Ethan Knecht undergoes pain for the sake of art, and changes our reactions to the scene from laughter to self-reflection, all in just over one minute.

A Film About Violence, made in 2006, was featured in the Takoma Park Film Festival in 2007, and will be featured as part of Rooftop's Home Movies show this weekend on August 2. This show features fun, fascinating, personal, profound, and ultimately unfiltered depictions of the filmmakers in their own spheres, preserved (and also distorted) by the medium of motion pictures and how we perceive them--how we reflect on what we are shown. The films in this program are consciously mining the filmmakers' personal lives, using the immediacy of the footage to settle their own feelings, by turns comic and cartoonish, romantic and violent.

We had a few questions for filmmaker Ethan Knecht about his short film--here is what he had to say:

RF: Tell us about your film?

EK: My film is a short performance piece on the nature and reality of violence. Violence is both an attractive and unattractive force in contemporary America. On the one hand, violence, as it has for centuries, is a significant and profitable form of entertainment. On the other hand, it has also become a major factor in The War On Terror and of American foreign policy in general. This film explores this duality as well as question the context of violence in film and media.

RF: What was your inspiration?

EK: I'm not positive what my inspiration for this was. This was created in my first year of not having a TV and I think that stepping away from that experience gave me a new perspective on the American media...

RF: How did you withstand all those slaps to the face?

EK: Patience and humor. We only had to do about five takes.

RF: Is there anything you'd like to share about the film that might not be immediately apparent (your conception of the film, back-story, production methods, etc.)? Any interesting stories about the production?

EK: I was in the middle of a longer project and I was borrowing this great camera from my friend. I had to give it back to him the next day and I wanted to get all the use I could out of it. I was in the library studying and the idea for this project, for lack of a better term, hit me. I wrote the outline in 5 min. and then I ran home and filmed it in 10. In total it took about 30min to make and $0 which, in a world of huge budget Hollywood films, is an important thing to still be able to do. Keeping a straight face was exceedingly difficult, also my roommates heard things and weren't sure what was going on in my room.

RF: Are you a full-time filmmaker? If not, what else are you up to? What is your current/next project?

EK: I currently work for the New York Public Library in the Bronx as an Information Assistant. I'm making a film with the Library right now. In the Bronx there is obviously a huge population of immigrants. For immigrant week this year I am in the process of making a film in which I interview immigrants at the library and have them talk about their experience in the third person as a "She". In this way, all of their stories mesh into this single narrative. It has been a really great experiment so far.

RF: If you've been to a Rooftop show, how was the experience?

EK: I've been going to Rooftop for three years now. The first show I went to was on a pier in Tribeca, I didn't know that it was possible to watch films in such a beautiful setting. I have watched and been to the IFC center many times as well. It is an amazing honor to be a part of the show not just the audience.

On 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 and I vote!) and does silly dances. He runs for office because he's sick of the destructive, narrow-minded, anti-intellectual culture in government, and he thinks if the President is going to be a kooky wild man, he might as well be funny, too.

On Friday, July 25, Sparrow will appear live at Rooftop Films to make an astonishing stump speech. You'll be seeing a lot of Sparrow at Rooftop Films and IFC this election season. And if things go badly enough, he might even get a few votes.

Watch all of Sparrow's Campaign Commercials--"The Wisdom of Sparrow"--at
www.youtube.com/sparrowforprez.

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 truly complements this bizarre and fascinating tale. If you had a secret this strange would you tell anyone? Post your secret in the "comments" section!

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 is no doubt that the statue provokes reactions from everyone who passes by. How do you feel about the Hot Dog Man?

Haverkamp and Ventimiglia have been familiar to Rooftop for some time now, screening Last Pack in 2001, Armor of God in 2002, and most recently, Hot Dog Man in 2007 as part of our annual July 4th "Un-American Films" program, examining what exactly "America" means. Haverkamp runs Foggy Notion Studios, and his most recent projects include Willow Garden in 2006 and Monster Road in 2004, a documentary about animator Bruce Bickford currently screening on the Sundance Channel and co-produced by Ventimiglia. Currently in production is The Man Who Would Be Polka King. Nearly all of Haverkamp's films have won awards at over 100 film festivals worldwide. He is a freelance editor in his local North Carolina, a professor at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies, and has been deemed a "Film Impresario" by Indyweek.com.

The only question that remains is what has become of the Hot Dog Man...does he still cause debate on the streets of Durham, NC?

A sobering animated expose about how Mad Cow Disease is now killing dolphins. Via karate.

Okay, this is seriously one of the funniest films we've ever shown in the 12 years of Rooftop Films. Ian was a camp counselor, and he used to have his kids tell a part of a story, and then pass it on to the next kid. When you start off with an energetic loony ranting about a bovine/porpoise kung-fu battle, you know you're in for a great tale.

This is one you'll watch over and over, and email to all your friends.

In this action-packed experimental documentary, Bill Brown drifts through New Mexico trying to find out what caused that lonely spacecraft to crash land in a tiny town in the American desert half a century ago.

Bill has been one of Rooftop Films' favorite filmmakers for years. He covers an astonishing and amusingly diverse range of topics--including aliens from outerspace (here in Roswell) and aliens from across the border (in The Other Side)--with an low-fi aesthetic and an extremely personal touch. It's really a thrill to have unique and thoughtful film art like this online.

Two whole DVDs of Bill's work are onsale now: Homeland Insecurity and The Next Best Place.

Through the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, we recently gave a grant to Bill's newest film, Cumberland, which he calls "a landscape film about torture." Bill will be reconstructing the lives of the 7 members of the 372 Military Police Company who were convicted of abusing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "I am interested how in a global economy, a small American town is an extension of the global marketplace, and how in a global war on terror, it is an extension of the battlefield. I hope to understand a little better how seven representatives of America's battered working class came to bear the responsibility for the failure of America's foreign policy and moral authority."

Everyone should also check out Bill's amazing, handwritten travel zine Dream Whip, and his nostalgic novel about a long lost Los Angeles, Saugus to the Sea.

For those of you who know don't know much (or anything) about Rooftop Films, here is a brief introduction:

Rooftop Films is a non-profit film festival and production collective that has been screening and producing independent films since 1997. We are most famous for our annual Summer Series, a summer-long outdoor film festival that features more than 35 screenings each year. All of our summer screenings take place in stunning outdoor locations--either on rooftop or in parks, along piers, or in other scenic outdoor locations all over New York City (and occasionally beyond). We have screened more than 1,500 films over the last twelve years, and the work we show includes everything from award-winning films and world premieres by established filmmakers, to home videos by amateur and part-time film enthusiasts.

Though we are best known for our spectacular outdoor shows, Rooftop Films is more than just a festival--we are a film community. We believe that we have a responsibility to bring filmmakers, artists and musicians together with one another and with our audiences, and we believe that independent films flourish when they get out of the indie-plexes and art-house theaters and work their way into the lives and communities of people all over the world.

Of course, that is why we show films outdoors--but that is also why we are so excited to have partnered with IFC.com to bring many of our favorite short films to the internet. Too many fantastic short films never reach the audience they deserve, and even the best and luckiest of them tend to make their way through the film festival circuit and then disappear from the public eye completely. By partnering with IFC.com, Rooftop Films can keep these films alive and bring them to thousands of new people who don't get the chance to see them at festivals.

There is much talk about how well-suited the internet is for showing short films, but so many of the internet video portals are filled with clips from TV shows and battles between wildebeests and lions. Of course, we love some of those clips, too, but the Rooftop Films page offers a quality, curated alternative to the anarchy of YouTube. We receive more than 2,000 submissions every year, and all of the films we select for IFC.com are chosen from the most extraordinary works in our library of shorts, so these films are truly the best of the best. Our goal is to create a virtual place where viewers can peruse hundreds of films in all different genres so that they can get a sense of the truly ground-breaking work being done all over the world.

And now that we also have a blog on IFC.com, the information doesn't just have to flow one way. All year long, we will be posting interviews and other bits of information about the films we select, and we highly encourage you all to respond with comments and questions for us and for the filmmakers who have made these films. We'll answer your queries, and create an online community that captures the enthusiastic spirit of our live shows.

We'll be posting 100 films between now and the end of 2008--3 a week, every week--so bookmark the page and check back in daily to watch great films and read about all of the things going on with our festival and in the indie-film world.

Rooftop Films--Underground Movies Outdoors and Online.
Check out www.rooftopfilms.com for more information about our shows and other programs.