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.

By Rooftop Films in Animation, Comedy, Drama, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (8)

Tags: Benh Zeitlin, Don Hertzfeldt, Everything Will Be OK, Fabio Wuytack, I Am So Proud Of You, IFC Center, Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, Rooftop Films

"Polvo (Dust)" (Ylva Forner | Spain | 12:45)


A young woman about to get married works cleaning houses for elderly people. One day an old man offers to pay her well if she just undresses and sits in a chair over by the window for him. A story about memories and missing someone long gone.

Q&A

Rooftop Films: Tell us about your film.

Ylva Forner: This film "Polvo (Dust)" was actually one of my first short films. The title in Spanish has a double meaning that's lost in translation. It literally means "Dust", but in Spanish slang it can also mean to "Screw". I had lived in Barcelona, for a very short time when I made Polvo and I had to make something that was not based on dialogue, basically because I didn't speak much Spanish. I was interested in making a film where only the audience got the full picture, where as the characters never got to know the objectives of the other. I wanted to start with one character and end with another, like shifting the focus. I would love to make a whole full feature film like that some day, where the story is passed like the baton in a relay race.

RF: What was your inspiration?

YF: For this film my inspiration was dust in afternoon sunlight. Jazz records with Ella Fitzgerald. The shot in Gilda where she takes of her gloves.

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.)?

YF: What might be said is that we hade an extremely low budget (non-existent really). The whole film is shot in one day. This was a very strange shooting, basically because there is so much nakedness is the film, on top of that I´m doing the part of the woman in the past myself, which meant that I was walking around the set naked with forties-makeup on the set, directing the crew. After a while everyone got used to it, and there are some very funny photos...

RF: The light in the film was beautiful. How did you create it?

YF: We worked with very little filters and lit a lot.

RF: How did you create the superimposition of the two images of the women in the film?

YF: What we did was first of all to use the same framing and location, but re-decorating the room as it was in the forties when there was still life in the room for the old days - shot. Then we shot the whole part from the past on super-8 to get that "old" feeling. It created a sense of something long gone, maybe our memories are now days on video...Technically we then taped the super-8 projection and superimposed the two images. To me it's very important that when the man's memory begins, the traveling begins and crosses the space from "his corner" in his chair, into the room where the girl is. It's the only time in the film that that happens, and after that moment the story focus has changed from her to him.

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

YF: I'm a director and actress hoping to soon be able to take away the waitress... Ultimately I have directed more than I have acted, but I love acting and hope to soon work more as an actress on other peoples films, that's one of the best ways to be a better director too...And the best job in the world!

RF: What is your current/next project?

YF: I've just finished a new short film in Stockholm (where I live), and it's going very well. It's called Greetings From Slussen, Sthlm, and it's is in competition at the Stockholm International Film Festival starting Nov 20th. It's also showing at the Palm Spring Festival in Jan. 2009, and the Scandinavian Film Festival in LA in Jan. 2009. And I'm of course hoping that it will be chosen for next year's Rooftop Films Summer Series. A part from that I have just received a grant to go to LA for 3 months from January - April, to develop my filmmaking and hopefully make a short film there.

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

YF: I whish I could say I had. I really wanted to come over last summer, but couldn't get the financing to do so...I think that the idea of showing films on the roof is one of the most beautiful I know, so hope to be part of that some night!

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

YF: I love that people I don't know on the other side of the globe actually see my work and that it hopefully moves them in some way. That's the whole idea of art I suppose... It gives me a bit of Vertigo to be honest... hahaha...

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

YF: I will be in LA from beginning Jan-end of March, and in New York from March 27-April 5. What shall I do? Where should I go? What can I not miss?!

By Rooftop Films in Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Watch Short Films | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (9)

Tags: Greetings From Slussen Sthlm, Palm Springs Film Festival, Rooftop Films Summer Series, Scandinavian Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, Ylva Forner

Rooftop Alums Gina Telaroli and Eric Phillips-Horst, who both screened short films at our 2008 edition of "New York Non-Fiction," are part of a couple of very cool film collaborations: The Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, and Meerkat Media. As technology makes it easier and easier to make and share media, the key challenge these days is making good media. Having a group of like-minded artists to collaborate with is key, so getting involved with groups like Meerkat or BFC makes a lot of sense. And it's fun.

To raise money for Gina's next feature film, they're having a party this weekend at DCTV. Stop by, start making some connections, and support truly independent cinema!

Saturday, November 15, 8-11pm
Meerkat Media Mixer / Fundraiser
at DCTV (87 Lafayette, NYC)
Sliding Scale $8-20

By Rooftop Films in Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop News | Link | 1 Comments | Recommended (14)

Tags: Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, DCTV, Eric Phillips-Horst, Fundraiser, Gina Telaroli, Meerkat Media, Mixer, Rooftop Films

One of the misfortunes of old age is revealed in this simple slice of life at a relaxing brunch..

Sara Pomerance's short Relax At Home, played as a part of Rooftop Film's "Home Movies" Program this past summer. We were happy to be able to ask her a few questions about her short film and her filmmaking process.

Q & A

RT: So tell us little bit about this film. What was your inspiration for the film? Were these people you knew personally?

SP: My lens observes the behaviors and psychological coping mechanisms of people around me. Rather than psychoanalyze, I use the material to construct a narrative. Through stories, I ask questions such as: Does thinking positively actually change people's lives? Relax At Home, is a portrait of my mother, as she continually reassures my grandfather. She repetitively affirms the positive. He responds non-verbally.

RT: Obviously, you captured some very intimate moments here. How did you approach your subjects about the film?

SP: I always ask permission before filming. The relationships of people around me are a rich territory in which to study contradictions found in everyday interaction.

RT: Did you shoot a lot of footage? And how did you know that these few short minutes were the ones you wanted to become the film?

SP: I do shoot a lot, but only show the moments most relevant to the subject of each piece. By constructing and revealing my characters I form a critique of social mannerisms and routines. My video pieces are intended to function as shorts, but together, when shown in sequence, portray the complexity of individual and family relationships.

RT: How do you feel about growing old?

SP: I hope that life get easier as I age.

RT: What is your current/next project?

SP: I prefer not to talk a lot about projects before they are complete. Currently my fascination is teenagers and I am also interested in autism.

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

SP: I am honored and look forward to having a larger audience.

RT: Do you have any questions for the viewers? They'll post comments.

SP: What do you think is the function of reassurance? Does thinking positively actually change people's lives?

To view more of Sara's work including videos and photography, visit her website.

By Rooftop Films in Documentary, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers, Watch Short Films | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (7)

Tags: Home Movies, Relax At Home, Rooftop Films, Sara Pomerance, Summer Series

Since 2005, Rooftop Films has been proud to collaborate with the enchanting Rural Route Film Festival, an urban fest dedicated to showing the greener side of life. We've hosted selections from Rural Route during our Summer Series, and collaborated on screenings at their festival. Now Co-Founder Alan Webber is preparing to embark on a year-long, world wide Rural Route tour--The Year of the Nomad--jetsetting to major cities and strolling down country lanes to find and show the world's most idyllic cinema.

This weekend, catch this amazing festival one last time in NYC!

THE RURAL ROUTE FILM FESTIVAL
Friday-Sunday, October 17-19
at Anthology Film Archives
& Scandinavia House

FREE PBR
FREE ORGANIC VALLEY STRING CHEESE
FREE BOOKS FROM LONELY PLANET

Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. (@ 38th St.)
ickets available by phone (212) 847-9737
http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/

Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Ave. (@ 2nd St.)
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org

SCHEDULE - ANTHOLOGY
Fri., Oct. 17 @ 7:30PM
& Sat., Oct. 18 @ 8:30PM
"Best of Rural Route Short Films"
DVD Launch Party
The world premiere of Rural Route's new "Best of" dvd! Join Rural Route as we launch the new DVD that will sail the seven seas on the worldwide "Nomad" Tour throughout 2009 (subtitled in Spanish & French). Come pick up your own copy! The program features 13 of the very best shorts from 5 years of Rural Route. This includes award-winning documentaries, experimental films, narratives, and music videos. Stories about bear hunters, Siberian folk artists, dental farmers, dancing tractors, and racing lawnmowers! Movies from the driest desert, the snowiest mountains, the greenest fields, and more!

Fri., Oct. 17 @ 9:30PM
"Big Dead Place" - Films from Antarctica by Nicholas Johnson
While periodically working on contract as a garbageman in Antarctica, Nicholas Johnson has been writing and making short films about his time on the ice. Come witness an insider's view on the bizarre culture and mesmerizing scenery of the famed McMurdo Research Station, which Werner Herzog visited in his most recent "Encounters at the End of the World".

Sat., Oct. 18 @ 6:30PM
"Arica Nativa" - Freak Films From the Chilean Andes
Rural Route's first stop on the "Nomad" Tour will be in Arica, Chile, surrounded by the Atacoma Desert (the driest place in the world). This program of films comes from our sister rural festival in Arica, and features a fascinating, experimental look into indigenous culture in the Andes.

Sun., Oct. 19 @ 4:30PM
"Go Organic!" - Healthy Foods Short Film Program
You are what you eat...so you'd better start paying attention to what exactly that is! These short selections from RR's popular new wave agricultural program provide a refreshing education on the current state of farming, and point out positive sustainable and organic practices from the Midwest to Cuba that you can take part in.

Sun., Oct. 19 @ 6:30PM
"Rural Kiwi" - Films From the New Zealand Film Archive
Rural Route also has a scheduled stop in Wellington, NZ in March of 2009. This program of films has been co-curated by Mark Williams of the New Zealand Film Archive. This program features a fun, campy farm education film from the 50s, a short about a hunter who is haunted by dead animals, and a modern Maori race car demolition derby!

SCHEDULE - SCANDINAVIA HOUSE
Saturday, October 18, 3PM
"That Special Summer" ("Kid Svensk") (Finland, Sweden)
Directed by Nanna Huolman, 2007. This award-winning film explores the extreme highs and lows of a Finnish girl growing up in 1980s Sweden. Headstrong 12-year-old Kirsi, known as Kid, has assimilated perfectly into school life in Gothenburg, but her widowed mother, Ester, lives in a Finnish cocoon, refusing to learn Swedish or partake in the local culture. When Ester decides to start a restaurant back in Finland with the help of an old beau, Kid becomes increasingly agitated, lashing out in protest. In the end, this touching drama portrays a girl not only coming to grips with a difficult mother/daughter relationship and the meaning of "home," but also her foray into first love. 85 min. Presented by the Consulate General of Finland & the Consulate General of Sweden.

By Rooftop Films in Documentary, Drama, Environmental Films, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop News | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (1)

Tags: Alan Webber, Anthology Film Archives, Rooftop Films, Rural Route Film Festival, Scandanavia House, Year of the Nomad

Rooftop's noble partners at the Independent Feature Project (IFP) are, like us, always looking for innovative ways to support emerging filmmakers, from their Market (which helps find funding for works-in-progress), to their Labs (which provide artistic feedback for films at the rough cut stage), and now onto distribution. Their new "First Weekend" Series will help independent filmmakers secure a crucial, successful opening weekend in a New York theater. It's a great program, and Rooftop is proud to be promoting it. And the opening film--Lance Hammer's Ballast--is truly remarkable cinema, a powerfully-restrained drama of working-class tension and violence, reminiscent of Bresson or the Dardenne Brothers.

IFP along with Vera Farmiga, Sarah Jones, Neil LaBute, Jonathan Lethem, Salman Rushdie, Kerry Washington & Adam Yauch invite you to the launch of

IFP's "First Weekend" Series
connecting audiences directly with new independent films

Thursday, October 2 at 8pm
Film Forum (209 W. Houston Street, NYC)

Featuring Lance Hammer's BALLAST
Hosted by Tony Award winner Sarah Jones

$25 gets you:

- a ticket to the Opening Weekend screening at 8pm on Oct 2 at Film Forum
- an invitation to the post-screening Q&A between Lance Hammer and Tony Award-winning playwright/poet/activist/actress Sarah Jones ("Bridge & Tunnel")
- an invitation to the exclusive after-party with the filmmaker and members of NY's arts community, including members of the Host Committee

IFP's "First Weekend" Series is a quarterly program designed to guarantee sold out shows during their Opening Weekend for independent filmmakers self-distributing their work. In purchasing a ticket and supporting the series, audiences are directly supporting truly independent films and filmmakers. The full box-office proceeds will go directly toward the film's theatrical run. (FYI - IFP just sent over the check yesterday to Film Forum to buy out the 8pm screening, so BALLAST now has a sold out show before it even opens!)

IFP and Rooftop Films urge you to support truly independent films in this new manner by supporting the "First Weekend" series.

For additional details, and to purchase your ticket: http://www.ifp.org/content/noncms/ny/newsletters/08dedicated/ballast/

By Rooftop Films in Drama, Personal Narrative | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (3)

Tags: Ballast, Film Forum, First Weekend Series, IFP, Lance Hammer, Rooftop Films

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5: La Frontera Infinita at El Museo del Barrio (East Harlem)
The rain threatened all night, but never came, and Rooftop Films concluded an excellent run of shows at El Museo del Barrio. The museum, which is committed to exhibiting the work of Latino artists from East Harlem and abroad (even while under renovation and expansion), made an excellent partner for Rooftop Films, where we don't screen in theaters, we screen in communities. In 2008, we hosted three evenings of music and film, focused on the local and international Latino community. Each show, including this one, was filled to capacity.

Photo by Dillon DeWaters.

On Friday, for the second year in a row, we were collaborating with the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico. In just six years, Morelia has become one of the premiere festivals for Mexican and Latino cinema, a destination festival for international industry insiders and a tremendous boon for local cinema lovers. Rooftop Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg attended in 2007, and highly recommends their fest.

This final screening was of Juan Manuel Sepulveda's haunting documentary La Frontera Infinita, a lovely and lyrical film about the hardships which tens of thousands of immigrants face every year while traveling thousands of hazardous miles for a chance to work in the States. Splendid shots of train travel and long hikes are offset by harrowing accounts of train-hopping accidents and intimate scenes of infinite patience as the travelers wait at waystations and in the woods for the right moment to move on. At the crowded after-party, one viewer called the film "Beckett-like," not only because of the eternal waiting and desperate hope, but because of the film's ingenious dislocation of space and distance. The subjects have a general sense of heading North, but in both dialogue and cinematic reference, the sense of direction and expanse is always vague, leaving the viewer feeling as lonely and lost as the documentary subjects. Often, a film like this could be difficult to watch outside, but the packed house was riveted, and deeply moved.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: Arusi: Persian Wedding on Roosevelt Island
Hurricane rains did hit New York on Saturday, forcing us to reschedule this screening for Sunday. But the weather was beautiful that night, and despite the postponement there were still some 200 people on the lawn, with the Queensboro Bridge looming over the screen as a stunning backdrop. Special thanks to the New York City Council's Manhattan Delegation, and Council Member Jessica Lappin, for bringing Rooftop out to Roosevelt Island.

Three short films began the night, each touching on themes that would be elaborated in the feature--finding a new way to see (A Different Color Blue), traveling to some place foreign (The Tourists), and metaphorically "lifting the veil" (A L'Ombre du Voile).

The feature film covers all that and more, as Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani travels with her brother and his American-born wife back to Iran, for the first time, for a traditional Persian wedding. The touching film simultaneously tells the story of a couple in love, of a family being reunited, and of a country at odds with itself and the world, and the crowd loved it--people cheered throughout, particularly at points which expressed pride in Iranian culture.

During the Q & A, you could tell that people with varying political views, religions and cultural backgrounds were all moved by the universality of this story of love and family, as seen on a global political stage.

By Rooftop Films in Documentary, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Weekend Recap | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (2)

Tags: A Different Color Blue, A L'Ombre du Voile, Arusi: Persian Wedding, El Museo del Barrio, Juan Manuel Sepulveda, La Frontera Infinita, Marjan Tehrani, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Morelia International Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Roosevelt Island, Summer Series 2008, The Tourists

FRIDAY: 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 bit more about this amazing school, where students can grow crops on school grounds and convert your car to bio-diesel, all right in the heart of hipster Williamsburg.

At intermission, Rooftop hosted a public rally for Sparrow, a real live cartoonish presidential candidate. Sparrow's 5th attempt NOT to win the presidency had never before reached so many people, and though he seemed a bit overwhelmed, he also overwhelmed the masses. Screening some of his non-campaign commercials--"The Wisdom of Sparrow"--delivering a unique anti-speech, and engaging in lengthy rambling discourses trying to convince eager supporters to run the other way, Sparrow was a huge hit.

SPARROW AT ROOFTOP FILMS

And, of course, the focus of the evening was the dozens of short animated films, which had the animated audience giggling, gasping and gawking all night long, curated and hosted by the tireless Casey Saffron. After the films, the crowd packed in Matchless Bar for free drinks courtesy of Radeburger Pilsner. As a mid-summer peak for Rooftop, and the kick-off for the weekend-long ABP screenings, we couldn't've rocked a bigger or better night.

SATURDAY: In A Dream at The Old American Can Factory
Despite being a Philadelphia film, the New York premiere of Jeremiah Zagar's stunning documentary In A Dream drew a massive and enthusiastic crowd. Again, we had to set up two screens to accommodate the approximately 600 people who roamed out to The Old American Can Factory to watch the infamous Zagar family on screen. The show started with live music, presented in partnership with Sound Fix Records, and we were really thrilled to have a gorgeous set from Kelli Scarr, who composed the score for the film. The captivating documentary about a family falling apart and rebuilding themselves--using art as part of the rehabilitative process--had the audience completely enraptured.

Ironically, Jeremiah's parents and brother couldn't attend the screening because of a big family reunion. "I'm in the doghouse for missing it," Jeremiah said during the Q & A. But when asked if it was hard exposing his family like this and continuing filming, Jeremiah said, "My friends all think I'm pretentious because I keep quoting Diane Arbus, but it's fitting. She said, 'As long as I've got the camera in front of my face, a tank could roll over me.'" The elated crowd was thrilled that Jeremiah and his family had the courage to let that tank--and camera--roll.

Following the film, hundreds of folks hung out in the outdoor courtyard, dancing and drinking free drinks, courtesy of Brooklyn Oenology, completing another magical weekend at Rooftop.

By Rooftop Films in Animation, Documentary, Drama, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop News, Rooftop Weekend Recap, Sparrow, Watch Short Films | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (4)

Tags: Animation Block Party, Automotive High School, Casey Saffron, In A Dream, Jenny Kessler, Jeremiah Zagar, Rooftop Films, Sparrow, The Old American Can Factory

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 the use of photography and animated line drawing, she evokes a nostalgic and dreamlike emotional landscape, where something is seen in the emptiness and the changing city is a character alongside the filmmaker's consciousness.

Cusps screened as part of our "INDUSTRIANCE: Eminent Domain" series on June 14th, 2008 at the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Brooklyn. It was accompanied by other shorts sharing the spirit of the changing landscape, as well as a panel discussion with the directors who could attend.

Sara Zia Ibrahimi is a 30 year old Iranian-American artist and activist, involved in community organizing, independent media production, and distribution. She has had a hand in numerous independent radio and video projects, and was recently in the MFA program in Film and Media Arts at Temple University. "Cusps" was her thesis film. Currently, she is on the board of the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and on the Steering Committee and Submissions Coordinator for the Black Lily Film and Music Festival.

In 5-10 years, says Sara, she hopes to open an art venue in Philadelphia that screens independent films and offers light fare food, called the "Flickering Light".
Look out for it!

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Tags: activist, animation, artist, Black Lily Film and Music Festival, changing landscape, Cusps, Flickering Light, INDUSTRIANCE: Eminent Domain, Iranian-American, June 14th Show, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, photography, Sara Zia Ibrahimi, Temple University, thesis film, urban nomad, visual journal

Diverse 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 on you're on the roof of the tallest building around, but this local Puerto Rican band has a dozen members and it felt like the whole city had to be catching their infectious rhythms and astounding harmonics. Singing in Spanish and English, the dynamic lead singer had the aisles packed with both devoted and newly converted fans, dancing and singing along.

We showed two 40-minute documentaries about the melancholy joy of life in contemporary Latin America. The first was Alguna Triseteza, a heartbreaking and gorgeous film essay about the Peruvian psyche, mixing pride and defeatism, a devotion to hard-work and a pervading sense of futility, a joy in little pleasures and a dream for a eventual moment of glory. That film contrasted rather remarkably with La Corona, the Academy-Award nominated documentary about a beauty pageant in a women's prison in Colombia--a remarkably upbeat and celebratory film, given the women's circumstances.

Following the screening, at the reception with free drinks courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner , I had the pleasure of talking to local City Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito , who has helped support Rooftop Films through The Manhattan Delegation, and who had been sitting in the front row, singing along to Yerbabuena and cheering along the pageant contestants. I was also approached by people from Peru and Colombia, who had loved the screening. It's such a thrill when we can bring out such mixed crowds, to sing and dance, watch movies and share cultures, and down a beer together afterward.

UP WITH ME--Trailer

The next Rooftop Films screenings at El Museo will be on August 8 and September 6. Rooftop's August/July schedule will be officially announced next week, but I can tell you that the August show will be Up With Me, a really stunning narrative film set in the neighborhood, written by and starring local teenagers. That promises to be an amazing show, as last year we screened a local film--Hard Road Home--and the enthusiasm of the local audience was over-whelming.

SATURDAY
On the roof of our home base, The Old American Can Factory, in Gowanus, Brooklyn, we presented the New York premiere of Michael Chandler's documentary Knee Deep, a continuation of Rooftop Films and XO Projects' INDUSTRIANCE series--programs about the changing landscape in industry, architecture, agriculture, and the ways these changes affect individual lives. Knee Deep is the true story of a young man, Josh Osborne, who shot his own mother when she tried to sell the family farm. That's obviously a pretty extreme reaction to real estate development, but perhaps an understandable one, and the power of the film is that as an audience member, I think you come to sympathize with Josh. There's not a lot of farming in Brooklyn, but unscrupulous development has certainly put an end to myriad manufacturing jobs, and forced thousands of people from their family homes. So while the film is a unique look at small town, rural life, and a fascinating and surprisingly fun personal story, it's also a film with themes that are relevant here in New York City.

One could tell that this crowd was pretty mixed, too, with folks from NYC and from New England. One audience member remarked during the Q & A that you could tell who the Mainers in the crowd were by who laughed at the line about "Skitters," a line my city mind didn't quite grasp, but which refers to a rig used in Maine to move logs. Another New Yorker asked how the film had been received in the Maine, and Chandler said screenings there have been packed and DVD sales have been brisk. So it was another night of harmony, delight, and discourse, as a strange but identifiable slice of country life came to the city at Rooftop Films.

P.S. If that kind of interaction intrigues you, come check out the July 18 Rural Route Films program of short films highlighting the rougher side of rural life.

* * *
Join Rooftop Films on www.twitter.com/rooftopfilms for live updates from the shows. Updates about tickets, the weather, filmmaker attendance, after-parties, and the vibe on the scene.

By Rooftop Films in Environmental Films, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Weekend Recap | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (1)

Tags: Alguna Tristeza, August 8th Show, City Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito, Columbia, diversity, documentary, East Harlem, El Museo Del Barrio, Hard Road Home, Industriance series, July 11th Show, July 12th Show, Knee Deep, La Corona, Manhattan Delegation, Michael Chandler, New England, Old American Can Factory, Radeberger Pilsner, Rural Route, September 6th Show, Sold Out, Up With Me, Women, XO Projects, Yerbabuena

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.

By Rooftop Films in Comedy, Documentary, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, Watch Short Films | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (2)

Tags: Bill Brown, Comedy, Documentary, Personal Narrative, Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, Rooftop Films, Roswell, Watch Short Films

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.

By Rooftop Films in About Rooftop Films and This Blog, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Environmental Films, Home Movies, Personal Narrative, Political Films, Rooftop Filmmakers, Rooftop Music, Rooftop News, Watch Short Films | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (4)

Tags: 2008 Summer Series, Rooftop Films, Underground Movies Outdoors, Watch Short Films