Rooftop Weekend Recap
ROOFTOP RECAP - Indie Horror Night
with Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers!
Thursday, October 30, 2008 | 12:30 PM
On Wednesday, October 29th, Rooftop Films returned to Chelsea Market for the first of three off-season shows. This being Halloween week, we screened a madcap selection of independent horror shorts from around the world. Needless to say, it was a harrowing and bone-chilling event.
Before the films, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers played an energetic live set, all done up in face paint and robed in the vestments of the undead. Approximately 350 people packed the house.
Many thanks to Metalbelly Michael Ginsberg from Chelsea Market for all his help, to Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers for a rollicking performance, and to Dana Vessa and Radeberger for the beer!
Want some more Horror action? Check out Program Director Dan Nuxoll's top five underrated independent horror films on Flavorwire HERE!
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - September 5th & 7th
TWO SHOWS ON COMING TO AMERICA
Monday, September 8, 2008 | 3:05 PM
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.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 25-26
ANIMATION, FAMILY DRAMA, AND A VISIT FROM THE PRESIDENT
Monday, July 28, 2008 | 3:48 PM
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.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 18-19
ANOTHER HOT WEEKEND AT ROOFTOP FILMS
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | 1:42 PM
FRIDAY: 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 their feet, kicking off the energetic vibe for the evening. It's great to see so many folks enthusiastic for the live music at our shows!
Normally our collaboration with Rural Route highlights the pastoral peace of country living, but this year we were celebrating the rougher side of the rural life, and burning rubber in the rural route. People were hooting and hollering throughout the evening, and we almost got a riotous ball game going, inspired by
The Hardest Goal.
Filmmaker Max Finneran, who directed the opening short Pumpkin Hell was in the crowd, and had some kind things to say in an email the next day:
"The screening looked and sounded fantastic--frankly a lot better then many indoor festivals I've been to. I kind of underestimated how cool it would be to see my movie outside! And with 400 plus out on a hot sweaty night it was a great experience. I also thought the programming line-up was a really solid collection of shorts--nice and diverse with unexpected, original ways of defining "rural route," the cornerstone of it all being that little Outhouse horror show that capped the night off."
SATURDAY: INDUSTRIANCE - THE LIVELONG DAY (Short Films)
One of the most rewarding things we do as programmers is take a challenging theme and find a solid and intelligent set of films that form an entertaining and informative program. On Saturday, Rooftop Films continued our collaboration with XO Projects Inc. and our INDUSTRIANCE series, programs about the changing landscape in industry, architecture, agriculture, labor, and related fields, and the ways those changes affect individual lives. Making such a concept personal and engaging is difficult, but the hundreds of people who came out on Saturday were enthralled by the diverse selection of films about labor.
In part, that may be because we had in the program two of the most perfect films for our festival: City of Cranes a perspective-shifting documentary about crane operators, and Behind The Glass, a film that focuses on the passion of outdoor film projectionists. There's really nothing at other festivals or screenings that can compare to seeing films like those on rooftops, outdoors--where the films and the venue and the view all come together to make a magical, memorable event. With filmmakers Gabriel Rhodes and Jesse Epstein (director of 34x25x36) in attendance, what seemed like a relatively low-key Rooftop show turned into another spectacular evening.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 11-12
TWO MORE SOLD-OUT SHOWS
Sunday, July 13, 2008 | 12:01 PM
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.
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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.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - July 4
SOLD-OUT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH
Introducing Rooftop's Presidential nominee - Sparrow
Monday, July 7, 2008 | 10:21 AM
Over 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 and poncho hoods cheered the 22nd Amendment , gasped at the animated music video about JFK , and thoughtfully digested the serious political statements of such films as Nicholas Bruckman's The Grey Movie and Topaz Adizes' City, with both directors in attendance.
But perhaps the biggest hit of the night was for the introduction of a new Presidential candidate--Sparrow, a bearded and long-haired poet who has run for office every year since '92. Rooftop Films, IFC and Rumur Inc. are producing a web series about the man who doesn't want you to vote for him ("Vote for the Democrat, they're good enough"), and we premiered the first episode to a rabid audience. Sparrow's hilarious less-than-a-minute bits of "Wisdom" peppered the night.
The series will air on IFC.com in September, but for those of you who want to get a jump on the campaign, check out Sparrow's pseudo-campaign commercials at www.youtube.com/sparrowforprez. I know that he's already locked up 800 votes from this show.
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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.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - JUNE 26
SOLD-OUT FOR SURREAL SOUNDS AND SHORTS
Saturday, June 28, 2008 | 10:53 AM
A successful collaboration with MoMA and The Premiere Commission
If you thought that Rooftop Films was just for young hipsters, or that "classical" music and retrospective MoMA exhibitions were out of touch with contemporary culture, the huge crowd and dynamic synergy at Rooftop's Friday night "Surreal Sounds and Shorts" show proved you wrong. Over 700 people packed the sold-out event, which began with a piano performance by Bruce Levingston, one of the most acclaimed classical concert pianists in the world. Bruce has been a dear friend and supporter of Rooftop Films for years, and has served on our Board of Directors since 2006. His witty and insightful remarks in between songs engaged the diverse crowd, while his gorgeous and impassioned performance of works by Frederic Chopin, Philip Glass, Erik Satie had our normally rambunctious crowd in a breathless and appreciative silence.
The film portion of the evening commenced with two rarely-seen silent films from The Museum of Modern Art's upcoming exhibition, Dali: Painting and Film . For the films, made by Luis Bunuel and Alma de Luce, both featuring Salvador Dali, Rooftop and Bruce Levingson's Premiere Commission enlisted acclaimed emerging composer Keeril Makan to compose original scores, which Levingston performed live, perfecting nailing the delicate timing of the images and music. Levingson concluded his performance with another world premiere of a Makan composition, a score to excerpts from Red Bucket Films' Buttons. (Red Bucket Films' debut feature, The Pleasure of Being Robbed will have its official New York Premiere at Rooftop on September 19.)
Photo (c) Sarah Palmer.
The enraptured crowd then enjoyed a program of contemporary short films in some ways inspired by surrealism. Many of the filmmakers were in attendance and hung around to talk to audience members at Rooftop's rockin after-party at Fontana's , with free drinks courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner . Those in attendance included Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Alex Kalman, Signe Baumane, Stephnie Lempert, Becky James, Ben Philippi (down from Montreal) and Kelly Sears (in from California).
Check out Kelly, Becky and William's films for a sense of the way that the illogical approach of surrealism infuses the rich imagery and bizarre ideas of The Drift, Snake and The Joshua Tree Launch Series. Post a question if you weren't at the show to ask it then, and the filmmakers will get back to you here!
THE DRIFT
(Kelly Sears | 08:13 | Animation)
An absurd fable crafted from images found in thrift store bookshelves about our country's unflinching frontierism and the desire to push too far, too fast.
SNAKE
(Becky James | 3:03 | Animation)
Deceptively playful, Snake is a film about stubbornness in the face of change.
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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.
ROOFTOP WEEKEND RECAP - June 12-14
3 SOLD-OUT SHOWS
Monday, June 16, 2008 | 10:33 AM
The First Annual Rooftop Panorama a huge success
Rooftop Films is more than a film festival--we are a community, a collaboration between filmmakers and audience members, between movies, venues and neighborhoods. We not only screen films outdoors; we also foster collaborations by renting equipment, teach filmmaking to young people at partner schools, and co-produce new films through The Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund. But because our festival runs through five months (weekends and more from May 31-September 27), as opposed to many that last a weekend or a week, there's not always the same opportunity for filmmakers, distributors, critics, and audience members to come together all at the same time.
Hence the creation of Rooftop Panorama, three days of screenings, panel discussions, live music, parties and more, as an opportunity to showcase all that we do and bring together the diverse communities we serve. Would it work?
With dozens of filmmakers in attendance, write-ups in publications from IndieWire and Variety to TK, and over 2,000 audience members in one weekend, Rooftop Panorama turned out to be one of the most successful weekends in Rooftop's 12 year history.
THURSDAY, JUNE 12
Making the Mission--a program full of films that, in both content and execution, know that taking a risk is sometimes just as important as the thing you're risking--drew 650 people to Automotive High School, and filmmakers William Lamson, Zachary Treitz, Dana O'Keefe and Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund recipient Benh Zeitlin were in attendance for a lively Q & A and an extended after-party at Matchless Bar, with free drinks courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner.
FRIDAY, JUNE 13
With the 20-year anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park riots coming up this summer, Rooftop was thrilled to host the World Premiere of Captured, a powerful and exciting documentary about Clayton Patterson, the riots and the gentrification of the Lower East Side. It's a key part of Rooftop's mission to show films about specific communities in the very neighborhoods they're covering, and this screening on a graffiti-covered roof in the LES demonstrated the persuasive power of that symbiotic relationship.
Former Mayor Ed Koch and former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern came to the show, despite being portrayed in a relatively negative light in the film, joining an astonishing 1,150 other people who formed one of the most raucous and enthusiastic crowds we've ever had at Rooftop. For a generation accused of being apathetic, the throngs at this show were clearly invigorated by the dynamic and rebellious recent history represented in the film. And with dozens of distributors in attendance for this world premiere, it's possible that because of the Rooftop premiere the film will reach an even wider audience soon.
SATURDAY, JUNE 14
Rooftop Films teamed up with IndiePix and Shooting People to host our first ever panel discussions, covering topics that are key to Rooftop's mission: Cinema and Social Justice and The Art of the Short Film. The esteemed panelists were Ryan Harrington (Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund); Simon Kilmurry (Executive Director of POV); Esther Robinson (director, A Walk Into the Sea; Founder of Art Home), and Katy Chevigny (Director, Election Day; Co-Founder of Arts Engine), Benh Zeitlin (Filmmaker, Glory at Sea); Duana Butler (Filmmaker, Curator of ReelNY); Signe Baumane (animator, Veterinarian and Teat Beat of Sex), and Casimir Nozkowski (the man who has shown more short films at Rooftop than any other)
The two lively discussions offered ranged from useful information on the state of funding for documentaries to comic information on the state of workaholism among short film animators. Despite a day of rain, it was our third sold-out show of the weekend, and an astonishing conclusion to the first annual Rooftop Panorama.
Check out Sara Zia Ibrahimi's Cusps from the Saturday night show, "INDUSTRIANCE: Eminent Domain.". The film gave us the subtitle for the show--"Films about Communities on the Cusp"--and encapsulates the thesis of the program.
CUSPS
(Sara Zia Ibrahimi | 14:28 | Documentary)
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.
Welcome to the Rooftop Films Blog on IFC.com!
Friday, May 2, 2008 | 12:00 PM
Watch short films and read about all things related to Rooftop. Look for:
+ Film Notes: Read insightful thoughts about the films, and exclusive interviews with the filmmakers. Post a comment or question to join the discussion.
+ Weekend Recaps: On-The-Roof reporting, giving you a sense of the scene at all our shows. Comment here to tell us about your Rooftop experience.
+ Rooftop News: The latest word about upcoming Rooftop events, and updates about Rooftop alumni filmmakers and bands.
+ And much more!
For those of you who know don't know much about Rooftop Films, we are a non-profit film festival and production collective that has been screening and producing independent films since 1997. To read more about us, this blog, and our partnership with IFC, jump down to here.
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.
