The Rooftop Films 2008 Summer Series

It’s your city. Take a look.

Venue: on the roof of the Open Road Rooftop
Address: 350 Grand Street @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
Directions: F/J/M/Z to Essex / Delancey
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be held indoors at the same location
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM - 1:00AM: Open Bar After Party at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St @ Grand) Courtesy of Radeberger beer
Tickets: $9 at going.com

Preview: See short films from this and other programs at www.IFC.com
Presented in partnership with: IFC.com, New York magazine, Open Road New York & New Design High School

Program Notes:
Always one of our most popular programs, Rooftop Films’ annual New York Non-Fiction show has served as a showcase for new documentaries about the extraordinary lives of “ordinary” New Yorkers for nearly a decade. This year’s films explore the magic in little metropolitan moments and the poetry of the odd job, find humor in exploitative urban institutions and capture the melancholy beauty of the dilapidated underground. Above all, they express in particular what all of us who live in New York know intuitively: in this great city there is always an amazing story waiting around the corner.

The Films:

6 a.m. (Carmen Vidal Balanzat | New York | 8:33)
The city may not sleep, but it certainly seems a little quieter before 6 A.M.

Bird Strikes (Chris Cassidy | New York | 7:00)
When technology and nature collide, Bob Leporati uses the ancient art of falconry to clear the runways of JFK.

The Last Butcher in Little Italy (Laura Terruso | New York | 5:45)
Unlike most Italian Americans, Moe Albanese never left Little Italy. Born on Elizabeth Street in 1925, Moe grew up on this street and helped his parents run their small butcher shop. Today, this shop is the last that remains of Elizabeth Street's Italian American history. At eighty two, Moe is the shops only employee.

Native New Yorker (Steve Bilich | New York | 13:00)
Shot before, during and after 9/11 and filmed with a 1924 hand-crank Cine-Kodak camera, Native New Yorker follows Shaman Trail Scout 'Coyote' as he takes a journey which transcends time, from Inwood Park (where the island was traded for beads and booze), down a native trail (now 'Broadway'), into lower Manhattan (then and now a sacred burial ground).

Dimmer (Talmage Cooley | Buffalo, NY | 12:20)
Talmage Cooley's award-winning documentary short film presents a poignant and memorable snapshot of life within a gang of sight-impaired teenage boys who create their own world among the abandoned factories of Buffalo's rust belt.

Intermission
P-Star's Redemption (Excerpt) (Gariel Noble | New York | 7:00)
Gabriel Noble has been following P-Star since she was an 11 year old rapper in the underground Harlem Hip-Hop scene. She is now a star of the new version of the Electric Company television show, but Noble followed her through some of her family's most trying days. His feature doc is still a work in progress, but it will surely be one of the most interesting docs of 2009. For the time being, Rooftop audiences can get a glimpse of this great New York story by checking out this excerpt. Find out more on his website.

New York Minute (Tim O'Grady | New York | 1:00)
One minute in a New York commute contains a collection of lasting impressions.

Checkmate (Casimir Nozkowski, Dallas Penn and Rafi Kam | New York | 8:00)
Why are there always jewelry stores next to check-cashing spots? Why is there only 1 bank per 50,000 people living in Bushwick? Is it actually fun to make it rain on the streets of Brooklyn with real dollar bills? Dallas and Rafi take us around check-cashing joints in Brooklyn to answer these and other questions. Says Dallas: “You know you’ve made it when you go from check-cashing fees to ATM fees.”

A Hood Full of Stores (Gina Telaroli, Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective | New York | 2:00)
As real estate close to Manhattan becomes increasingly more valuable, many people are being forced out of their neighborhoods. In response to these changing demographics Gina, CJ and a friend discuss what lies ahead for the Queensbridge Housing Projects. Gina and CJ met at the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House where they made lego robots and movies.

Covered Tracks (Nathan Kensinger | New York | 12:00)
An exploration of life and death underneath Manhattan, travelling through a 50 block-long train tunnel which was once an underground homeless city.

Umbrellas (Eric Phillips-Horst, Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective | New York | 2:20)
We might imagine that New York is a city full of unique characters, but we all look the same when we pop open our umbrellas on a rainy day.

Charge for That (Chris Cassidy | New York | 7:00)
The streets of New York City have been an endless palette for artist Nilsen, and dog piss, manhole covers and passersby all make their way into his very urban art.

Buttons (excerpts) (Josh Safdie, Alex Kalman, Benny Safdie | Boston, New York | 4:00)
Josh, Benny and Alex roam the world with video cameras in hand, capturing loose, magical moments. They collect these instances like they are little buttons, so that is what they call them. Red Bucket's first feature film, The Pleasure of Being Robbed was selected for the 2008 Cannes Directors Fortnight and will be playing September 19th at Rooftop Films.