The Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series

 
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3rd St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Directions: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union Ave.
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
11:00PM–12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi sangria
Tickets: $9-$25 at the door or online

Presented in partnership with: Cinereach, New York magazine, & XØ Projects

No refunds. In the event of rain, the show will be indoors at the same locations. Seating is first come, first served. Physical seats are limited. This means you may not get a chair. You are welcome to bring a blanket and picnic.

MAP | TRAILER

BROOKLYN NON-FICTION 
Without the other four boroughs, Brooklyn would be America’s fourth largest city. So many artists and filmmakers have gravitated toward the borough of Kings—including Rooftop itself—it could be argued that Brooklyn is New York’s cultural capital. And so for Rooftop Films 2009 Closing Weekend, we flash our local colors and parade our local pride.

The short films in this program show Brooklyn some love, and defend Brooklyn against unwanted developments. These films flex the power of Brooklyn’s diversity, and boast of Brooklyn’s bizarre and bold attitude. We disclose the turmoil and the harmony in competing and coalescing races and cultures, and we expose the passion and principles of opposing flocks of birds and opinionated inanimate objects. Because in this part of town, everyone’s got a point of view. And from up here on the roof, the whole city’s gonna see it.

THE FILMS:

Brooklyn Love (Chris King | Brooklyn, NY | 2:09) *
A bike ride across the bridge to Manhattan and back takes the form of a love letter to Brooklyn.

Life on Location (Christopher Tignor | Brooklyn, NY | 3:00) 

A whimsical look at how the economy isn't changing in the fantasy world of big budget New York filmmaking, but how it does change the lives of local residents. Winner of the Brian Lehrer Show's "Uncommon Economic Indicator Video Contest." 

The Lost Tribes of New York City (Carolyn & Andy London | New York, NY | 3:00)
Urban anthropologists Andy and Carolyn London interview some of New York City's more overlooked citizens in this charming and hilarious animated “documentary.”

Missed Connections on the L (Bambi Bogert | NY, NY | 3:25) *
Recreated from those real Craigslist letters to lost romantic opportunities in one of the world’s most fertile corridors for flirtation.
A work in progress screening.

Brooklyn Boondoggle (Meerkat Media Collective | Brooklyn, NY | 11:19) *
Exploring the highly controversial Atlantic Yards project, Brooklyn Boondoggle questions the trend of top-down urban development and asks, what if we were allowed to decide the future of our own neighborhoods?

Pants Problem (Casimir Nozkowski | Brooklyn, NY | 3:05)
“I recently made a video about a real-life problem I faced. This is all true. I am missing pants.”

Crime Scene Greenpoint (Christopher Arcella | Long Island City, NY | 3:30)
This seemingly otherworldly footage is in fact the New York Fire Department taming a ten-alarm fire that destroyed most of the Greenpoint Terminal Market located along the East River in Brooklyn.

Above Brooklyn (Heather Spilkin | Brooklyn, NY | 31:10)
Meet some of New York's few remaining pigeon breeders and explore a world that exists on Brooklyn's rooftops, where men obsessed with their birds have found a connection with nature and the sky above them, one that contrasts greatly with the bustling streets only a few flights below.

INTERMISSION

Intifada NYC (David Teague | Brooklyn, NY | 47:00)
The United States’ first Arabic language public school, Khalil Gibran International Academy, opened in Brooklyn to a firestorm of controversy. As critics and the mainstream media stoked flames in the climate of post-9/11 America, the fallout brought consequences for the school’s founding principal, Debbie Almontaser. Taking a dramatic and stylistic approach, Intifada NYC follows the school’s rocky first days, Almontaser’s resignation and First Amendment legal battle to get her job back, and the expansion of Stop the Madrassa’s campaign against alleged Islamist infiltration of the United States.

* Courtesy of The Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective.

Rooftop Films is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage and inspire the diverse communities of New York City by showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers and musicians. In addition to our Summer Series – which takes place in unique outdoor venues every weekend throughout the summer – Rooftop provides grants to filmmakers, teaches media literacy and filmmaking to young people, rents low-cost equipment to artists and non-profits, and produces new independent films. At Rooftop Films, we bring the underground outdoors. For more information and updates please visit our website at www.rooftopfilms.com.