The 2013 Rooftop Films Summer Series held across New York City begins on May 10th with a collection of new short films including Gold Party by Nellie Kluz, a recipient of a grant from the Rooftop Filmmakers Fund; Slomo by Josh Izenberg, winner of the jury award for best short documentary at the 2013 SXSW film festival; and Weighting, directed Brie Larson and Dustin Bowser. The Summer Series will wrap August 15-17 with three screenings, including a special sneak preview of David Lowery’s, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
Below is the full schedule for the 2013 Summer Series.
2013 Summer Series Schedule
Friday, May 10
This is What We Mean by Short Films (Short Films)
Opening Night of Rooftop Films 17th Annual Summer Series will feature grand stories in little packages, with some of the greatest new short films from all around the world. Shorts will be announced soon.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, May 11
Frances Ha (Dir. Noah Baumbach)
Frances wants so much more than she has, but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. “Frances Ha” is a modern comic fable in which Noah Baumbach explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption. Courtesy of IFC Films.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Friday, May 17
Brothers Hypnotic (Dir. Reuben Atlas) NY Premiere
Free Screening
For the eight members of the electrifying Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, brotherhood is more than an idea, it’s a literal fact, and music is more than something they play. It’s a way of life. Filmmaker Reuben Atlas will be in attendance to introduce the film and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble will perform live following the screening.
Venue: Outdoors at MetroTech Commons, Bridge Street & Johnson Street, Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, May 18
New York Mayhem (Short Films)
In NYC, you’re always on the edge of adventure. Rooftop heads to the wilds of Industry City (just two subway stops from Manhattan) for local filmmakers’ danger and chaos, dark humor and gritty beauty.
Venue: The rooftops of Industry City, 220 36th Street at 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park
Friday, May 24
Love Hurts (Short Films)
Romantic short films that express the beauty and anguish of love, with animation, drama and dark sexy comedy.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, May 25
The Kings of Summer (Dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts)
New York Special Screening
“The Kings of Summer” is a unique coming-of-age comedy about three teenage friends – Joe, Patrick and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio – who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Courtesy of CBS Films
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Friday, May 31
Trapped (Short Films)
Short films about people, babies and bunnies trapped in unusual situations, with dark dramas, weird comedies and even more surreal documentaries set to confound and astonish.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, June 1
The Dirties (Dir. Matt Johnson) NY Premiere
Matt and Owen are best friends, who are constantly bullied by a group they call The Dirties. When an assignment goes awry, the friends hatch a plan to enact revenge on their high school tormentors.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Friday, June 7
That Impending Sense (Short Films)
World-renowned pianist Bruce Levingston performs the Philip Glass’ “Dracula Suite” to presage a night of eerie and mysterious short films.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, June 8
Twenty Feet From Stardom (Dir. Morgan Neville)
Special Free Sneak Preview
Presented in partnership with the Academy’s Oscars Outdoors series
Meet the unsung heroes behind the greatest music of our time. Special performance by film’s subject Darlene Love. Courtesy of RADiUS-TWC.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Wednesday, June 12
Interface Innovation (Short Films)
Free Screening
A collection of new short films featuring datamoshed moments and postmodem lifestyles, accompanied by new interactive works from the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center and the CITE Game Innovation Lab, both at NYU-Poly
Venue: Outdoors at MetroTech Commons, Bridge Street & Johnson Street, Downtown Brooklyn
Friday, June 14
New York Non-Fiction (Short Films)
Whether you walk into “the city,” or stay in the outer boroughs (or further, in obscure and dangerous places), New York can be an overwhelming place, packed with people hurrying, hustling, huckstering. For some, it may seem apocalyptic (and on one day last October, if not in May, it was apocalyptic). Though the city may be losing some of its local color, there are still hidden corners where rugged urbanity prevails. But one great thing about New York is that no matter how tough its exterior, the core of our denizens know that our real strength is in community, support, and events like these where we can all come together.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, June 15
Absurd Animation (Short Films)
Outlandish animated creatures in outrageous situations.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Tuesday, June 18
The Central Park Five (Dir. Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, Dave McMahon)
Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, “The Central Park Five” tells the story of how five lives were upended by the rush to judgment by police, a sensationalist media and a devastating miscarriage of justice. Courtesy of Florentine Films.
Venue: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 2nd Ave & E 47th St, Manhattan
Thursday, June 20
Love Letter to the Fog / The Biggest-Smallest (Live Documentary Performance by Sam Green)
Free Screening
Rooftop and River to River present Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sam Green, teaming up with two local musical outfits, the Quavers and yMusic, to create a night of outdoor music and live cinema.
Venue: Pier 15, John Street and the East River, Financial District
Saturday, June 22<
Tiger Tail in Blue (Dir. Frank V. Ross)
“Tiger Tail in Blue” is about a young married couple, Christopher & Melody, that work opposite schedules to remain financially afloat as Chris bangs out his first novel while working nights as a waiter. Never seeing each other is taking its toll, as the two rarely get a chance to engage one another. Chris finds the attention he craves in the past and Brandy, a saucy co-worker.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Tuesday, June 25
The Genius of Marian (Dir. Banker White, Anna Fitch)
Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
An intimate family portrait that explores the tragedy of Alzheimer’s disease, the power of art and the meaning of family. “The Genius of Marian” follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease as her son, the filmmaker, documents her struggle to hang on to a sense of self.
Venue: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 2nd Ave & E 47th St, Manhattan
Thursday, June 27
Drinking Buddies (Dir. Joe Swanberg) NY Premiere
Presented in partnership with BAMcinemaFest
Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They’re perfect for each other, except that they’re both in relationships. But you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer. Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Venue: Outdoor parking lot at BAMcinématek (Fort Greene), Fulton Street and Ashland Place, Brooklyn
Friday, June 28
Crystal Fairy (Dir. Sebastián Silva) Special Sneak Preview
Presented by Rooftop Films and Indiewire
A hilariously unpredictable comedy about a self-involved young American searching for a secret hallucinogenic cactus in the desert of Chile. Courtesy of IFC Films.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Saturday, June 29
Unexplored America (Shorts Films)
Leading into the 4th of July, Rooftop takes an honest look at authentic Americana, in all its absurd glory.
Venue: Open Road Rooftop, 350 Grand Street, Lower East Side
Tuesday, July 2
WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL (Dir. Ben Nabors)
Free screening presented with the Ford Foundation and Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
William Kamkwamba, a young Malawian, builds a power-generating windmill from junk parts to rescue his family from famine, transforming his life and catapulting him on to the world stage. His fame and success lead him to new opportunities and complex choices about his future, distancing him from the life he once knew.
Venue: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 2nd Ave & E 47th St, Manhattan
Wednesday, July 3
Our Nixon (Dir. Penny Lane)
Free Sneak Preview
Presented with Socrates Sculpture Park.
Throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, three of his top White House aides obsessively documented their experiences with Super 8 home movie cameras. Young, idealistic and dedicated, they had no idea that a few years later they’d all be in prison. “Our Nixon” is an all-archival documentary presenting those home movies for the first time, along with other rare footage, creating an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency as never seen before. Courtesy of Cinedigm.
Venue: The lawn in Socrates Sculpture Park, 3134 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City
Saturday, July 6
Belleville Baby (Dir. Mia Engberg) NY Premiere
A long distance call from a long lost lover makes her reminisce about their common past. She remembers the spring when they met in Paris, the riots, the vespa and the cat named Baby. A film about love, time and things that got lost along the way.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Monday, July 8
Bending Steel (Dir. David Carroll, produced by Ryan Scafuro)
Free Screening
A remarkable and intimate documentary exploring the lost art of the old time strongman, and one man’s struggle to overcome limitations of body and mind. Featuring a live performance by professional strongmen from the movie prior to the film.
Venue: The Beach in Coney Island, W 12th and the beach, right near Luna Park
Friday, July 12
Sundance Shorts (Short Films)
Highlights from the vital Sundance 2013 selections include wild, weird and wonderful short films that define the genre, at the forefront of cutting edge storytelling.
Venue: The rooftops of Industry City, 220 36th Street at 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park
Saturday, July 13
Brasslands (Dir. Meerkat Media Collective) NY Premiere
Free Screening
Presented by Rooftop Films and Arts Brookfield
Devoted American musicians, Serbian brass heavyweights, and a Gypsy trumpet master collide at the world’s largest trumpet festival.
Venue: Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center), 220 Vesey Street (between West Street and the Hudson River), Financial District
Thursday, July 18
Newlyweeds (Dir. Shaka King)
Special Sneak Preview
Brooklyn residents Lyle and Nina blaze away the stress of living in New York City, but what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry. Courtesy of Phase 4 Films.
Venue: The roof of Trilok Fusion Center for the Arts, 143 Waverly Avenue at Myrtle Avenue, Clinton Hill
Friday, July 19
i hate myself 🙂 (Dir. Joanna Arnow) World Premiere
Nebbishy NYC filmmaker Joanna Arnow documents her yearlong relationship with racially charged poet-provocateur James Kepple. What starts out as an uncomfortably intimate portrait of a dysfunctional relationship and protracted mid-twenties adolescence, quickly turns into a complex commentary on societal repression, sexuality and self-confrontation through art.
Venue: On the roof of Industry City (882 3rd Ave, Brooklyn)
Saturday, July 20
Short Term 12 (Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton)
Special Free Sneak Preview
Presented in partnership with the Academy’s Oscars Outdoors series
“Short Term 12” follows Grace (Brie Larson), a young supervisor at a foster-care facility, as she looks after the teens in her charge and reckons with her own troubled past. Courtesy of Cinedigm.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Thursday, July 25
Towheads (Dir. Shannon Plumb)
Special Sneak Preview
A harried New York mother struggling as an artist searches for a happy (if slightly unhinged) hybrid of the two. In her debut feature, Shannon Plumb’s charming Chaplin-like characters light up the screen with visual playfulness.
Venue: The roof of Trilok Fusion Center for the Arts, 143 Waverly Avenue at Myrtle Avenue, Clinton Hill
Friday, July 26
Animation Block Party
Some call it punk rock, some call it grass roots, but labels aside, NYC-based Animation Block Party is the premier animation festival of the East Coast.
Venue: The lawn of Greenpoint High School for Engineering and Automotive Technology, 50 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg
Saturday, July 27
INDUSTRIANCE ™: Black Out (Short Films)
Hanging on to old habits, hoping for new means, humanity begets change through technology and industry, labor and artistry. A striking program of short films, including Eva Weber’s illuminating documentary “Black Out.”
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Wednesday, July 31
Domestic (Dir. Adrian Sitaru) NY Premiere
Free Screening
Presented with Socrates Sculpture Park.
Wonderfully surreal, painfully real, this is the story of children, adults and animals who live together trying to have a better life, but sometimes death comes unexpectedly. In the bittersweet comedy “Domestic” it is all about us, people who eat the animals that they love and the animals that love people unconditionally.
Venue: The lawn in Socrates Sculpture Park, 3134 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City
<Thursday, August 1
The Expedition to the End of the World (Dir. Daniel Dencik) NY Premiere
A real adventure film – for the 21st century. On a three-mast schooner packed with artists, scientists and ambitions worthy of Noah or Columbus, they set off for the end of the world: the rapidly melting massifs of North-East Greenland.
Venue: The Waterfront Museum aboard the 914 Lehigh Valley Barge #79, In the water at 290 Conover Street, Red Hook
Friday, August 2
North of South, West of East (Dir. Meredith Danluck) NY Premiere
Free screening presented with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Forest City Ratner
The desire to be entertained becomes hyper-realized as Meredith Danluck’s multi-screen installation creates a fully immersive non-linear cinema experience in MetroTech commons. The audience will sit at the center of the viewing space, surrounded on all four sides by screens as all the separate channels of the film play simultaneously, each storyline competing for the audience’s attention. A one-of-a-kind cinema-going experience, North of South, West of East takes the chronic existential crisis that is the American identity and turns it inside out, laying the classic components of comedy, thrill, violence, love and death neatly side by side, all at once.
Venue: Outdoors at MetroTech Commons, Bridge Street & Johnson Street, Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, August 3
Cutie and the Boxer (Dir. Zachary Heinzerling)
Special Sneak Preview
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own. Courtesy of RADiUS-TWC.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Thursday, August 8
12 O’Clock Boys (Dir. Lotfy Nathan) NY Premiere
Part of Rooftop’s SXSW weekend
Pug, a young boy growing up on a combative West Baltimore block, finds solace in a group of illegal dirt bike riders known as The 12 O’Clock Boys. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Venue: The lawn of Greenpoint High School for Engineering and Automotive Technology, 50 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg
Friday, August 9
Awful Nice (Dir. Todd Sklar) NY Premiere
Part of Rooftop’s SXSW weekend
Estranged brothers Jim and Dave must travel to Branson together when their father dies and leaves them the family lake home. A series of hilarious mishaps and costly misadventures follow as they attempt to restore the house and rebuild their relationship.
Venue: The rooftops of Industry City, 220 36th Street at 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park
<Saturday, August 10
Elena (Dir. Petra Costa) NY Premiere
Part of Rooftop’s SXSW weekend
Intimate in style, “Elena” delves into the abyss of one family’s drama, revealing at once the inspiration that can be born from tragedy.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Thursday, August 15
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (Dir. David Lowery)
Special Sneak Preview
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” tells the tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Courtesy of IFC Films.
Venue: Outdoors at the Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Queens
Friday, August 16
F— for Forest (Dir. Michal Marczak) NY Premiere
Berlin’s F— for Forest is one of the world’s most bizarre charities: based on the idea that sex can change the world, the NGO raises money for their environmental cause by selling home-made erotic films on the Internet.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
Saturday, August 17
Rooftop Shots (Short Films)
Closing Night! Rooftop concludes with the sharpest shorts in the world, fired into the night sky one last time, the films fading like fireworks.
Venue: The roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street, Gowanus/Park Slope
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