Rooftop Films announced the lineup for the first three weeks of Summer Series 2019, including an outdoor sneak-preview screening of David Modigliani’s behind-the-scenes HBO documentary, Running with Beto; a special free presentation of Melvin Van Peeble’s ground-breaking classic Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song in Fort Greene Park, with a live score performance by Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber; and a free short film program of audacious and Dangerous Documentaries, at MetroTech Commons.
Rooftop Films Summer Series 2019 will open Friday, May 17, 2019 with a program of amazing new short films in Green-Wood Cemetery.
Friday, May 17, 2019
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN BY SHORT FILMS: OPENING NIGHT 2019
Short film program
It’s been too long, so come and get your Fest on! Rooftop returns for our 23rd Summer Series with a program of amazing new short films featuring our favorite neighborhood celebrities, illegal Chinese Trap music, animated bungee dives and conga lines on the high seas. These daring and wildly entertaining works will transport you to heretofore unexplored realities and display the creative potential of the cinematic short form. Come experience the Magnitudinous Illuminous that is Rooftop Films’ opening night!
Films:
All Inclusive (Corina Schwingruber Ilić | Switzerland | 10)
It’s Been Too Long (Amber Schaefer, Krista Jensen & David Ebert | US | 8)
Fest (Nikita Diakur | Germany | 3)
The Magnitudinous Illuminous (Rachel Mills & Maya Tippett | US | 12)
Neurotica (Laura Moss & Nick Kocher | US | 20)
Orbit (Tess Martin | Netherlands | 7)
Trapped in the City of a Thousand Mountains (David Verbeek | China, The Netherlands | 22)
Saturday, May 25, 2019
RUNNING WITH BETO
Documentary feature
Director David Modigliani & producer Rebecca Feferman in attendance!
This behind-the-scenes HBO documentary follows Beto O’Rourke’s rise from virtual unknown to national political sensation as he barnstorms across Texas in a bold attempt to unseat Ted Cruz in the US Senate. Embedded with O’Rourke for the final twelve months of his campaign, Running with Beto follows the rising star’s journey in real time through intimate access with the candidate, his family, and a team of political newcomers who champion a new way of getting to know a candidate — one Texas county at a time. Modigliani reveals the challenges and triumphs of an unconventional campaign as Beto navigates an onslaught of negative advertising, inevitable strain on his family, and the pressure of delivering for legions of supporters. This film is creatively and financially independent from Beto O’Rourke and his campaign. Running with Beto will premiere on HBO on Tuesday, May 28th.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Rooftop Films and The Town Hall present
SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS REDUX REMIX & REQUIEM
Rooftop Films and The Town Hall present Melvin Van Peebles’ groundbreaking classic set to a live score performed by the Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber. Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song was a cinematic milestone; within weeks of its April 1971 release it became the most successful independent feature in American film history. Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber revisit Van Peebles’ compositions, performing a live score remix with actors and band members reading from the original script while a silent print of Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song is projected onto the big screen on Fort Greene Park’s Myrtle Avenue hill.
Friday, May 31, 2019
DANGEROUS DOCUMENTARIES
Short film program
For some of the protagonists in these short films, the world will end in drought; for others, in dried flowers. The films in this program hold a mirror to society, exposing moments of human perseverance in a world that seems on the brink of collapse. The filmmakers take us along as they squeeze through perilous caves, shoot the shit in prison tattoo parlors, and stitch together felted caskets. They craft complex and emotionally resonant stories from taboo subjects and transport us to worlds we couldn’t otherwise observe. These films are not just seen, but viscerally felt, and you might walk away with a lingering sensation—like a star-shaped scar impressed upon your forehead.
Films:
The Likes and Dislikes of Marj Bagley (Taylor Stanton & Bec Sloane | US | 14)
The Number (Manuela Gray & Brendan McGinty | South Africa, UK | 14)
The Pull (Paul Szynol | US | 16)
Scenes from a Dry City (Francois Verster & Simon Wood | US | 13)
Shadows (Noemi Sjöberg | Sweden | 3)
Star Shaped Scar (Virva Kunttu & Vuokko Kunttu | Finland | 12)
The Tough (Marcin Polar | Poland | 14)