Rooftop Films announces 2009 Summer Series: May-June Schedule

May 11, 2009 - PRLog -- Programming for the 2009 Summer Series includes feature-length films and programs of shorts, all new, all independent. Most of the feature films are either New York, US or World Premieres. Most screenings will include a filmmaker Q & A. Films represent a diverse range of documentaries, fiction, drama, comedy animation and more. We couple films with venues, and connect artists with audiences so that each event is unique and memorable.

Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series is presented in partnership with Cinereach and New York magazine. Select shows have after parties with complimentary drinks provided by Radeberger Pilsner and Carlo Rossi.

Tickets: $9 at the door or online at www.rooftopfilms.com
Rooftop Films is a non-profit organization which relies on the support of our audience. Please consider making an additional donation with the purchase of your General Admission ticket.

Unless otherwise noted, all screenings follow this schedule:
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film(s)
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party (select shows)

Unless otherwise noted, in the event of rain shows take place indoors at the same location, same time.


SCHEDULE:

Friday, May 15
This Is What We Mean By Short Films
Opening Night of Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series, our 13th year of Underground Movies Outdoors. A program of dramas, comedies, animations and documentaries that could only be shorts, in an array of tales about people, polar bears and pixel-based adventurers coming together for companionship.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be Sun 5/17 at the same location. Check www.rooftopfilms.com or call 718-417-7362 on the day of the event if the weather seems questionable.

Friday, May 22
Romantic Short Films: Endless Forgiveness
Peter Ustinov once said, “Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.” Love isn’t easy, and the films included in Romance Shorts: Endless Forgiveness display the many varied sacrifices we make to be with the people we love and lust after.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, May 23
Dangerous Docs
You can’t make this stuff up.
Venue: On the Roof of Brooklyn Technical High School
Address: 29 Fort Greene Place (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Friday, May 29
Dark ‘Toons: Optical Illusions
Animated short films that bring the still to life.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, May 30
Strongman
New York Sneak Preview in advance of Fall Release
(Zachary Levy | New York, NY | www.strongmanfilm.com | 113 min.)
A humorous but heart-wrenching verité documentary about Stanless Steel, the only man in the world who can bend a penny with his fingers, a working class strongman struggling to succeed and survive. Stanless will be in attendance to perform a stunning feat of strength.
Venue: On the Roof of Brooklyn Technical High School
Address: 29 Fort Greene Place (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Friday, June 5
Trapped Inside The Machine
A fun, frantic, fantastical program of films about losing your grip on reality, and reality losing its grip on the world.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, June 6
Stingray Sam
(Cory McAbee | Brooklyn, NY | www.stingraysam.com | 70 min.)
New York Premiere!
A dazzling six-episode musical-western comedy that takes place in outer space, written, directed by and starring Cory McAbee, the creator of The American Astronaut. The filmmakers will be in attendance.
Venue: On the Roof of Brooklyn Technical High School
Address: 29 Fort Greene Place (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

ROOFTOP PANORAMA, June 10-13:
Four screenings in four days highlighting the diversity of Rooftop Films work.

Wednesday, June 10
PANORAMA: Tales of Mere Existence
Funny films about anxiety, awkwardness and existential emotions, featuring the animations of internet sensation Lev. Plus a live reading from Lev's new book.
Venue: On the Roof of Brooklyn Technical High School
Address: 29 Fort Greene Place (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Thursday, June 11
PANORAMA: Rooftop Films & The Fledgling Fund present . . .  
A sneak preview of a New York documentary. Details announced soon.
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
Address: 50 Bedford Ave. @ North 13th St. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Friday, June 12
PANORAMA: New York Non-Fiction
Short films that explore New York’s diverse landscape and culture from the perspective of our workers, hustlers, lovers and royalty. It’s your city. Take a look.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be Sun 6/14 at the same location. Check www.rooftopfilms.com or call 718-417-7362 on the day of the event if the weather seems questionable.

Saturday, June 13
PANORAMA: Persona Non Grata
US Premiere!
(Fabio Wuytack | Belgium & Venezuela | 90 min.)
Prosecuted as a rebel. Banned as a priest. Committed as an artist. Loved as a father. An inspiring and important documentary co-funded by Rooftop Films.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Friday, June 19
Winnebago Man
New York Sneak Preview!
(Ben Steinbauer | Austin, TX | www.winnebagoman.com | 84 min.)
Ben Steinbauer hires a private detective, who scours a long list of address changes and misdirections, and successfully tracks down this icon of foul-mouthed freakouts. The results will startle you. Turns out, he’s living peacefully alone in the woods, more J.D. Salinger than Ted Kaczynski.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, June 20
New Muslim Cool
(Jennifer Maytorena Taylor | Pittsburgh/San Francisco | 82 min.)
A Puerto Rican Muslim rapper fights oppression in Pittsburgh.
Venue: On the roof of El Museo Del Barrio
Address: 1230 Fifth Ave. @ 104th St. (East Harlem)

Thursday, June 25
Rooftop Films, BAM Cinemafest and Arthouse Films present
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
(Sarah and Emily Kunstler | Brooklyn, NY | 85 min.)
He might have been the most hated and most beloved lawyer in the world, but did anyone really know William Kunstler?
Venue: Outdoors across from BAM Cinematek
Address: Parking lot across from BAM @ Fulton and Ashland (Ft. Greene, Brooklyn)

Friday, June 26
Rooftop Films and Magnolia Pictures present
Humpday
(Lynn Shelton | Seattle, WA | 94 min.)
Male bonding goes a little bit too far in this bromantic comedy.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
Address: 350 Grand St. @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Saturday, June 27
Voices from El-Sayed
(Oded Adomi Leshem | Israel | 75 min.)
New York Premiere!
In this smart and amusing documentary, the world’s largest community of deaf people is suddenly given a gift that threatens to disrupt local heritage.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Rooftop Films’ July - September schedule will be announced in June. For more information visit, www.rooftopfilms.com

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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.