Rooftop Films: This is What We Mean by Short Films (Event Over)

Fri., June 6, 2008

This is What we Mean by Short Films  - ADVANCE TICKETS SOLD OUT! SOME TIX AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.
Opening Night!
“Adventures are as common as rooftops.” We kick off our 12th year of “Underground Movies Outdoors” with short films that don’t take long to astonish, amaze and inspire.

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 by Dirty on Purpose ( www.myspace.com/dirtyonpurpose )
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM - 1:00AM: After Party: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St @ Grand) Courtesy of Radeberger beer
Tickets: $9 - THERE WILL BE  A SMALL NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. ON SITE TICKETS GO ON SALE AT 8:00

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

These are the movies that define the short film as a genre—quickly clever but profoundly rich, packed with hard-hitting humor and long-lasting poignancy. All the films in this program are about that core human value (prized also by animals and packing supplies) of friendship. Whether your best friend is a monkey or your father is a middle class mystic, if your practical joke gets your girlfriend crushed or your best friend popped like bubblewrap, this program of short films is all about sticking together, staying loyal, and finding the magic of cinema with your friends, one quick glimpse at a time.

THE FILMS
It’s My Turn (Ismet Ergun | Turkey | 11:00)
Just because you can’t afford to go to the theater (or don’t understand the language), doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the magic of movies.

I Get Wet (Benh Zeitlin, Kabir Green & Students at Grace Church School | Brooklyn, NY | 7:00)
An adorable short film, co-written by the amazing kids at Grace Church School and the award-winning director of “Glory at Sea” (see it on 6/12/08 at Rooftop!), about a little boy, his first best friend Super Dog, and the strains placed on their friendship because he didn’t want to be stuffed into a trash can every day for the rest of his life.

Baby Cakes: Group Therapy (Brad Neely | Austin, TX | 2:40)
Baby Cakes is the brainchild of Austin comic artist Brad Neely ("Washington," Rooftop 7/4/07). He (Baby Cakes, not Brad), is a 30-year-old man-child who lives with his dad and imagines role playing games with the booby bunny. You’ll be seeing a lot of the Baby of Cakes this summer at Rooftop, so remember that “I don’t care what you are selling, just don’t absent-heartedly give up on me because I am yelling.”

Pour de Vrai (Blandine Lenoir | France | 12:00)
In this stunning, single-shot film, a woman, upset at the idea of losing her child, wanders around her home, paralyzed by her inability to save her daughter who's in a coma. There is something amiss in all this despair, as this subtle film peels back layer after layer of drama, emotion, and reality.

Spider (Nash Edgerton | Sydney, Australia | 9:00)
It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Australian stuntman Edgerton tries to make up with his girlfriend.

Fantaisie in Bubblewrap (Arthur Metcalf | Brooklyn, NY | 4:21)
Think you’ve got existential anxiety? Imagine the life of these bubblewraps. Even they think it’s cool to pop.

A Medium at Large (Luke Sewell | Chatham, England | 23:00)
Roy bills himself as an International Natural Medium. He earns a living visiting the houses of women in the poor English town of Chatham, and delving deep into their vulnerable side. His clients are quick to take him at his word, but his teenage son has serious doubts.

Chonto (Carson Mell | Los Angeles, CA | 15:00)
Wilted rock idol Bobby Bird (Rooftop 6/29/07) literally tries to buy a friend when he adopts a monkey from a zoo in South America. A touching and darkly humane film about good friends, bad drugs, and standing by your monkey.

Berlin (Jessica Duffin Wolfe | Toronto, Canada | 4:00) She craves adventure. He wants to settle down. In order to win her over, he tries to do something spontaneous. But she knows that “Adventures are as common as rooftops.”