Rooftop Films: Rooftop Shots (Event Over)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
ROOFTOP SHOTS
ROOFTOP FILMS SUMMER SERIES 2009 CLOSING WEEKEND - FUNDRAISING CELEBRATION!

The official Closing Weekend for Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series. The sharpest short films fired from the roof.

OPEN BAR AFTER PARTY FOLLOWING THE SCREENING FOR ALL IN ATTENDANCE

Venue: on the roof of the Open Road Rooftop
Address: 350 Grand Street @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music by Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers.
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM - 1:00AM: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St), courtesy of Radeberger beer
Tickets: $9-$50

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 | SOUND FIX

Help Keep Rooftop Films Alive in 2010 - Your Support is Critical to Rooftop Films

The Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series has been one of our most successful ever, yet with funder and sponsor cutbacks we are faced with a severe gap in our budget. As we celebrate the Closing Weekend of the 2009 Summer Series we ask for your help and hope that you will consider a financial contribution beyond the $9 general admission price. We have created a tiered ticketing system enabling you to give a little extra in the form of a donation. To read more about the programs your donation will support or do donate a larger amount, visit our website: http://rooftopfilms.com/donate.html

ROOFTOP SHOTS

In 2009, Rooftop showed 22 feature-length films and 150 short films, coming from 25 different countries. The movies in tonight’s show, like all of our programming, represent some of the most daring cinema in the world—films that are startlingly funny, surprisingly poignant, and wholly original. For our Closing Weekend, we have a program which references cinema itself, which celebrates the joys of the outdoors, and which mourns the passing of time. Comedy, animation, drama and experimental films that will linger in your mind so long we couldn’t call them “shorts.” Onward to 2010, we leave you with these final Rooftop Shots.

THE FILMS:

Celestial (Esther Johnson | United Kingdom | 15:25)
As we watch films in the open air one last weekend this year, this lovely experimental portrait explores the poetry of the sky, a space of fascination and contemplation. www.britfilms.com

Little Dinosaurs (Dana Dorian | Scotland | 1:12)
An adorable little Scottish boy discusses the best way for a group of small dinosaurs to stop a big dinosaur from picking on them.

The Naturalist (Michele Federico | Italy | 4:30)
The naturalist lives in a city. Whenever he can he can he jumps into his car and drives out into the country, to relax amid the fields and hills, to pay his flute, and perhaps...

Stand Up (Joseph Pierce | United Kingdom | 7:00)
Told through a single stand up comedy routine, John J. Jones performs to an unforgiving audience. As he loses their interest, his body rebels against him, and the truth behind the one-liners leaks through the cracks.

I Am So Proud Of You (Don Hertzfeldt | Goleta, CA | 22:00)
Partially financed by the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund, I Am So Proud of You is an existential re-exploration into the life of a stick figure named Bill as he contemplates life lessons, family sagas, mental illness, broken bloodlines, ball-bearing seals, and a couple of deadly trains. www.bitterfilms.com

INTERMISSION

Plot Point (Nicolas Provost | Chicago, IL | 15:14)
In Plot Point all the actions and characters are real people in real life, filmed with a hidden camera through the cinematic eye of the filmmaker and without any set ups or instructions. By playing with our collective filmic memory, its cinematic codes and narrative language, Plot Point questions the boundaries of reality and fiction.

Fleet Foxes: “White Winter Hymnal” (Sean Pecknold | Seattle, WA | 2:28)
White Winter Hymnal, released by Sub Pop, opens in the dark. A bearded man winds a wheel to turn back the effects of the winter, bringing in the sunshine and spring flowers. A gorgeous music video allegory about the passing of time, a perfect note on which to close the Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series.

Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton | Los Angeles | 20:00)

Winner of Jury Prize for Short Film at Sundance 2009

Brad William Henke (Choke, Sherry Baby, World Trade Center) is Denim, the supervisor for a residential facility housing 15 kids who are all affected by child abuse and neglect in unimaginable ways. Inside the gates of Short Term 12, fights and blow-ups happen daily and Denim knows how to respond. But as his personal life collides with work, he begins to realize that he is no better off than the kids he's trying to help.

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.