Rooftop Films: New York City's Outdoor Summer Festival Brings Independent Movies To Light

Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

Follow @ComplexPopCult

Film festivals tend to feel like cattle calls, except that, in the worlds of movie coverage and insatiable cinephile fandom, the impending slaughter is replaced by the unknown quality of the spotlighted movies. Anyone who’s ever endured half-baked, overly pretentious indie flicks centered upon failed marriages or existential balderdash knows just how excruciating the experience can be, especially since the congestion leading into the theater consisted of long lines full of exhausted and possibly irritable folks in similar proverbial shoes. But, still, the excitement of consuming a plethora of never-seen-before movies in the span of a few days is too enticing to pass over—thus, cinema buffs have no choice but to submit to the irritations.

Unless they’re participating in New York City’s unique, summer-long Rooftop Films series, that is. Unconventional in the best possible ways, the borough-spanning lineup of outdoor events, kicks off its 15th year of independent movies tonight in the Lower East Side, on the Open Road Rooftop (located at 350 Grand Street). On the bill tonight is This is What We Mean by Short Films, a collection of ten shorts all clocking in at less than ten minutes a pop, including a timely battle cry against the 1% (Mark Read's #Occupy Bat Signal for the 99%); A Brief History of John Baldessari, a mini-doc from Henry Joost, one-half of the duo behind Catfish and Paranormal Activity 3; and 9:21:25, about a wealthy South African man's journey into outer space.

As Rooftop virgins will discover in the LES this evening, the programmers seemingly have an answer for every one of a festival regular’s complaints. It’s too stuffy inside the overcrowded screening locales stuffed with journalists, ticket-buyers, and VIP industry folks? No worries, the Rooftop approach allows for fresh air to fill one’s lungs as a film plays on a large screen surrounded by graffiti artwork and the New York skyline. It’s impossible to dwell on a movie’s intricacies, mysteries, and/or contextual themes if you immediately have to get in line for another film minutes after the credits roll? Don’t fret—limited to one feature per weekend, Rooftop encourages the digestion of the respective weekend’s picture, allowing for a full seven days before it’s onto the next one.

Beginning tonight and running through the end of August, the non-profit organization offers an impressive slate of 40 programs, all presented with the sole purpose of promoting innovative, “underground” indie films to Big Apples residents and visitors who’d potentially otherwise overlook them.

Thus, it makes perfect sense that the festival began as a way for an inconspicuous New Yorker to showcase his own work and his friends’ projects. Back in July of 1997, recent Vassar College graduate, and native of Manhattan, Mark Elijah Rosenberg decided to rig a 16MM projector, a massive white sheet, and dingy sound equipment atop the roof of his 14th Street apartment building for a renegade night of movies. Scheduled for a Friday, freak weather conditions led to a pushback of one day, allowing for more time to spread the word and resulting in a triumphant event that drew in hundreds of spectators.

We want to make each screening feel like a real event. You really challenge an audience to see something that, maybe in another setting, they would find uninteresting. - Mark Rosenberg, Founder/Artistic Director

Rosenberg was instantly invigorated; a year later, after his landlord forbid another rooftop endeavor, he teamed up with an old Vassar friend, Queens native Dan Nuxoll, to figure out a way to repeat the success. Along with some buddies from his days at Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School, Nuxoll had, not long before Rosenberg approached him about the rooftop idea, converted the top floor of the Bushwick, Brooklyn-located McKibbin Street Lofts into the headquarters for a business, Peter’s Car Corp.; with the McKibbin landlord’s permission, he and Rosenberg held the cinema night’s 1998 edition in Bushwick, which lasted up to five years, to the point when the McKibbin landlord withdrew his permission and forced Rooftop's organizers to come up with a new plan.

Out of necessity, the team developed relationships with venue owners throughout New York City, specifically in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. “That changed the way we thought about the organization,” says Nuxoll, Rooftop’s Program Director. “Instead of it being a single location that people came to, we started thinking of ourselves as a festival that moved around and brought unique films to communities. There was something nice about this idea that the films themselves should really reflect the community and the neighborhood in which we’re showing them, and that helped to shape our programming, and, in turn, shape our overall mission for the organization.”

A mission statement envisioned with levelheadedness and a firm grasp on reality. “I see a lot of film festivals that come out in their first year and they want to have top sponsors and reviews in The New York Times, and they forget to just figure out how to put on a fun event,” says Rosenberg, who, in addition to founding Rooftop Films, acts as Artistic Director. “At first, we didn’t really worry about trying to get attention from media or sponsors or anything—we just wanted to put on a good show and find good films and filmmakers to work with. I think that model of keeping it low-key really helped us grow the organization in a way that’s been sustainable.”

This year, the locations range from the Lower East Side’s Open Road Rooftop (on Grand Street) to Long Island City’s Socrates Sculpture Park (on Vernon Boulevard) and Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park. “We’re always looking for ways to creatively go beyond the normal film-watching experience, whether they’re used to watching films in a movie theater or at home on their phone or computer,” adds Rosenberg. “We want to make each screening feel like a real event. You really challenge an audience to see something that, maybe in another setting, they would find uninteresting, or they wouldn’t give it the time when watching it home alone online. That way, I think, we can show more innovative and daring films.”

Now 15 years strong, Rooftop Films has evolved into one of the country’s most respected programs for lo-fi cinema. Though it may not have the nationwide recognition of, say, Sundance or SXSW, Rooftop annually shows many of the same films as those larger fests; most importantly, though, it does so with a much more personal experience for both the filmmakers and audience members. Rosenberg, Nuxoll, and the rest of Rooftop’s team—which includes four other year-round staffers and upward of 15-20 summertime additions—attend every screening, kick it with the filmmakers and viewers in even-ground settings, and collectively create an interactive experience.

“When a filmmaker screens a film at another festival, they might see the festival director for 15 seconds as he runs around from screening to screening,” says Nuxoll. “But with Rooftop, when filmmakers come in from out of town, they get to spend time with us, and they get to meet everybody. They get to know the staff, and, similarly, the staff really gets to know the filmmakers and develop personal connections to each film. That goes a long way and makes up for some really long days of work.”

By showing movies outdoors and offering a full-on experience, we're drawing people in; as a result, that’s exposing them to these independent movies that really deserve the attention. - Dan Nuxoll, Program Director

The benefits for the moviemakers extend beyond mere pleasantries and good times, though. Every year, the organizers award a Rooftop Filmmakers Fundto one lucky veteran, selected after reading through pitches from directors—all 2,000-plus eligible shotcallers who’ve shown films at Rooftop over the last 15 years—about their desired next projects that are in need of financial assistance. Taking $1 from each ticket purchased throughout the entire summer’s worth of screenings and events, a panel of staff and board members then choose the recipient. “That’s something that, from the filmmakers’ perspective, really makes them feel like they’re part of a community,” says Rosenberg. “Rather than just awarding their past work, we’re also helping them move forward in their careers and make their next film.” According to the organization’s official website, in 2010 and 2011 combined, the Rooftop Filmmakers Fund doled out over $12,000 in cash and $25,000 in services and equipment grants.

The residual effects of the Rooftop Filmmakers Fund aren’t limited to just the victorious creative minds. “For the audience, it’s something that makes them feel really special to know that they’re helping these people continue their careers,” adds Rosenberg. “Every time a film plays from a filmmaker who won the grant from our fund, the audience is always really excited to know that their dollar went to help get the film made.”

Several of the ensuing success stories have been as prestigious as they’ve been fruitful. In fact, winners of the fund from recent years have gone on to make legitimately award-worthy fare. For example, at the Academy Awards this past February, Rooftop vet Lucy Walker’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, a byproduct of the Filmmakers Fund, was nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject). It’s on the Rooftop schedule for Saturday, July 28th, and set to show on the roof of Brooklyn’s Old American Can Factory.

And then there’s s first-time feature director Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, another Filmmakers Fund beneficiary, took home the top jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Beasts of the Southern Wild, having quickly been picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight following Sundance, is set for a limited theatrical release starting on June 27th; in the minds of many in-the-know film critics and talking heads, Zeitlin’s universally praised debut is primed to be the summer’s biggest independent breakout, as well as a potential end-of-the-year awards season player.

Will any of Rooftop’s 2012 filmmakers go on to similarly grandiose achievements? There’s certainly tons of promise within the lot. This year’s roster of new, independent films includes several key highlights. Fresh off of an Audience Award conquest at March’s SXSW Film Festival, actor-turned-director Matthew Lillard’s profound teen comedy Fat Kid Rules the World is certainly one to watch, as is Amy Seimetz’s pitch-dark drama Sun Don’t Shine, another SXSW alum about a couple embarking on a road trip with a body in their trunk. Nuxoll, for his part, is especially enthusiastic about the documentaries in tow, namely the boxing-themed China Heavyweight, from director Yung Chang, and Emmanuel Gras’ Bovines, which, yes, is simply about cows in their natural habitat.

Nuxoll feels that Bovines should be a top priority for those gearing up for Rooftop. “It’s really just getting a feel for the internal life of a cow, and I think that’s a film that is a really magnificent achievement in filmmaking, but it hasn’t played hardly anywhere in the U.S. at all,” he says. “We’re really excited about sharing that one with audiences. It’s really about how cows experience the world, rather than showing what’s done to them in some way. It gives you a sense of what it might be like to be a cow, or at least as much as could possibly be communicated via the medium of film.”

An intimate movie about cows screening in Brooklyn (above the Old American Can Factory, on 3rd Street, on Thursday, May 31st)? Not exactly what we meant earlier with that whole “cattle call” parallel. But that’s a prime exemplar of what makes the Rooftop Films series so one-of-a-kind.

“Imagine how many people in Brooklyn would be excited to see a mostly dialogue-free film about cows if it were playing at the local movie theater?” reasons Nuxoll. “What Rooftop does, and what I think is most important for setting us apart from the other film festivals and organizations out there, is that we try to make the experience of watching a movie so fresh that people are excited to see any kind of movie. By showing movies outdoors and offering a full-on experience, we're drawing people in; as a result, that’s exposing them to these independent movies that really deserve the attention.”

Rosenberg, for his part, gets more to-the-point: “The idea is always just to continue to show great films outdoors, because we think it’s a unique way to get people to experience cinema in ways that are fun and exciting.”

For more information: Rooftop Films

Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

Follow @ComplexPopCult

Director:Bryan Wizemann
Screening date: Saturday, May 12, Open Road Rooftop (Lower East Side), 350 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

When it comes to film festivals, there’s no stamp of approval greater than a coveted opening night premiere slot, except, perhaps, a closing night one. Nevertheless, the honor of kicking off a credible movie fest lineup is one to acknowledge, so director Bryan Wizemann’s Think of Me deserves widespread attention just for filling in that day-one slot. And then there’s all of the positive buzz surrounding star Lauren Ambrose, the gifted actress from HBO’s Six Feet Under who’s unfairly never been given a leading woman chance before now.

Here, Ambrose, who was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit award for her performance, plays an overwhelmed single mother, living in Las Vegas, whose desperation to provide for her young daughter leads to wrong decisions, endangered lives, and rude awakenings. If the advanced rumblings prove to be accurate, the best performance in all of Rooftop’s 2012 offerings just might be seen in its first night.

Director: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Screening date: Saturday, August 11, on the roof of the Old American Can Factory (Park Slope/Gowanus), 232 3rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11215

Ask your boy Marshall Mathers—he’ll tell you. Over the last several years, the once-thriving city of Detroit, Michigan, has visibly deteriorated, a byproduct of the automotive industry, so crucial to Detroit’s financial prosperities (thanks to the city’s housing of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler plants), tanking during our nation’s economic collapse.

Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (whose last cinematic duet, Jesus Camp, was similarly impactful) point their camera toward proud, unwavering Detroit citizens who refuse to leave their down-falling home in Detropia; without any disruptive agendas, Ewing and Grady simply follow their beleaguered, and often angry, subjects around and let the images (such as pissed-off residents tearing down a ramshackle house to sell its pieces for desperation cash) create an alarming awareness.

Director:Matthew Lillard
Screening date: Friday, June 8, Open Road Rooftop (Lower East Side), 350 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

Of all the random character actors in Hollywood, we bet you weren’t expecting Matthew Lillard to ever step behind a camera and direct an award-winning film. We sure as hell weren’t before visiting Austin, Texas, in March for the 2012 SXSW Film Festival; there, word spread across the city that Lillard’s debut feature, Fat Kid Rules the World is excellent, a feeling cemented once the movie nabbed the fest’s Audience Award.

That’s right, the dude who played Shaggy in those live-action Scooby Dooflicks may very well be the next Ben Affleck. Fat Kid Rules the World, based on a novel written by K.L. Going, centers on an obese teenager who’s plan to jump in front of a bus and end it all gets thwarted by one of his peers, sparking an unlikely friendship between the titular fat kid and his drug-addicted savior. First Lillard held his own alongside George Clooney in last year’s The Descendants, and now he’s an acclaimed filmmaker? Give the man a hand, folks.

Director: Katie Dellamaggiore
Screening date: Saturday July 21, on the roof of the Old American Can Factory (Park Slope/Gowanus), 232 3rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11215

Here's one we caught out at SXSW, and it comes highly recommended. Though Brooklyn Castle touches on some no-joke issues, Dellamaggiore’s touching look at the NYC borough’s I.S. 318 junior high school chess team glides through its consistently entertaining 100 minutes with the buoyancy of 12-year-old kids just trying to have fun and enjoy life. Matters such as budget cuts and educational deficiencies are there, and given their proper stand-up-against-the-man attention, but Brooklyn Castle isn’t all about woes—it’s a celebration of how afterschool programs benefit today’s youth.

The heartwarming doc follows a group of I.S. 318 chess champions, showing how the love of kings and rooks bonds them, inspires helpfulness, and makes them both better students and sources of pride for their hard-working parents.

There’s a sense of uncontrollable joy that comes from seeing teenage Rochelle, one of the film’s central youngsters, winning a full ride to a major university, or Pobo, a lovable extrovert with a heart of gold, consoling a defeated teammate. The kids, like Brooklyn Castle as a whole, are natural crowd-pleasers.

Director: Terence Nance
Screening date: Thursday, June 21, Dekalb Market (Downtown Brooklyn), 138 Willoughby St. at Flatbush Ave. (Ft. Greene/Downtown Brooklyn)

A hit during January’s Sundance Film Festival, emerging writer/director Terence Nance’s bizarre-sounding yet entirely intriguing An Oversimplification of Her Beauty sounds like a much-needed antidote of innovation for those of us who cringe at the sight of a new Hollywood-ized romantic comedy.

Originally conceived a short film, Nance’s experimental character study interweaves fictional portions with documentary footage that fills in the blanks, with freaky animation and VHS-quality presentation framing Nance’s diary-like narrative structure as a real scrambler of brains. Plus, if you catch An Oversimplification of Her Beauty at its June 21st Rooftop screening, you’ll hear the sounds of Nance’s own band, all while seeing firsthand the works of a modern-day renaissance dude.

Director: Nina Conti
Screening date: Wednesday, July 25, on the grass along the water at Socrates Sculpture Park (LIC, Queens), 3205 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106

We know what film buffs are bound to think: Didn’t we see this movie already, when it was called The Beaver and starred Mel “batshit” Gibson? On the contrary, though—Her Master’s Voice, a revealing and honest documentary about ventriloquist Nina Conti (who also directed the film), isn’t a matter of shattered psychosis, even though, yes, Conti spends most of the doc conversing with her favorite puppet, Monkey.

And their exchanges occasionally make Conti shed tears, as Monkey gets her to open up about anxieties and memories of her puppet master dad. Fortunately, Conti also realizes that the audience sees a bunch of toy animals and human-looking dummies surrounding her candid and heartfelt musings, resulting in a unique documentary that balances laughs with genuine emotions.

Director: Amy Seimetz
Screening date: Saturday, June 9, Open Road Rooftop (Lower East Side), 350 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

Everybody’s got baggage. Some folks just have the kind that can get you the death penalty in Florida. In the unconventional road trip movie Sun Don’t Shine, Crystal (Kate Lyn Sheil) and her boyfriend Leo (Kentucker Audley) drive tensely from Jacksonville to Tampa trying to keep a trunk full of trouble secret so they can lighten their load, literally if not mentally, in the Everglades.

Carried by Sheil and Audley's stellar performances, which are believably trashy, self-defeating, and hopeless, Sun Don’t Shine feels like a crime documentary following two people who, as criminals, are fish out of water (a theme that is paralleled charmingly in scenes at a real-life roadside mermaid attraction, about which filmmaker Amy Seimetz made the 2008 documentary short We Saw Such Things). As Crystal’s dim-witted inability to recognize the stakes, and her jealousy of a woman Leo seeks help from, threaten to ruin them both, their bond and the fantasy of happily ever after begins to melt under the stifling sun.

A native Floridian, Seimetz does a magnificent job capturing the flavor of central Florida. Watching her marvelous film, you can practically feel the dirt caking on your face, then streaking down muddily as you sweat in the kind of oppressive heat that causes blood to boil and leads people to do very bad things.—Justin Monroe

Director: Bart Layton
Screening date: To be determined

It sounds like an amazing plot for a Hitchcockian thriller: A devious con man learns of a town grieving over a missing boy, decides to impersonate the boy, and fools the entire town while, deep down, sinisterly laughing at his neighbors and fake-family members inside. However, what gives The Imposter’s its fascinatingly creepy hook is that it’s non-fiction. Through reenactments, a nameless interview subject who also happens to be the aforementioned con artist, more twists than a case of hot pretzels, director Bart Layton’s unnerving documentary could end up being one of the year’s best suspense rides (it’s slated to open in limited release this July).

Director: Yung Chang
Screening date: Saturday, June 30, Open Road Rooftop (Lower East Side), 350 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

Every film festival needs at least one powerful sports documentary—Yung Chang’s China Heavyweight is Rooftop’s, and it sounds like a technical knockout. In the wake of the Chinese government finally un-banning the sport of boxing, Chang’s all-access flick follows a former fighter turned trainer, Coach Qi Moxiang, whose class of teenage wannabe pugilists includes two boys with unique abilities. Setting the boxers’ coming-of-age experiences against a larger sociological backdrop, China Heavyweight seems like a larger-scale counterpart to this year’s Oscar-winning high school football doc Undefeated, which says a lot.

Director: David and Nathan Zellner
Screening date: Thursday, June 14, on the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Certainly one of Rooftop’s oddest inclusions this year, Kid-Thing, from Austin, Texas-based sibling directors David and Nathan Zellner, is a tough one to categorize; in spots, it’s sharply comedic, depicting an unhappy young girl named Annie’s (Sidney Aguirre) attempts to rail against society (i.e., taunting shoppers with a paint gun inside a supermarket) with droll humor, but it’s also quietly unsettling, a moody effect that comes from the mysterious friend-stuck-in-a-hole whom Annie keeps hidden from her family. Heading into even stranger narrative places after their first meeting, Kid-Thing subverts its way into a conclusive tone that’s effectively poignant.