ROOFTOP FILMS’ Summer Series Now Through August 25

Summer means the return of Rooftop films, a series of screenings of the work of emerging filmmakers in unique outdoor locations with live musical performances, after-parties, and special enhancements throughout the summer, almost always accompanied by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Typical schedule, check links for more details:

7:45 PM: Doors Open
8:30 PM: Live Music
9:00 PM: Films Begin
10:30 PM: Q&A
10:45 PM: After-Party

Most tickets are either free or $16 and below is this summer’s lineup in Brooklyn. Full lineup at their site:

Fri., 6/14: A series of New York Non-Fiction documentary shorts that contemplate NYC’s great agonies and everyday miracles, with Live Music by Rahrah Gabor, screening in Green-Wood Cemetery.  The films are:

• The A-Z of Aaliyah
  Cara Stricker | US | 7
• The Bony Lady (La Flaca)
  Thiago Zanato & Adriana Barbosa | US, Brazil, Mexico | 20
• The Leftovers
  Olivier Bernier | US | 16
• Operation Jane Walk
  Leonhard Müllner & Robin Klengel | Austria | 16
• Peter’s Painting
  Olivier Bernier | US | 11
• Stay Close
  Luther Clement & Shuhan Fan | US, China | 18
• A Winter with Delivery Workers
  Jing Wang | US | 5

Wed., 6/19: (FREE) “The Big Muddy,” a program of short films featuring snapshots of modern line along the Louisiana Purchase, with live music, screening at MetroTech Commons. Films are:

• All on a Mardi Gras Day
  Michal Pietrzyk | USA | 22
• Feathers
  A.V. Rockwell | USA | 20
• Life On The Mississippi
  Bill Brown | USA | 28
• Little Lower Than the Angels
  NEOZOON | Germany | 13
• Thurs., 6/20: (FREE) New York Short Films, a program of shorts dedicated to our shared New York civic experiences of stories that otherwise might be overlooked, with Live Music from W.Y. Huang, screening at Liberty Park on the World Trade Center campus

Fri., 6/21: Animation Block Party, a showcase of the year’s best animated short films to kick off the official start of summer, with Live Music from The Illustrious Blacks, screening in Industry City. Films are:

• Avarya
  Gökalp Gönen | Turkey | 20
• Charles Darwin, Family Man
  Steven Kraus and Joy Buran & Noelle Melody | US | 2
• Flex Calibur
  Bob Fox, Chris Burns, Gary Doodles & Tommy Sica | US | 7
• Floreana
  Lou Morton | Denmark, US | 5
• Grandma’s Cats
  Danica Perry | US | 2
• Octane
  Jeron Braxton | US | 6
• Phantom 52
  Geoff Marslett | US | 8
• Pine High
  Rob Bohn & Nate Milton | US | 7
• Popcorn
  Frank Moser & Paul Terry | US | 5
• Rose Quartz/Fulton Street by La Dispute
  Sarah Schmidt | US | 6
• Too Loud!
  Nico Colaleo | US | 5
• Under Covers
  Michaela Olsen | US | 7

Sat., 6/22: Early screening of “Strange Negotiations,” a fascinating documentary about Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan setting off across the country during the 2016 presidential election following a crisis of faith. Bazan will perform live at the screening at Green-Wood Cemetery

Wed., 6/26: **Special Pride Screening** of “My Days of Mercy,” a love story starring Ellen Page and Kate Mara as two women on opposite sides of the death penalty debate, with live music, screening at the William Vale Hotel

Sat., 6/29: (Co-presented by MoMA) Early screening of “Midnight Family,” following a low-income Mexico City family’s struggles and triumphs as they run a private ambulance, with live music, screening at the Brooklyn Army Terminal

Mon., 7/1: Early screening of “Pink Wall,” the directorial debut from actor Tom Cullen (“Weekend”) starring Jay Duplass and Tatiana Maslany in a fractured story of broken hearts over six years. With live music, and filmmaker/cast Q&A, screening at the William Vale Hotel

Thurs., 7/11: (FREE) Early screening of Sundance and SXSW hit “Sister Aimee,” inspired by 1926’s most famous evangelist’s wild road trip towards Mexico, with Live Music from Graham Reynolds, screening in Fort Greene Park

Fri., 7/12: Early screening of the SXSW award-winning “Saint Frances” about a young woman who searches for herself as she nannies for a family on the verge of breaking apart, with Live Music, screening in Industry City

Sat, 7/13: Early screening of “Mickey and the Bear” starring Camila Morrone in a story of small-town escape, with Live Music and After-Party, screening at Industry City

Thurs., 7/18: Early screening of “The Great Hack,” a Netflix documentary about the dark world of data exploitation, with access to key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. With Live Music, screening at Industry City

Fri., 7/19: Early screening of “The Pine Barrens,” a beguiling journey into New Jersey’s storied forest, presented with a Live Score at Green-Wood Cemetery

Tues., 7/23: “Love is Short,” a program of short films centered on brief encounters, fleeting carnal flings and impermanent paramours, with Live music, screening at the William Vale Hotel

Wed., 7/31: Early screening of “Yes, God, Yes,” following catholic 16-year-old Alice as she discovers masturbation in the early ’00s. With live music and after party, at the William Vale Hotel

Fri., 8/2: “Cemetery Shorts,” a series of mixed-media short films that shine a light on loss, screening with Live Music at Green-Wood Cemetery. Films are:

• Hildegarde’s Piano
  Alexander W. Lewis | US | 3
• In a Lion (Wnetrze Lwa)
  Karol Lindholm | Poland | 12
• Obon
  Andre Hörmann & Anna Samo | Germany | 15
• Orbit
  Tess Martin | Netherlands | 7
• Past Perfect
  Jorge Jácome | Portugal | 23
• Additional films to be announced

Sat, 8/17: A screening of “Sonic Youth: NYC and Beyond,” a New York-specific collection of film and video from the band’s private archives, followed by a panel discussion with drummer Steve Shelley, archivist Aaron Mullan, and writer Byron Coley, screening at the Murmrr Theatre

Wed., 8/21: An early screening of the hilariously absurd skewering of suburbia “Greener Grass” following its raucous Sundance screenings, with Live Music, screening at the William Vale Hotel

Fri., 8/23: “Rooftop Shots: Closing Night 2019,” an assortment of wild, weird, apocalyptic shorts to close out the season. With Live Music and After Party, screening at Green-Wood Cemetery. Films are:

• Tungrus
  Rishi Chandna | India | 13
• Acid Rain
  Tomek Popakul | Poland | 26
• Father
  August Polite | US | 6
• Guaxuma
  Nara Normande | France, Brazil | 14
• ChiChi
  David N. Nessl | US | 10
• The Last Storm
  Liam Saint-Pierre | US | 21

All images via Rooftop Films.