Rooftop Films

Last updated

Rooftop Films is a non-profit film organization based in Gowanus, Brooklyn. [1] It is best known for its Rooftop Films Summer Series, a film festival that runs from May through August every year, and consists of as many as 47 outdoor screenings of new independent short and feature-length films. [2] Rooftop screenings all take place on rooftops or in other outdoor locations throughout New York City. Rooftop also offers film and video equipment rentals throughout the year, as well as grants which help finance new independent film projects. [3]

Contents

History

Founded by Mark Elijah Rosenberg in 1997, the festival included one night of short film screenings in each of its first two years. [4] Rooftop moved in 1998 to the roof of Peter's Car Corp. a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) artists' loft and occasional event space located at 265 McKibbin Street. An all-volunteer staff that included Rosenberg, Joshua Breitbart and Moira Griffin helped Rooftop expand from one screening a summer to more than 12 a summer by 2002. In 2003, Rosenberg became Rooftop's first full-time employee as Artistic Director, while former volunteers Dan Nuxoll and Sarah Palmer became part-time employees as the Program Director and Festival Director, respectively. That year, Rooftop moved its offices and event space a few blocks down the street to Office Ops. Daisy Rosario served as festival producer from 2007 until 2011. [5]

Growth

In winter 2004 Rooftop moved their offices to The Old American Can Factory in Gowanus Brooklyn. In 2007, the staff expanded to include Managing Director Genevieve DeLaurier, and now also includes Will Chu (Technical Manager), Danielle Kourtesis (Music Coordinator), Kristin Molloy (Festival Manager Manager), and dozens of other seasonal employees. [6] In 2020, Nadine Goellner was hired as executive director. The Board of Directors includes: Vinay Singh, Jason Ward, Brent Green, Evan List, Casimir Nozkowski (Secretary), Teresa Lee (Vice-Chair and Treasurer), Evan List, Ryan Smith, Anne Hubbell, Danielle DiGiacomo, (Treasurer), and Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and Jess Jacobs (Chair). The Board Advisors include: Joshua Breitbart and Philip Rosenberg. The Panorama Advisors include: J. Tad Barnes, Amy Dotson, Lucila Moctezuma, Josh Penn, Molly Thompson, and Nicole Tschampel.

Summer Series

Rooftop Films is best known for its Summer Series. With an audience of over 30,000 each summer, the Summer Series has become one of the best-attended film events in the United States. Screened films often include world premieres and festival award-winners. Admission to a screening is almost always $13 or less, and screenings are often followed by open bar after-parties. [7]

Summer Series events take place at a wide variety of outdoor venues including the roof of the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Open Road Rooftop in the Lower East Side, the lawn at Automotive High School in Williamsburg, the roof of El Museo del Barrio, the roof of Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene, and more. [8] [9] Past venues have included Governors Island, the roof of Westbeth Artists Community, Fort Greene Park, 210 Cook Street in Bushwick, Solar One on East 23rd Street, a roof within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Soutpoint Park on Roosevelt Island, and many other spots across the city.

Musical acts

Live music precedes almost every Rooftop screening, with many established and up and coming performers appearing each year. Past musical acts include TV on the Radio, The Bravery, Sharon Van Etten, Jose Gonzales, The Mountain Goats, Julianna Barwick, Titus Andronicus, Phosphorescent, The Antlers, Teengirl Fantasy, Mutual Benefit, members of Fugazi and Califone, Vic Thrill, Dirty on Purpose, O'Death, and many others. [10]

Filmmakers' Fund

Rooftop has enabled the success of many of its alumni through its Filmmakers’ Fund Grants, which provides production or post-production support to independent filmmakers. [11] Rooftop earmarks a portion of all ticket sales and submission fees to its Filmmaker's Fund Grant program. [12] Filmmakers' Fund Grants have supported award-winnings films such as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom. [13] Many additional grantees have gone on to have tremendous success at festivals, reaching wide, appreciative audiences.

Equipment Rentals

Rooftop makes all its film/video exhibition equipment available for low-cost rentals. Projectors, sound systems, screens and more are available, including its 40-foot wide inflatable airscreen. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Townsend Film Festival</span>

The Port Townsend Film Festival began screening independent films in 1999.

The Austin Film Society (AFS) is a non-profit film society based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1985 to exhibit independent, experimental, foreign and various other non-mainstream art films, the film society has grown from just film exhibition to fostering independent filmmaking in Texas and has served as a cornerstone in building the film industry in Austin. The film society also owns and maintains Austin Studios, hosts the annual Texas Film Awards gala, and oversees the Austin Film Society grant program. The film society was founded by film director Richard Linklater, who currently serves on the board as artistic director. Other notable members on the board and advisory board include Tim McCanlies, Robert Rodriguez, Charles Burnett, Guillermo del Toro, Jonathan Demme, Mike Judge, John Sayles, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Stekler and Quentin Tarantino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield DocFest</span> Documentary festival in Sheffield, England

Sheffield DocFest, is an international documentary festival and Industry Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivy Film Festival</span> American student-run film festival

Ivy Film Festival (IFF) is the world's largest student-run film festival, hosted annually on the campus of Brown University. The Festival was started in 2001 by then-Brown juniors David Peck and Justin Slosky in collaboration with students of the other seven Ivy League schools including vice chairman Doug Imbruce from Columbia University. The founders' goal was to create a venue to showcase and honor the work of talented student filmmakers. The Ivy Film Festival currently accepts submissions from around the world for both its short film and screenplay competitions.

MIX NYC is a not-for-profit organization based in New York City dedicated to queer experimental film. It is also known as the "MIX festival," for its most visible program, the annual week-long New York Queer Experimental Film Festival (NYQEFF), which has featured early works by filmmakers such as Christine Vachon, Todd Haynes, Isaac Julien, Thomas Allen Harris, Barbara Hammer, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, Jonathan Caouette, Jennie Livingston, Gus Van Sant, and Matthew Mishory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Mountain Film Festival</span> Film festival in Vermont

The Green Mountain Film Festival is an annual film event and awards show in Vermont. The first festival took place in Montpelier, Vermont, in 1997. In March 1999, a second festival was held and it has been an annual March event ever since. In 2010, the festival was extended to include a series of satellite screenings in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. In 2018, the festival also hosted screenings in Essex Junction, at the Essex Cinema.

SFFILM, formerly known as The San Francisco Film Society, is a nonprofit arts organization located in San Francisco, California, that presents year-round programs and events in film exhibition, media education, and filmmaker services.

The Rooftop Film Festival is an annual US summer independent film festival organized since July 1997 by film maker Mark Elijah Rosenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reel Affirmations</span> LGBTQ film festival held in Washington D.C.

Reel Affirmations (RA) is a non-profit, all-volunteer LGBT film festival in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1991 and held every year in mid-October, as of 2011 Reel Affirmations was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the United States. Baltimore's Gay Life newspaper called it "one of the top three films festivals for the entire LGBT community." A 2007 guidebook claims it was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the world. A listing of LGBT film festivals claims it is the largest all-volunteer film festival in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marfa Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Marfa, Texas, United States

The Marfa Film Festival is a film festival occurring annually in Marfa, Texas.

The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each March in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival is known for its close relationship with John Waters, who is on the festival's board of directors and selects a favorite film to host within each year of the festival.

The Brooklyn Film Festival(BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival(BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in New York City. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro in 1998, its mission is to “discover, expose, and promote independent filmmakers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a center for cinema." Its base is South 4th Street, Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TIFF Lightbox</span> Cultural centre in Toronto

TIFF Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the first five floors of the Lightbox and Festival Tower on the north west corner of King Street and John Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outdoor cinema</span> Cinema operating outdoors

An outdoor cinema consists of a digital or analog movie projector, scaffolded construction or inflatable movie screen, and sound system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Carmichael (filmmaker)</span> American film director, writer, and animator

Emily Carmichael is an American film director, screenwriter, and animator. Her short films have screened in competition at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, Slamdance, and other US and International film festivals. Carmichael co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 science fiction sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising and the 2022 film Jurassic World: Dominion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mono No Aware (organization)</span> US cinema-arts non-profit organization

Mono No Aware is a cinema-arts non-profit organization. Founded in 2007, its mission entails the advancement of “connectivity through the cinematic experience.” The organization is named after the Japanese concept mono no aware (物の哀れ), which expresses the impermanence of being and beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Toronto International Film Festival</span> 45th edition of the festival

The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the 45th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 10 to 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival took place primarily on an online streaming platform, although limited in-person screenings still took place within the constraints of social distancing restrictions.

The Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) is a film festival, based in New York City, that screens cinema from across Latin America with a special focus on Cuba and its film industry. It is a project of The American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with the mission of building cultural bridges between the United States and Cuba through arts projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Hillis</span> American film critic

Aaron Hillis is an American writer, film critic, director, film festival programmer, and curator.

Vidiots is an independent video rental store in Los Angeles, California.

References

  1. ↑ "Mission Statement | About Rooftop Films | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
  2. ↑ "Outdoor Summer Movies in Brooklyn". Archived from the original on 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  3. ↑ "Rent Equipment | Projector Rentals in New York City | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
  4. ↑ "History | About Rooftop Films | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06.
  5. ↑ Rosenberg, Mark Elijah. "ROOFTOP'S INCREDIBLE STAFF". Rooftop FIlms . Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "About the Staff | About Rooftop Films | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
  7. ↑ http://mysocialist.com/blog/2014/02/26/rooftop-films-2014/
  8. ↑ "Our Venues". 22 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "The Must-See Movies and Venues at Rooftop Films in Brooklyn". 14 May 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.eastvillageradio.com/content/content.php?id=1433
  11. ↑ "Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund Grants | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-05.
  12. ↑ "Mission Statement | About Rooftop Films | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
  13. ↑ http://www.documentary.org/calendar/16th-annual-rooftop-films-summer-series-opening-night
  14. ↑ "Rent Equipment | Projector Rentals in New York City | Info | Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series". rooftopfilms.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.