Rooftop Films Announces Opening Weekend and Features for the 19th Annual Summer Series
(New York, NY | May 4, 2015) Rooftop Films is proud to announce Opening Weekend, Features and select highlights of the 19th annual Rooftop Films Summer Series. This year’s series will feature over 40 outdoor screenings in 19 spectacular venues, with huge crowds, live music, special enhancements and the best in new, independent films from around the world.
This year’s edition kicks off on Friday, May 29th, at their principal venue, Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, with some of the greatest new short films from around the world. The event will include the New York premiere of David Sandberg’s highly anticipated and hilarious short film, Kung Fury, which raised $630,000 on Kickstarter and the trailer for which has racked up more than 10,000,000 views online. The following night, Saturday, May 30th, Rooftop Films will head to the roof of The Old American Can Factory, in Gowanus, Brooklyn, to present Bob Byington’s charming off-beat comedy, 7 Chinese Brothers, starring Jason Schwartzman as an irrepressible man-child attempting to pull his life together and win over his boss at the Quick-Lube. David Sandberg will be in attendance opening night, Bob Byington and Jason Schwartzman will be in attendance on May 30th, and both evenings will feature live music before each screening and a post-screening after party, featuring Signature Sponsor New Amsterdam Spirits.
Tickets for both events will be on sale Tuesday, May 5th at 11:00 a.m. at www.rooftopfilms.com. Rooftop Films members are admitted free of charge. Memberships are available at www.rooftopfilms.com/2015/info/membership.
The 2015 Rooftop Films Summer Series continues through the summer, with screenings each week in a variety of exciting and picturesque outdoor locations. It is Rooftop Films’ goal with each event and each season to re-imagine the festival and reinvigorate communities across New York. With live performances, audience interaction, and enhanced themed events at amazing venues, Rooftop turns each film screening into an unforgettable event.
“2015 is shaping up to be a tremendous year for independent film, with many remarkable films making their debuts at festivals and reaching wide, appreciative audiences in theaters and online,” said Dan Nuxoll, Rooftop Films Program Director. “The indie film world is not only alive and well—it is thriving, and this year’s Summer Series slate features some truly stunning and innovative films from all over the world: personal works of film art, auteurist takes on genre and breathtakingly cinematic documentaries that stretch the boundaries of the form.”
Rooftop Films’ full feature film slate includes exceptional fiction films, such as Sean Baker’s warm-hearted yet riotously entertaining Tangerine; Trey Shults’ powerful SXSW-winning Krisha; Frank V. Ross’ delicately personal Bloomin’ Mud Shuffle; Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s bone-chilling psychological thriller Goodnight Mommy; and many more fantastic films, including Zachary Treitz’ Rooftop Films Edgeworx grantee Men Go To Battle, Joe Swanberg’s Digging for Fire, and more.
Rooftop also shows powerful, innovative and invigorating documentaries, and this year’s slate includes non-fiction discoveries from all across the world: Crystal Moselle’s critically acclaimed The Wolfpack; Khalik Allah’s ground-breaking Field Niggas; Bryan Carberry’s wildly entertaining Finders Keepers; Jason Zeldes’ Romeo is Bleeding; Hao Zhou’s The Chinese Mayor; Ulrike Franke and Michael Loeken’s Divine Location; and many more great docs, including Welcome to Leith, Kings of the Wind and Electric Queens, Spartacus and Cassandra, and Sam Klemke’s Time Machine, just to name a few.
Rooftop Films searches the world for the very best short movies being made. This summer they will be returning with new editions of their signature themed short film programs, including two Romantic Shorts screenings, a New York Non-Fiction program, two showcases of groundbreaking animation, and many big thrillers, comedies, docs and dramas in small packages.
This year’s series also includes a number of special events and partnerships including their annual SXSW weekend, a Sundance short film program, a Swedish Focus in partnership with the Swedish Film Institute, a presentation of The Skin Deep’s {The And} interactive event, and more special screenings to be announced soon.
All shows include live-music before the screenings and most include filmmaker Q&As and complementary after parties. The Summer Series will also include more than 13 programs of short films, and there will be additional feature films and special events announced shortly.