THE CASE OF THE THREE SIDED DREAM and More Set for Rooftop Films This Week at Brookfield Place

The generosity flows strong this week at Rooftop Films with three nights of completely free programming, all set along the mighty Hudson River at the beautiful Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan. It's a three-day weekend of cartoons, New York-centric shorts, and a jazz doc about a blind legend.

On Thursday, Rooftop kicks off the first night of the 10th annual Animation Block Party, with free music by Dominican po-surf rock duo Franny and Zooey. On Friday, Rooftop shows one of our most popular programs of the year, New York Shorts, showcasing some of the best shorts films the city has to offer. Experimental hip-hop mashup artists Pool Cosby will start off the night. Rooftop will wrap up on Saturday with The Case Of The Three-Sided Dream, a doc about jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who overcame blindness, paralysis and social injustice to fundamentally alter the landscape of jazz. World-renowned jazz cellist Akua Dixon will start the night off right.

FILM DETAILS:

Venue: Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza (formerly World Financial Center)
220 Vesey Street (between West Street and the Hudson River), Battery Park City

All shows are free and open to the public.

Thursday, July 24th
Animation Block Party (Short Films)
6:30PM: Doors open
7:30PM: Live Music by Franny and Zooey
8:45PM: Animation Block Party short films begin
10:15PM: Q and A with Casey Safron of Animation Block Party and filmmakers

Animation Block Party is the premier animation festival of the East Coast, and their screenings draw huge crowds to see the world's best new animated films. Each year the opening night of the festival is presented outdoors in partnership with Rooftop Films, and this year's screening will feature sneak previews of exclusive new animated short films from MTV (other).

THE FILMS:
ABP INTRO/STREET JUSTICE (Ben Li | 1 min.)
SANJAY AND CRAIG/FART BABY (Jim Dirschberger and Jay Howell | 10 min.)
FLUFFY MCCLOUD (Connor Finnegan | 3 min.)
WORLDWORD (Peter Glantz and Becky Stark | 1 min.)
IN THE BEGINNING (Arthur Metcalf | 3 min.)
BLANKFILLERS (Celeste Lai and Peyton Skyler | 3 min.)
LOVE BALL: BALL ON FIRE (Dana Sink | 3 min.)
AMASIA (Guillaume Renier, Fabien Kretschmer, Gaëlle Séguillon et Adrien Bisiou | 7 min.)
GOODBYE RABBIT, HOP HOP (Caleb Wood | 4 min.)
WIND (Robert Löbel | 4 min.)
PEST (NUISIBLE) (Tom Haugomat, Bruno Mangyoku | 12 min.)
PAYADA PA' SATAN (Antonio Balseiro and Carlos Balseiro | 7 min.)
MOMENTUM (Kameron Gates | 1 min.)
THE DIVIDE (Brent Sievers | 3 min.)
LE SENS DU TOUCHER (Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo | 14 min.)
PAPA (Natalie LaBarre | 6 min.)
ABP OUTRO/BEWITCHED BARRY (Chelsea Manifold | 1 min.)

More info: http://rooftopfilms.com/2014/schedule/animation-block-party-short-films-1/

Friday, July 25th
New York Shorts (Short Films)
6:30PM: Doors open
7:30PM: Live Music by Pool Cosby
8:45PM: New York short films begin
10:15PM: Q and A with filmmakers

With stories as diverse as its inhabitants, this program of short films features stranger-than-fiction documentaries and wholly original visions of life in the city, highlighting what it means to be a New Yorker.

THE FILMS:
UNLOCKING THE TRUTH (Luke Meyer | 3 min.)
45 7 BROADWAY (Tomonari Nishikawa | 5 min.)
ONE YEAR LEASE (Brian Bolster | 11 min.)
STREET VIEWS (Annie Berman | 8 min.)
LEVITATE (Leah Ross | Brooklyn, NY | 13 min.)
LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS (Melissa Johnson, Robertino Zambrano | 9 min.)
JONATHAN'S CHEST (Christopher Radcliff | 13 min.)
SIX (Frank Jerky | 14 min.)
70 HESTER STREET (Casimir Nozkowski | Brooklyn, NY | 11 min.)

More info: http://rooftopfilms.com/2014/schedule/ny-shorts/

Saturday, July 25th
The Case of the Three Sided Dream (Documentary Feature Film)
6:30PM: Doors open
7:30PM: Live Music by The Akua Dixon Quartet
8:45PM: The Case of the Three Sided Dream
10:15PM: Q and A with director Adam Kahan

The Case of the Three-Sided Dream (Adam Kahan | 87min.)
A multi-instrumentalist whose music was shaped as much by intense reverie as political zeal, Rahsaan Roland Kirk's innate virtuosity completely altered the way jazz was perceived, while simultaneously forcing a generation of musicians to rethink their entire approach to playing. Weaving seamlessly between interviews with those who knew Kirk and footage of his stunningly visceral live performances, Adam Kahan's meticulously crafted documentary explores the legacy of this relentlessly innovative performer.

Blind from infancy, Kirk's reality was underpinned by an understanding of the world around him, which was rooted primarily in sound. Through communicating sonically with his surroundings, Kirk developed a unique ability to see in music, as everyday items were re-imagined as instruments and each seemingly insignificant noise revealed its own rhythm and cadence. It was in dreams that Rahsaan Roland Kirk's most brilliant visions-such as playing multiple horns at once-would often be realized. Often described as belonging to the 'Religion of Dreams', Kirk's playing, while somehow otherworldly in its inimitable dexterity, at the same time came to embody those dreams, in the same way as his instruments became extensions of his own body.

Interspersed with interpretive animation sequences which mirror the quixotic ethereality of Kirk's music, Three Sided Dream provides a poignantly realized account of a musician who despite being blind and paralyzed from the age of forty, remained unwavering in his commitment to exploring the contours of the sonic landscape until the day he died.

Whether or not you are familiar with the music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Three Sided Dream is a fascinating documentary which deftly encapsulates his music in all its raucous dynamism, attesting to the energy which emanated from every note.

More info: http://rooftopfilms.com/2014/schedule/the-case-of-the-three-sided-dream/

There will be a limited number of chairs available, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own picnic blankets and chairs.

In the event of rain, screenings will take place indoors in the Winter Garden at the same location.