Rooftop Films Announces Two Free Nights of Retrospective Short Films In Celebration of Their 20th Anniversary

Over the past 20 years Rooftop Films has hosted over 600 events, screened over 2600 films, and entertained hundreds of thousands of audience members. In celebration of reaching this milestone the organization will present two, free, short-film programs that highlight some of the best and most memorable short films to screen at Rooftop in the past two decades.

The first event, on Friday, July 29th will feature the best of our annual New York Non-Fiction program at Brookfield Place's Waterfront Plaza. From Laura Terruso's heartfelt portrait of Albanese Rudolph in The Last Butcher in Little Italy, to Last Address, Ira Sachs' meditation on the homes of New York artists at the time of their AIDS-related deaths, these documentary short films trace the dramatic changes that New York has undergone over the past two decades.

The second retrospective screening, 20 Years of Rooftop Short Films, will feature the early works of some of Rooftops highly-acclaimed alumni filmmakers, including Egg by Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Pioneer by David Lowery (Pete's Dragon), as well as a collection of short documentaries that trace the evolution of Rooftop Films and the changes in the community surrounding the venue and New York City, including Warriors: The Bike Race, a hilarious documentation of the New York's wild bicycle culture of the early 2000's. The event will take place on Monday, August 8th on the Beach at Coney Island.

"By hosting two nights of short films from our archive, Rooftop Films is inviting audiences to remember the past with us, or discover a history they never knew," says Rooftop Films founder and Artistic Director emeritus Mark Elijah Rosenberg. "We'll be presenting films that show the raw and real New York in which we grew up, as seen by the artists who lived through two decades of transformation, and movies that heralded the beginnings of new wave of filmmaking, as forged by directors first discovered at Rooftop, now heralded as young masters. It's an exciting year for our organization, looking back on our amazing past, and looking forward to many more years of incredible events."

Press passes, screeners, and high-resolution images are available upon request. For more information, please reply to this email or visit www.rooftopfilms.com.

Friday, July 29, 2016
On the Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place
220 Vesey Street (Financial District, Manhattan)

BEST OF NEW YORK NON-FICTION
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we look back on some of the greatest hits of one of our greatest programs: New York Non-Fiction. These short documentaries remind us that ours is a city full of opinionated walkers, bike messengers, bike thieves, Shakespearian birds, and street furniture--and we like it that way. Though the city has changed, these documents live on.

THE FILMS: The Last Butcher in Little Italy (2008) Laura Terruso, 6' | Solo, Piano - N.Y.C. (2012) Anthony Sherin, 5' | The Commoners (2010) Penny Lane, 12' | Messenger (2006) Daniel Leeb, 16' | How to Walk to Manhattan (2013) John Wilson, 10' | Bike Thief (2004) Neistat Brothers, 7' | Last Address (2010) Ira Sachs, 8' | Grand Luncheonette (2005) Peter Sillen, 5' | Aaron Burr, Part 2 (2012) Dana O'Keefe, 9' | ONE MAN'S TRASH (2015) Kelly Adams, 17'.

MORE INFO: http://rooftopfilms.com/2016/schedule/the-best-of-new-york-nonfiction/

Monday, August 8, 2016
On the Beach at Coney Island
3059 West 12th Street (Brooklyn)

20 YEARS OF ROOFTOP SHORT FILMS
As we look back on 20 years, we are excited to present films from the early careers of now-famous and acclaimed directors and from the defining moments of New York City's and Rooftop's own history. Before studio deals and Academy Awards filmmakers climbed a staircase to a New York City roof and introduced one of these short films. No doubt the view from that roof has changed a lot, much like the city. We examine the pivotal changes around our Coney Island venue in Under the Roller Coaster and in the larger New York City with the harrowing Collateral Damage which was shot in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001.

THE FILMS: Under The Roller Coaster (2006) Lila Place, 15' | Egg (2005) Benh Zeitlin, 7' | Las Palmas (2011) Johannes Nyholm, 14' | Pioneer (2011) David Lowery, 15' | Bottle (2011) Kirsten Lepore, 5' | Warriors: The Bike Race (2005) Chris Ryan, Jesse Epstein and Mike Green, 24'.

MORE INFO: http://rooftopfilms.com/2016/schedule/-20-years-of-rooftop-short-films/

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