Rooftop Films to Screen THE DISOBEDIENT, THANKSGIVING and THE NOTORIOUS MR. BOUT This Week
By: Jillian Gaier Jun. 30, 2014
Tomorrow, Rooftop Films returns to the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm for the last time this year for the NY Premiere of THE DISOBEDIENT, Mina Djukic's Serbian coming-of-age romance that wowed audiences at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
On Thursday, Rooftop is extremely excited to screen the World Premiere of Adam Newport-Berra's Brooklyn-set drama, THANKSGIVING. Adam has been a huge DP in the indie film and music video worlds, and we can't wait for you to see his directorial debut. The night is made even sweeter by a very special performance by incomparable comedian/musician/extra-terrestrial, Reggie Watts. After you sleep off that 4th of July hot dog coma, join Rooftop Films in Gowanus at the Old American Can Factory, the NY Premiere of THE NOTORIOUS MR. BOUT, the stranger-than-fiction true story of the man they called 'the merchant of death'; an arms dealer so notorious that none other than Nicolas Cage could portray him in the film LORD OF WAR.THE DISOBEDIENT
(Mina Djukic | 112 min.)
8:30PM Live Music by Eva Salina
9:00PM Film Begins Venue: On the roof of the Brooklyn Grange: Brooklyn Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Ave. Building #3, Brooklyn, NY 11205 Once upon a time two children laid in a graveyard, passing their imaginary language back and forth in the soft, embracing sun. They danced and played and longed for longer days. An omniscient gray-haired man stood invisibly amongst them, both narrating and dictating the course of their lives, as they unknowingly surrendered to his whims. Years later the children, Lazar & Leni, were reunited at the very same graveyard. This time for a very different reason: the death of Lazar's father. Leni has grown into a beautiful woman, but her days are plagued by boredom as she toils away in her family's pharmacy. Lazar is a scruffy, handsome young man who, upon his return home, quickly reverts to the youthful antics he and Leni found comfort in. They may have aged, but their relationship has not. Longing to reconnect, the duo takes off on a destination-less bike trip through the bucolic Serbian countryside to wreak the same havoc of their childhood. They wander through the world destroying obstacles of adulthood with absolute glee and unreserved affection. But their actions, however liberated, are still strangely and quietly controlled by the mysterious gray-haired man who guides them through feelings of jealously, lust, love, fear and joy.
(Adam Newport-Berra | 72 min.) 8:00PM Doors Open
8:30 PM Live Performance by Reggie Watts
9:00PM Film Begins
10:30PM Q&A with filmmaker Adam Newport-Berra
11:30PM After Party Venue: Roof & Courtyard of Industry City: 220 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Passing a joint around a Thanksgiving feast each guest recites what they are most thankful for; success, friendship, beginnings, endings, and, most importantly, love. Amy--a young, flailing Brooklynite--is most thankful for the unexpected presence of her brother Will, but this sentiment is not shared by her devoted partner Alex. Alex is the antithesis of Will. Alex has a day job, while Will makes ends meet. Alex dresses with precision, while Will's beard hangs in defiance. Will's brooding manner at the party suggests a predator stalking prey; circling, taunting, quietly calling into question the lives the guests have chosen to lead as they indulge on this traditional day of American gluttony. With nowhere else to go, Will spends the night, adding to the simmering tension between Alex & Amy. A post-holiday hiking tradition sends Alex and Will into the wilds of upstate New York, the chasm between the two widening with each exchange. While in the woods they seem to lose their way among the intersecting paths - they search, looking for something to guide them - a waterfall, a birdwatcher, mutual understanding. Following a heated exchange atop a small mountain, Will reveals his true nature. In this film, New York based director Adam Newport-Berra creates a lush, sullen mood of a claustrophobic urban landscape. Soft, welcoming apartment interiors, the charge of wobbly drunken nights, and the inherent closeness of the city are placed in opposition to the sweeping, stark beauty of an opposing natural world. The film deftly portrays a new generation of conflicted Millennials balancing their insatiable desire for immediate excitement with the inherent need for a calm lasting shelter. Do you prefer to make house or do you prefer to make experiences? More info: http://rooftopfilms.com/2014/schedule/thanksgiving/THE NOTORIOUS MR. BOUT
(Tony Gerber, Maxim Pozdorovkin | 94 min.) 8:00PM Doors Open
8:30 PM Live Music
9:00PM Film Begins
10:45PM Q&A with directors Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin
11:30PM After Party sponsored by New Amsterdam Spirits and Bulleit Bourbon Viktor Bout: Ruthless businessman and arms trader; The Merchant of Death; a man desperately hunted by the DEA and UN Arms investigators alike; friend and supporter of genocidal Congolese leader Jean-Pierre Bemba; an elusive figure who could not be photographed; home video enthusiast. As a young entrepreneur in the newly capitalist Soviet Union, Bout saw opportunity where others saw only desperation. While his countrymen were fighting in the streets for necessities as simple as food, Bout began importing basic and luxury consumer goods from the other side of the recently-crumbled iron curtain. Through Bout's own lens we are gifted a first-hand glimpse of globalization and the inner-workings of a criminal enterprise. Viktor Bout was a man who willingly shipped televisions, medicine and guns alike in the holds of his planes. As capitalism found new markets, Bout followed, recording himself, his friends, his family, the jungle, the wind-swept desert, the hijab-covered women, the smiling village children, and the military leaders who murder their own people. A diligent documentarian with his beautiful and unflappable wife Alla at his side, Bout captures images both mundane and extraordinary. Rarely has a documentary provided such intimate access into the life of a high-profile criminal. Though his life was the basis for the unironically titled Nicolas Cage vehicle Lord of War, directors Maxim Pozdorovkin and Tony Gerber show Viktor Bout to be shockingly human. In this comic and complicated portrait, the filmmakers explore the life of a man who is neither innocent, nor totally guilty, but undoubtedly notorious. More info: http://rooftopfilms.com/2014/schedule/the-notorious-mr-bout/
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