WHAT:
The 19th Annual Rooftop Films Summer Series begins on Friday, May 29th, at 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 Kung Fury, the trailer for which has racked up more than 10,000,000 views online. Rooftop is proud to provide the audience with this once-in-a-lifetime viewing experience: watching a cop and a Valkyrie fight Hitler outdoors – on a roof – overlooking the NYC skyline. Sandberg will be in attendance opening night.
On Saturday, May 30th, Rooftop Films will head to the The Old American Can Factory, in Gowanus, Brooklyn, to present Bob Byington’s 7 Chinese Brothers, starring Jason Schwartzman as an alcohol-soaked ne’er-do-well, attempting to pull his life together with his trusty French Bulldog at his side. Bob Byington and Jason Schwartzman will be in attendance.
Both evenings will feature live music before each screening and a post-screening after party, featuring Signature Sponsor New Amsterdam Spirits.
WHEN AND WHERE:
At Industry City (Rooftops) 220 36th Street (Sunset Park, Brooklyn)
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN BY SHORT FILMS
8:00PM Doors Open
8:30PM Live Music
9:00PM Film Begins
10:30PM Q&A with David Sandberg
11:00PM After-party with DJ Conor C. sponsored by New Amsterdam Vodka
At The Old American Can Factory (Roof & Courtyard) 232 3rd Street (Gowanus, Brooklyn)
7 CHINESE BROTHERS
8:00PM Doors Open
8:30PM Live Music
9:00PM Film Begins
10:30PM Q&A with Bob Byington and Jason Schwartzman
11:00PM After-party sponsored by New Amsterdam Vodka
ABOUT THE FILMS:
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN BY SHORT FILMS
Cinema can be an adventure, an obsession, a way of life. We immerse ourselves in movies, and there we play and we prance, we dance and we die—we are free. We can hack ourselves back in time, we can conjure alternate storylines for our lives, we can pretend to be a badass even if we’re just a banana. The astonishing, exciting, award-winning movies in this program are a microcosm of the many magical worlds Rooftop Films will bring you to this summer. Join us on the journey. Join us on the roof.
ALL YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS! (Danny Madden | USA | 5 min.)
Anything you wanna watch in the palm of your hand! Crazy convenient! ...crazy.
LA NUIT AMÉRICAINE D'ANGÉLIQUE (Joris Clerté, Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet | France | 7 min.)
When she saw François Truffaut’s La nuit Américaine (Day For Night), Angelique discovered that it was possible to dream up her life.
ACTOR SEEKS ROLE (Michael Tyburski | USA | 18 min.)
An aspiring method actor (Alex Karpovsky) in New York City resorts to medical acting, a part-time gig performing the symptoms of various illnesses for student doctors.Although his talents are overlooked for traditional roles on stage and screen, they catch the attention of a medical instructor (Dylan Baker) with a flair for the theatric.
BUTTER YA'SELF (Julian Petzchek | USA | 4 min.)
A banana and a hot dog bun are famous.
THE LAND (Erin Davis | USA | 23 min.)
The Land is a short documentary film about the nature of play, risk and hazard set in The Land, a Welsh "adventure” playground. At The Land children climb trees, light fires and use hammers and nails in a play-space rooted in the belief that kids are empowered when they learn to manage risks on their own.
LESLEY THE PONY HAS AN A+ DAY! (Christian Larrave | USA | 4 min.)
Lesley the Pony goes on a fun-filled adventure through the town of Merryville while making lasting memories with his friend, The Duke.
KUNG FURY (David Sandberg | Sweden | 30 min.)
KUNG FURY is an over-the-top action comedy written and directed by David Sandberg. The movie features: arcade-robots, dinosaurs, nazis, vikings, norse gods, mutants and a super kung fu-cop called Kung Fury, all wrapped up in an 80s style action packed adventure.
THANK EWE (Keith Wilson | USA | 1 min.)
A barrage of whiteness and niceness, Thank Ewe is too much of a good thing.
7 CHINESE BROTHERS (Bob Byington)
Bob Byington teams up with Jason Schwartzman for this hangdog comedy. Schwartzman stars as Larry who, along with his trusty sidekick (Schwartzman's real-life French Bulldog, Arrow), goes through life as a misanthropic outcast, unable to retain employment or stable relationships - especially with his grandma, played with sharp timing and wit by Academy Award®-winner Olympia Dukakis. Landing at a Quick Lube, Larry finds himself falling for his new boss Lupe (Eleanore Pienta). Part absurdist comedy and part character portrait, 7 CHINESE BROTHERS is a unique tale of people stuck within the confines of normalcy while they represent anything but. Co-starring Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), with cameos from the likes of Alex Karpovsky (GIRLS) and filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (LISTEN UP PHILIP).
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Rooftop Films is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage and inspire the diverse communities of New York City by showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers and musicians. In addition to their annual Summer Series – which takes place in unique outdoor venues every weekend throughout the summer – Rooftop provides grants to filmmakers, teaches media literacy and filmmaking to young people, rents equipment at low-cost to artists and non-profits, and produces new independent films. At Rooftop Films, they bring underground movies outdoors. For more information and updates please visit their website at www.rooftopfilms.com .