Rooftop Films is a non-profit film organization based in Gowanus, Brooklyn

Gowanus, Brooklyn

Gowanus is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6.The Gowanus area has been an active center of industrial and shipping activity since the 1860s...

. They are best known for their Rooftop Films Summer Series, a screening series/film festival that runs from June through September every year and consists of as many as 47 outdoor screenings of new, independent short and feature-length films. The screenings all take place on rooftops or in other scenic outdoor locations throughout New York City, including the roof of the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Open Road Rooftop in the Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

, the lawn at Automotive High School in Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, the roof of El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...

, the roof of Brooklyn Technical High School

Brooklyn Technical High School

Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech or just Tech, and also administratively as High School 430, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science and is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering, and...

 in Fort Greene, and more. Past venues have included Governors Island, the roof of Westbeth Artists Community

Westbeth Artists Community

Westbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...

, Fort Greene Park

Fort Greene Park

Fort Greene Park is a municipal park in Brooklyn, New York, comprising 30.2 acres .The park includes the high ground where the Continental Army built Fort Putnam during the American Revolutionary War. The site was chosen and the construction supervised by General Nathanael Greene...

, 210 Cook Street in Bushwick, Solar One on East 23rd Street, a roof within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Soutpoint Park on Roosevelt Island, and many other spots across the city.

History

Founded by Mark Elijah Rosenberg in 1997, the festival included one night of short film screenings in each of its first two years. Rooftop moved in 1998 to the roof of Peter's Car Corp. a 10000 square feet (929 m²) artists' loft and occasional event space located at 265 McKibbin Street. An all-volunteer staff that included Rosenberg, Joshua Breitbart and Moira Griffin helped Rooftop expand from one screening a summer to more than 12 a summer by 2002. In 2003, Rosenberg became Rooftop's first full-time employee as Artistic Director, while former volunteers Dan Nuxoll and Sarah Palmer became part time employees as the Program Director and Festival Director, respectively. That year, Rooftop moved its offices and event space a few blocks down the street to Office Ops. The screening series went well but their relationship with Office Ops ended badly at the end of the summer.

Setbacks

What could have been a damaging setback turned out to be a blessing, as in winter 2004 Rooftop moved their offices to The Old American Can Factory in Gowanus Brooklyn. A gorgeous 19th century industrial complex with a huge roof and a peaceful view of Park Slope to the North, The Old American Factory has provided Rooftop with a permanent home base for their screenings and operations. By 2006 Rooftop Rooftop was presenting more than 45 shows a summer all over New York City, including world premieres of feature films and many of the best new short films being produced anywhere in the world.

In 2007, the staff expanded to include Managing Director Genevieve DeLaurier, and now also includes Chris O'Brien (Technical Manager), Danielle Kourtesis (Music and Outreach Manager), Daisy Rosario (Show Manager), and Chantel Hirter (Festival Coordinator). The Board of Directors includes: Jim Browne, Bruce Levingston, Catherine Martinez, Casimir Nozkowski (Secretary), Sarah Palmer (Treasurer), and Mark Elijah Rosenberg (Chair). The Board Advisors include: Joshua Breitbart and Philip Rosenberg. The Panorama Advisors include: J. Tad Barnes, Amy Dotson, Lucila Moctezuma, Josh Penn, Molly Thompson, and Nicole Tschampel.
Rooftop screenings
Rooftop screenings are more community events than standard festival screenings. Though Rooftop exclusively screens new independent films that have not yet gotten theatrical releases and which rarely feature stars or big name directors, the events are very well attended, with more than 20,000 people attending Rooftop shows each summer. Live music precedes every film screening, with many established and up and coming performers appearing each year. Some standouts include TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....

, The Bravery, The Mountain Goats, Drew & the Medicinal Pen, members of Fugazi and Califone

Califone

Califone is an experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed....

, Frances

Frances

Frances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...

, Vic Thrill

Vic Thrill

Vic Thrill is the stage name for Billy Campion, former lead singer for The Bogmen, and his supporting band. Just before the breakup of The Bogmen, Vic Thrill began crafting the material that eventually formed his first solo album Blown From the Action, released in 2002...

, Dirty on Purpose

Dirty on Purpose

Dirty on Purpose was a four-piece band from Brooklyn, NY, whose music is often described as indie pop or shoegaze. Composed of Doug Marvin , Joseph Jurewicz , George Wilson and DJ Boudreau , the band formed in 2002 and started playing around New York. The band's music is guitar-oriented with...

, O'Death

O'Death

O’Death is an American alternative country band from Brooklyn, New York. They combine elements of folk, bluegrass, punk, metal and Americana music.-History:...

, and many others. Admission for almost all screenings is $9 or less and screenings are often followed by open bar after parties.

Though Rooftop does not present very many screenings outside of its Summer Series, it is operational year-round and has spearheaded a variety of other endeavors, including a Rooftop Filmmaker Fund that gives thousands of dollars of cash and further thousands in services to filmmakers whose work have shown as part of the Summer Series. They also organize filmmaker workshops for high school students, stream many of their best shorts online, produce a TV show for the Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Manhattan Neighborhood Network is a non-profit organization that broadcasts programming on four public-access television cable TV stations in Manhattan, New York and provides a community media center that enables individuals and groups to produce shows for its network.-History:It has operated...

, publish reviews and movie news on their blog, and rent audio and video equipment.