One of New York's more interesting summertime events, Rooftop Films series, produced by Rooftop Films Underground Movies Outdoors showcases a host of different films outdoors, in parks, public plazas, and most famously, on the tops of roofs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, from May to August..

See Calendar of Rooftop Film Screenings in Brooklyn

What is Rooftop Films?

Rooftop Films is a New York City based non-profit organization that seeks to "engage diverse communities by showing independent movies in outdoor locations, producing new films, coordinating youth media education, and renting equipment at low cost to artists."

A Season of Special Events: Premieres & Meet-The-Artist

Rooftop Films' programming has a few alluring features:

• New and independently produced works: This array of feature-length films and programs of shorts are all new, and all independently produced.

• Many officially unscreened: most of the feature films are either New York, US or World Premieres.
• Meet the artists & refreshments: Most screenings will include a filmmaker Q & A, often with refreshments.
• Range of genres: a curated menu of films represents a diverse range of documentaries, fiction, drama, comedy animation and more.
• Affordable events: Tickets cost about $10 and can be purchased online.

Rooftop Films Selections-Alphabetical List 2012

Here's a preview of the Rooftop Film selections for 2012. (Film descriptions provided by Rooftop Films.

See which Rooftop Films are playing in Brooklyn venues

• An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Terence Nance)Terence Nance's explosively creative debut feature documents the relationship between Terence and a woman as it teeters on the divide between platonic and romantic.
• Argentinean Lesson: (Wojciech Staron) Captured in breathtaking 16mm film, an eight-year-old traveling from Poland to Argentina meets Marcia, a beautiful and brave young girl, 11 going on 30.

• Bovines (Emmanuel Gras) In the fields, one sees them, wide in grass or grazing peacefully. Large placid animals which one believes to know because they are livestock. Lions, gorillas, bear have all our attention, but did one ever really look at cows?
• China Heavyweight (Yung Chang) In central China, a master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions.
• Detropia (Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) _ a cinematic tapestry of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.
• Dicke Maedchen (Heavy Girls) (Axel Ranisch)Sven shares his entire life, the apartment, even the bed with his mother, who is suffering from dementia. But when she takes off, Sven goes on a journey that turns his life upside down.
• Fat Kid Rules the World (Matthew Lilliard) Marking Matthew Lillard's (SLC Punk, Scream) directorial debut, and based on the bestselling novel by the same title, Fat Kid Rules the World is a story for anybody who has ever needed to find their inner rock star.
• Gayby (Jonathan Lisecki) Jenn and Matt, two best friends from college who are now in their 30s and single by choice, decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together...the old-fashioned way. Gayby will screen during Gay Pride weekend.
• Grandma Lo-Fi (Louise Johansen) At the tender age of 70 Sigríður Níelsdóttir started recording and releasing her own music straight from the living room. 7 years later, she had 59 albums to her name with more than 600 songs - an eccentric myriad of catchy compositions mixing in her pets' purrs and coos, found toys, kitchen percussion and Casio keyboards.
• Her Master's Voice: (Nina Conti) Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover on a pilgrimage to 'Venthaven' the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists.
• I Think It's Raining (Joshua Moore) Starring and featuring original songs written and performed by Alexandra Clayton, I Think It's Raining is a music-infused San Francisco portrait of a young woman at odds with who she once was and who she will become.
• Inocente (Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be undermined by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Rooftop and the Fledgling Fund present a series of screenings and art workshops for adults and youth alike.
• Kid-Thing: (David and Nathan Zellner) A fever-dream fable about a rebellious girl who spends her time roaming the land, leaving destruction in her wake.
• Kumaré: (Vikram Ghandi) Kumaré is a documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.
• Love Story Florian Habicht) A chance encounter between a man and a woman on a train leads to a day of adventure and discovery in this romance written on the streets of New York.
• Only the Young: (Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims) Kevin and Garrison are boyhood friends in a sleepy California suburb. They share a love of skateboarding, an evangelical Christian faith and a sense of confusion about romantic relationships.
• Sun Don't Shine: (Amy Seimetz) Sun Don't Shine follows Crystal (Kate Lyn Sheil) and her boyfriend Leo (Kentucker Audley) on a tense and mysterious road trip through the desolate yet hauntingly beautiful landscape of central Florida.
• The Imposter (Bart Layton) A documentary centered on a young Frenchman who convinces a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who went missing for 3 years.
• The Patron Saints (Brian Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky)The Patron Saints, a recipient of the Rooftop Filmmaker's Fund grant, is a disquieting and hyperrealistic glimpse into life at a nursing home. Bound by the candid confessions of a recently disabled resident, the film weaves haunting images, scenes and stories from within the institution walls.
• The Sheik and I (Caveh Zahedi) Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of "art as a subversive act," independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi (I Am a Sex Addict) goes overboard when told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik.
• The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom: (Lucy Walker) Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan's recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins. Supported by the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund.
• The Waiting Room (Peter Nicks) The Waiting Room is a character-driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients.
• Think of Me (Bryan Wizemann) "Trembling with vulnerability, Lauren Ambrose is positively devastating" (The New York Observer) as a young single mother doing her best not to fall apart.
• This Ain't California (Marten Persiel) A hit at the 2012 Berlinale,This Ain't California takes a look at the transformation of Germany over the course of 40 years through the lens of three skateboarder friends.
• Welcome to Pine Hill (Keith Miller)A recently reformed drug dealer working as a claims adjuster receives earth-shattering news that compels him to make peace with his past and search for freedom beyond the concrete jungle of New York.

**************************************** And, for film buffs who want to get a sens of the kinds of films the festival has previously shown.....

Rooftop Films 2011 Summer Series Schedule - Brooklyn

• Thursday, May 26, 2011(Fort Greene)
• No Way Out (Short Films)
• Fun and frantic short films--comedy, animation, music videos--tell tales of terrified souls trapped inside the machine
• Where: On the roof of Brooklyn Tech High School (Fort Greene), 29 Fort Greene Place

• Saturday, June 18 2011 (BAM/Fort Greene)
• The Catechism Cataclysm (Todd Rohal, Part of BAM Cinemafest)
• A madcap story about Father William Smoortser, who drops his bible into a toilet at a rest stop just before embarking on a day-long canoe trip, breaking loose all glorious hell.
• Where: Outdoor parking lot at BAM Cinematek at Fulton Street and Ashland Place

• Thursday, June 23 2011(Williamsburg)
• Home Movies and Commercial Kings
• A collection of short films that let us peak into the lives of strangers, plus a preview of Commercial Kings, a new series on IFC, starring comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal.
• Where: In the yard at the Crown Vic (Williamsburg), South 2nd St. and Wythe Ave

• Friday, July 1 2011Williamsburg)
• Northside DIY Film Competition Winner
• Rooftop and Brooklyn's Northside Festival co-present a screening of Northside's first annual DIY Film Competition winner. See blogs/NorthsideFestivalNews for updates
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Saturday, July 2 2011 (Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Where Soldiers Come From (Heather Courtney | Austin, TX)
• This film about a four-year journey from Northern Michigan to the mountains of Afghanistan and back follows childhood friends changed by war.
• Where: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

• Friday, July 8 2011(Williamsburg)
• Neurotypical (Adam Larsen , US Premiere)
• What is the standard that identifies one person as whole and capable and another as disabled and broken? Neurotypical parallels the lives of three individuals on the autism spectrum, each facing a pivotal stage of growth.
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Friday, July 15 2011 (Williamsburg)
• Bellflower (Evan Glodel, NY Premiere)
• An apocalyptic story for the Mad Max generation tells a tale of the destructive power of love.
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Saturday, July 16,2011 (Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Creation, Construction, Convento (Short Films)
• Artists fashion a madcap dance featuring robo-animal sculpture installations by Christiaan Zwanikken of Convento.
• Where: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St.

• Friday, July 22 2011(Williamsburg)
• Falling Overnight (Conrad Jackson,New York Premiere)
• Falling Overnight tells the story of twenty-two year old Elliot, who accidentally meets a young photographer named Chloe on the day before he has surgery to remove a brain tumor.
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Saturday, July 23 2011(Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Orbit (NY Premiere)
• A collaborative, feature-length omnibus movie about our solar system with every planet represented by a short film.
• Where:On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

• Thursday, July 28 2011(Williamsburg)
• Fake it So Real (Robert Greene, NY Premiere)
• This film follows a ragtag group of semi-professional wrestlers in North Carolina. A pre-film show will include a live wrestling match featuring the film's subjects.
• Where: In the yard at the Crown Vic (Williamsburg), South 2nd St. and Wythe Ave.

• Friday, July 29 2011(Williamsburg)
• Animation Block Party
• Some call it punk rock, some call it grass roots; this show features independent, professional and student animation.
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Saturday, July 30 2011(Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Kill Screen Video Game Night
• Rooftop partners with the video game magazine Kill Screen for a series of short films.
• Where: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

• Thursday, August 4 2011(Williamsburg)
• Dangerous Docs and Whisker Wars (Williamsburg)
• Short films focus on female Mexican wrestlers, moped gang wars in Virginia, and a docu-comedy from IFC about professional beard-growers!
• Where: In the yard at the Crown Vic (Williamsburg), South 2nd St. and Wythe Ave

• Friday, August 5 2011(Williamsburg)
• Nothing as it Seems (Short Films)
• Nothing is at it seems in a world of dreams, deception, and resurrection.
• Where: On the lawn in front of Automotive High School (Williamsburg), 50 Bedford Avenue

• Saturday, August 6 2011(Park Slope/Gowanus)
• La Bocca del Lupo(Pietro Marcello | Italy)
• A love story from the ancient Italian port city of Genoa includes archival footage, modern-day 35mm recreations and an orchestral score.
• On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

• Friday, August 12, 2011(Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Public Places, Private Spaces
• An intricate exploration of the emotions that fill the places we inhabit.
• Where: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

• Friday August 19 2011
• World's Best Dad(Joshua Gross, World Premiere)
• Miles hasn't seen Matt since their father passed away. Now, they're going to blast him into space.
• Where: TBA

• Saturday, August 20, 2011(Park Slope/Gowanus)
• Rooftop Shots
• Closing Night! Short films fired from the roof one last time, with fiction, documentary, comedy and animations .
• Where: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory (232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave.)

See Calendar of Rooftop Film Screenings in Brooklyn. For information, see Rooftop Films