1997: The Beginning
Rooftop Films came into existence in July of 1997 atop a tenement apartment building on 14th Street in Manhattan. Filmmaker Mark Elijah Rosenberg had just graduated from Vassar College and moved back to his native New York and was looking for an innovative way to get people together for screenings of new short films. It's never been easy to get people's attention in New York and drawing crowds of Gothamites to a night of avant garde cinema can be difficult. So instead of trying to rent a small dingy theater, Rosenberg got out his 16MM projector, a cheap sound system and a big white sheet and invited everyone he could find up to the roof above his little apartment. Hundreds came out, many with their films in tow, and the movies were screened deep into the night amidst the water towers and pigeon coops of the East Village skyline.
1998-2001: Early Summers in East Williamsburg
Unfortunately, his landlord found out about the screening and evicted him soon thereafter. But Rooftop Films had been born, and the following summer, Rosenberg teamed with Joshua Breitbart to bring Rooftop to Northern Brooklyn. The two built a sturdy screen on the roof of an old warehouse space that was being converted to lofts on McKibbin Street in East Williamsburg/Bushwick by Breitbart and future Rooftop Program Director Dan Nuxoll. Rooftop did a single screening of shorts there in 1998, then 5 more in the summer of 1999 and 8 more in the summer of 2000. Rooftop was a vital part of the emergence of Bushwick as a home for young filmmakers, artists and musicians, but we also worked hard to help bring the nascent artistic community and the long-time residents of the area together to collaborate on creative fundraising projects that improved the neighborhood for everyone.
2001-2005: Expansion
Rooftop gradually became the organizing force at the center of a community of artists by having musicians and other artists perform before screenings, collaborating with dozens of other organizations to bring the visions of outside curators to the roof; and—most importantly—creating and maintaining an environment where filmmakers can come together, share their work and see amazing new films that aren't being screened anywhere else.
Slowly the word spread around Brooklyn and then around the rest of the city and the size of the crowds and the number of submissions we received steadily crept upwards. By 2001, the Rooftop Films Summer Series was a legitimate and popular festival with screenings running weekly throughout the summer and hundreds of people coming out each Friday to see some of the best new underground work being shown anywhere. Rooftop incorporated as a non-profit and put together a staff of hard working volunteers. Rosenberg stayed on as Artistic Director and Sarah Palmer and Dan Nuxoll joined on as Festival Director and Program Director, respectively. All three are now full-time employees of Rooftop Films, and they slave away year-round to bring the most exciting new films to the roofs of the world. Dozens more part-time employees, interns and devoted volunteers contribute to the cause by helping to gather and choose films, secure venues, advertise the shows, move and set up equipment and otherwise keep the Summer Series running smoothly.
Since 2000, we have also been expanding our mission to provide diverse benefits and valuable assistance to our filmmakers. One dollar of every ticket sold and every submission fee goes toward the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund, which gives grants to filmmakers whose work has shown at a Rooftop show. Rooftop also lends out cameras, editing facilities, screening equipment and professional services to our filmmakers and we are regularly adding new programs to facilitate the production and exhibition of new works.
Since 2002, Rooftop has screened films for thousands of people each year in a number of incredible outdoor locations, including the Parade Grounds on the newly reopened Governors Island, along the East River on Roosevelt Island, in the beautiful garden of Automotive High School in Williamsburg, floating around Manhattan aboard the Rocks Off Temptress Cruise Ship, along the Hudson at the River Project in Tribeca, in the courtyard of Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center in the Lower East Side, at the University of Quebec's rooftop garden in Montreal, and even atop a spacious parking garage in Downtown Brooklyn. We are constantly seeking even more great outdoor locations to screen films, both around New York City and all over the East Coast.
In early 2004, Rooftop set up offices and a new rooftop venue in Gowanus at The Old American Can Factory. Partnering with XO Projects, we installed a huge 21-by-14-foot permanent screen on the roof and the Can Factory has since hosted dozens of Rooftop shows. We will continue screening there in 2006 and on into the future.
2006: Ten Years on the Roof
Rooftop Films has grown larger and more influential every year of our existence and 2006 will undoubtedly be our biggest year every. We are planning on expanding this summer to 30 or more screenings and we will likely screen more than 250 films. Included in the 2006 Summer Series will be six retrospective shows that will look back on some of the best films that we have shown in our 10 years on the roof, including great unrealeased independent films that we will be digitally restoring and releasing on DVD so that they may finally find the audience that they richly deserve.
Winter 2005-2006 will also be spent expanding our organization in other ways. Some of the things we are setting up are:
» The premiere of the Rooftop Films television show on Manhattan cable.
» Awarding over $7,700 cash to filmmakers to help complete their new films
» Awarding thousands more dollars in free equipment loans and editing and postproduction services to filmmakers
» Setting up a rental and licensing distribution network for filmmakers whose work we have shown
» Continuing to expand our educational services and teaching classes at local public schools
These are just some of the ways that we are working to assist daring filmmakers to complete, perfect and exhibit their films to large enthusiastic audiences eager to see exciting new work, so keep checking this sitefor updates on what we are doing.
