Do you ever look at the people around you and think, “My friends are doing pretty amazing stuff”? That’s the way I think we all feel at Rooftop Films right now. Entering our 12th year, the community of filmmakers who have shown work at Rooftop now numbers over 1,400, and the films they are making keep getting better and better. We’re thrilled to be going out to Park City this year with so many Rooftop alums showing films at two of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, Sundance and Slamdance.
Some of these filmmakers are artists whose work we’ve been showing for years (Signe Baumane, Tony Gault, Leigh Hodgkinson, among others), and we’re so proud to see them gaining the recognition that Sundance and Slamdance accord to filmmakers. Other filmmakers we first encountered out in Park City (Brent Green, Calvin Reeder, Ken Wardrop, to name a few), and we’ve since developed wonderful relationships with them. We’re particularly excited to see the debut features of a number of filmmakers whose shorts we showed (Nacho Vigalando, David & Nathan Zellner, Chris Waitt, Jon Knautz, Joanna Vasquez Arong and Cheryl Furjanic). And I’d like to give a special shout out to Andy Cahill, a young man whose film “The Werewolf” showed at Rooftop when he was only 19 years old, coming out of our pioneering screenings of youth-produced films.
Those different pathways (from Rooftop to Park City and back) indicate the growing importance of Rooftop Films on the international film festival circuit: we’re a place to discover new emerging filmmakers, and a place to see established, world-class talent.
Some of these films we’ve actually shown, others we’re eager to see, but if you’re going out to the fests, we recommend all of these films as we would the films of our dear friends. If you’re not going, expect to see some of them on the roof this summer.
SUNDANCE – Features
+ “Time Crimes,” Director: Nacho Vigalando (pictured above)
+ “Goliath,” Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
+ “A Complete History of My Sexual Failures,” Director: Chris Waitt
+ “Trouble the Water,” Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal (Rooftop’s neighbors), Cinematography: Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund recipient PJ Raval
SUNDANCE – Shorts
+ “By Modern Measure,” Director: Matthew Lessner
+ “The Rambler,” Director: Calvin Reeder
+ “Carlin,” Director: Brent Green
+ “Salim Baba,” Director: Tim Sternberg
+ “Chonto,” Director: Carson Mell
+ “Teat Beat of Sex,” Director: Signe Baumane
+ “Count Backward from Five,” Director: Tony Gault
+ “The Drift,” Director: Kelly Sears
+ “Farewell Packets of Ten,” Director: Ken Wardrop
+ “Scoring,” Director: Ken Wardrop
+ “Flighty,” Director: Leigh Hodgkinson
+ “Plot Point,” Director: Nicolas Provost
+ “Suspension,” Director: Nicolas Provost
SUNDANCE – New Frontier on Main
+ “The Story is Still Asleep,” Film: Braden King
+ “God Built like Frank Lloyd Wright,” Film: Brent Green
SLAMDANCE – Features
+ “New Year Parade,” Writer/Director: Tom Quinn
+ “Neo-Lounge,” Writer/Director: Joanna Vasquez Arong
+ “Sync or Swim,” Writer/Director: Cheryl Furjanic
+ “Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer,” Writer/Director: Jon Knautz
SLAMDANCE – Shorts
+ “Celestial Riddle,” Director: Ondrej Rudavsky
+ “Son,” Director: Daniel Mulloy
+ “Everything Said,” Director: Andy Cahill
+ “My Life at 40,” Director: Laurie Hill
+ “The Outhouse,” Director: Jack Truman