By the summer of 1997, Mark Elijah Rosenberg was fed
up with most traditional film festivals, so he decided
to exhibit his films and the films of his friends on
the roof of his apartment on 14th Street in Manhattan
under the moniker of High Brow Low Budget Productions.
The night was a great success, with over 200 people
in attendance, but Mark was kicked out of his apartment
for having 200 people on his roof. In 1998, Mark hosted
one night of films on the roof of Peter's Car Corp.
in the East Williamsburg Industrial Park, Brooklyn.
The next year, Mark teamed up with previous collaborator
Joshua Breitbart to co-found Rooftop Films, and together
they expanded the series to five nights. They were joined
the same summer by Moira Griffin, who had previously
worked at Ocularis. In the next few years, they were
joined by—among many volunteers—Dan Nuxoll,
the Program Director; Harry Rosenblum, who books and
coordinates the pre-film music at the shows, and Sarah
Palmer, who started A Companion Guide to Rooftop
Films magazine and was the Festival Director from
2001-06. She is still the staff photographer and designer.
In 2006, Jennifer Nedbalsky was hired as our first ever
Development Director.
In spring
2007, we hired our first Managing Director, Genevieve
Delaurier, and also brought in Daisy Rosario as our
new Show Manager, Drew Henkels as our new Tech Manager
and Music Coordinator, Kevin Alexander as our new Rental
Manager and show technician, and Danielle Kourtesis
as our Assistant Music Coordinator.
