Carroll Pickett was a minister in Huntsville, TX–a place best known for its many prisons and high number of executions–when two of his parishioners were taken hostage in an infamous prison riot in 1974. He was called in to try to broker peace, but his friends were eventually killed, and Pickett vowed to never return [...]

“Glory at Sea!” plays at SXSW in the Shorts 3 program on March 9, 11th and 14th, at the Alamo Lamar Cinemas.
In the guidelines to the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund–the grants that Rooftop offers to filmmakers whose work has screened with us–we say “We are more likely to fund films that make the most of their [...]

Part 1 of this entry can be found HERE
Living With the Tudors (Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope)
OK, I haven’t seen any of this film, but Guthrie and Pope’s first film (Bata-Ville, Rooftop Summer Series 2006) is one of the most unique, wonderful, underappreciated docs of the last 10 years, so far as I see it. [...]

I’ve had the good fortune to see a bunch of the films at SXSW in advance (either in part or in full), and I can tell you that this year’s batch boasts yet another strong collection of genuinely independent films. In 2007 we programmed several really fantastic films that had premiered in Austin, and for good [...]

A lot has been written about the South by Southwest Film Festival and their support of the Austin film community and the “Mumblecore” movement. Personally, I love the idea of indie filmmakers bonding, working together, supporting each other. You can say that the importance of the those scenes is blown out of proportion, and that [...]

I’d write more about it, but, frankly, I gotta go take a whiz.

Here at Rooftop Films, we’re thrilled to collaborate with IFC.com to host short films on their website. We’ve always wanted to put shorts online, and IFC was the perfect platform for the type of creative, unique, daring short films we show, and exposes thousands of new viewers to these distinct movies.
IFC’s Media Lab teamed [...]

As I wrote the other day, Rooftop Films and IFP are proud to be working together to support all aspects of independent film–from exhibition all the way back through production. IFP does an admirable job at helping films get made, and have an outstanding track record of bringing fantastic films through their Labs. And when [...]

One of the most beautiful shows Rooftop Films ever hosted was our 2007 edition of Dark ‘Toons. The astonishing animator Brent Green showed his films and played live music with Brooklyn locals The Quavers. They are a band whose sound and focus is very much in line with Rooftop–quiet and surprisingly intricate songs about drifting [...]

[This is the complete article originally published on March 13, 2008.]
Late last night, after jumping from IFC’s My Morning Jacket / Yo La Tengo concert to the wide-open SXSW Closing Night party and finally onto Joel Heller’s birthday, I wound up at the Magnolia diner, eating scrambled eggs and discussing scrambled documentaries. I was there [...]