Political Shorts: Fun with the Founding Fathers
Cheerful American dissidents and adorable cartoons
about war-mongers and genocide.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
PRESS RELEASE | WATCH a TRAILER!

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006
All audience members must be at the venue by 5PM!
+ Live music by The Double and Woodpecker (click for details)
+ + Readings by Patrick Gallagher and Debbie Nathan courtesy of Mr. Beller­s Neighborhood Mr. Beller's Neighborhood
+ Fantastic fireworks view
+ One hour of fun political films

On the East River at Solar One (@ 23rd St), just north of Stuyvesant Cove Park, Manhattan | DIRECTIONS
The show will go on rain or shine, so bring an umbrella.

Food, soft drinks, and beer will be for sale.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to standard 4th of July NY Police Department restrictions, all audience members must be at the venue by 5PM. The matter is out of our control, and if you are late, the NYPD will not let you past their barricade. Please arrive early. Rooftop Films cannot refund your money if you are late, for the weather, or for any other reason.



Fun with the Founding Fathers
The birthday of our nation is a day to celebrate, and to reflect. A day to kick back with some live music, and to be challenged by some political films. A day to drink a beer, eat a hot dog, watch some fireworks, and laugh hysterically at some of our nation's most heralded leaders. And you can do it all at Rooftop Films.

THE FILMS:
Cox and Combs (Washington) (Brad Neely | Austin, TX | 2:00)
An animated musical biography of some of the lesser known legends surrounding our nation's first president. We've all heard the legend of the cherry tree, but most people don't know, for example, that Washington made love like an eagle falling out of the sky.

Preacher With and Unknown God
(Rob Van Alkemade | Astoria, NY | 16:20)
Long a staple of political protest in New York, this Sundance Audience Award-winning documentary follows anti-corporate activist and pseudo-religious performance artist Reverend Billy and his Church-of-Stop-Shopping as they attacking corporate capitalism at its face, the strip malls and box stores that litter the country.

Los ABC's: Que Vivan los Muertos!
(John Jota Leanos | San Francisco, CA | 5:00)
A hilarious but "deadly" serious animated music video with a mad mariachi band teaching us the ABCs of life and death across the globe.

Flatnap Prophecies, Vol. 2: Lincoln (Steve Collins | Austin, TX | 3:00)
In this quick quirky comedy by Rooftop alum Steve Collins, a relationship is threatened and heroically elevated by one of America's greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln.

Frank and Wendy: A Blow to the Back of Society's Head
(Kaspar Jancis & Ulo Pikkov | Talinn, Estonia | 10:00)
Named the best Estonian animated film of 2005, this is one installment of the unbelievably weird story of two FBI super-super-agents battling evil Latvians in the deadly streets of Estonia. Come to Rooftop each week as we present all 8 episodes of Frank and Wendy.

Night Visions (Kathy Huang | Mountain View, CA | 7:15)
Soon after September 11th, Blake Roberts enlisted in the U.S. Army; now, four years later, he has returned home from Iraq a changed man. Combining Roberts' intimate interviews with his personal footage of Iraq, Night Visions reveals how the wounds of military conflict are not always visible to the naked eye.


THE MUSIC:
The Double
There is a foreboding sense of everything coming apart at the seams in
The Double's subversive take on pop music. Their Matador debut, 'Loose in the Air,' is an eerie, paranoid album steeped in a hyper-awareness of the impermanence of things. Melody moves through thick layers of noisy, manic guitars and heavily distorted keyboards, and drums fight through a dense fog of melancholy. Tender vocals soar high and low through an atmosphere of chaos—it's at once unsettling and utterly captivating.

The men of The Double are completely tuned into their own frequencies, seemingly unaffected by current trends. As a result, they have quickly attracted a loyal following that craves the Double's brand of sonic experimentation and innovation. Last year's 'Palm Fronds' (Catsup Plate) is a rock-pop album in the same way that David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is a romantic comedy. Still, in addition to charming critics, 'Palm Fronds' earned the Double a coveted Peel Session, as well as opening slots for Interpol and Blonde Redhead in Europe.

Visit them online at www.matadorrecords.com/the_double and www.thedoublethedouble.com, and on MySpace at myspace.com/thedoublethedouble.

Woodpecker
Woodpecker is your favorite ivory-billed, red-bellied, sap-sucking string band. They feature three musicians and vocalists who play the guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Check out their lovely songs at myspace.com/woodpeckermusic.