Rooftop Shots
A collection of many of the best short films from the 2007 Summer Series

***Tickets***
FRI., September 21, 2007
8:30 - Live Music by Frances
9:00 - Showtime
11-1AM -After Party: Open Bar at Fontana's (105 Eldridge St @ Grand)
Courtesy of Martin Miller's Gin

On the roof of the Open Road Rooftop Project
CLICK for DIRECTIONS
350 Grand Street @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
F/J/M/Z to Essex / Delancey
In the event of rain the show is indoors at the same location.
Tickets -$8 at the door or online
Presented in partnership with - IFC.com, New York magazine & Open Road New York.


Rooftop Shots
In 2007, Rooftop Films screened over 150 short films from more than 30 countries. These are some of our favorites. We love these films because they do what great short films should: they hit you hard, fast, and in unexpected ways.

In this program, it's the science film about mind control which might make you laugh the hardest; it's the sketchy line drawings of one of Rooftop's favorite comedians which might make you shed a tear. The experimental documentary about German carnival performers should get you riled up, while the animation about a tattooed rock 'n roll lifer is tinged with a poignant melancholy. Unlike so many short film programs, there are no simple films here: no twist endings, no one-note diatribes. From animals dating online to little girls playing at Love and War, from psychopathic serenades to sweetly surreal Sandmen, this program is filled with astonishingly complex revelations.

We begin with love and we end with dreams. Animation, comedy, documentary, drama -- the weirdest and most wonderful, the upsetting and uplifting, these are the films too sharp to be called shorts. Come out to enjoy the close of the season with these fantastic films fired into the night sky: Rooftop Shots.

The Films:

Ver Llover (Elisa Miller Encinas | Mexico | 14:00)

Winner of the Best Fiction Short, 2006 Morelia International Film Festival.
In this evocative romantic drama, two teenagers in a small town struggle with the decision of whether to stay or go.

Motodrom (Joerg Wagner | Germany | 9:00)

The world of the hellriders in their wooden barrel: men and motorbikes, speed and stunts, gasoline and adrenaline. A dying fairground attraction, portrayed in a thrilling homage with 5000 rounds per minute.

Peace Talk (Jenifer Malmqvist | Sweden | 14:00)

Little Jonna and her friend Emilie play at being soldiers, but Jonna’s mother doesn’t approve of the course their game takes in this beautiful exploration of youthful emotions.

Raymond (Bif | France | 5:00)

A hilarious, gorgeous, bizarre special effects masterpiece directed by the three French geniuses known collectively as "Bif." This short also tells the story of a man trapped in a bizarre experiment--in this case one that involves a a liquid solution that allows scientists to control his every movement.

How to Break up with Your Girlfriend (Lev | San Francisco, CA | 2:00)

Lev, the king of animated heartbreak and frustration, explicates on his processes. (Part of Lev's series, "Tales of Mere Existence.")

I’m Not Going to Think About Her (Lev | San Francisco, CA | 1:30)

In one of Lev's funniest and most touching shorts, his list of things he's not going to think about exposes his raw and detailed emotional attachment. (Part of Lev's series, "The 7 Habits of Highly Negative People.")

t.o.m. (Tom Brown & Daniel Gray | United Kingdom | 3:00)

Winner of the Honorable Mention at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The animated journey of a young boy with an affinity for a little extra exposure.

Bobby Bird: The Devil in Denim
(Carson D. Mell | Pasadena, CA | 7:00)

Aging rock musician Bobby Bird explains the origins of his many tattoos, with the aid of animated flashbacks.

Niebla (Fog) (Emilio Ramos | Spain | 7:30)

Led by the words of an old man, we will witness the extraordinary, magical event that changed the life of a village forgotten amid the fog.

“Une Instituut”

(The Institute of the Dream) (Mati Kutt | Estonia | 10:00)
At bedtime, Sandman Mati’s footprints appear from nowhere on the sand. The Master of Dreams spreads the dream sand in cooperation with Pillow Katis onto piglet, gentlemen in black, the tumbler, a rabbit chasing hunter and on angel Tõnu. The Pillow Katis put dream pillows under every faller to make the falling asleep softer and safer as well. Sandman Mati also scatters dream sand onto the eyelids of a sleepless child.

7:35 in the Morning (Nacho Vigalondo | Spain | 9:00)

A man stages a surreal love song for a stranger in this ingenious, hilarious, Oscar-nominated short film from one of Rooftop's favorite upcoming directors.

The Tourist (Jeff Israel and James Israel | New York | 15:00)

A woman afraid to leave her Brooklyn apartment makes a puzzling discovery as she struggles with her dreams, memories and the mundane.

A Valentine to Perfect Strangers
(Ben Coonley | Brooklyn, NY | 5:00)

Otto, a feral cat from Brooklyn, has created a postmodern pastiche for you, stranger.

The Music: Frances

The L Magazine wrote:
Music nerds love nothing more than discovering an artist who not only shares their own deep, unbridled love for the art form, but who proceeds to take it one step further, to a point where their entire existence is predicated on their ability to complete one particular work. Think about the Brian Wilsons of the world, the Neutral Milk Hotels, the Captain Beefhearts — they’re all known for one piece of career-defining work that almost put them over the edge. It would be presumptuous to make such a bold statement about Paul Hogan, who’s the mastermind behind Frances, but it doesn’t seem too far off, either. A frighteningly talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who’s working toward his doctorate in music at Columbia, Hogan previously released a solo record that was, oddly enough, titled Frances, and the band continues to play many of the songs contained on it, along with a handful of new ones. The material is beautiful and sad, centered around Hogan’s singing, but just barely; there are all sorts of horns and strings and toy pianos and pretty much everything else you can think of as well. It’s slow, dreamy pop music that makes you feel like you’re listening to something big that Hogan’s been trying to work out in his head for quite some time. Sounds to me like he has, but who knows… he’s the kind of musical mind you don’t want to doubt.