VENUE CHANGE: On the roof of the Fulton Mall Parking Garage
300 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Dress warmly (it's cooler on the roof than in the streets).
In the event of rain the show is indoors at the same location.
Monday, July 4th, 2005
8:00 - Live music by The Mountain Goats—details below
9:00 - Fireworks
9:30 - Check out the view and take a look at your country.
Some Folks Call It Un-American
It is possible that some people would consider this program un-American. Some films poke fun at our leaders, others question governmental policy. But it's also possible that some people would think of this program as dangerously nationalistic. There are films which might seem to support the U.S. military, while others make fun of world leaders. But mostly this program is a portrait of a modern, divided America, filled with unique individuals and iconic foodstuffs.
This is a program about those unique individuals trying to be themselves and trying to fit in—a particularly American dilemma. It's about a young man from Washington Heights who sees no way to be who he wants to be without first being "all that he can be" in the Army. It's about young Thai-American woman who is screaming inside to express her style and her sexuality, but doesn't want to cross her parents; and it's about new parents of mixed race who just want their baby to escape the indignities they suffered as young Americans of color. It's about a hot dog who just wants you to eat a hot dog!
This program is not pro-American or un-American. This program is a discussion of what's going right and what's going wrong in America today. This program is a discourse on a country that is always remaking itself because its people are always remaking themselves. And this program is a celebration of the babies and the bad-asses, the loonies and the storks, the hot dogs, pizzas and nuts (literally and figuratively) that make America the world's most confounding country.
THE FILMS:
America's Biggest Dick (Brian Boyce / San Francisco, CA / 3:00)
In the kill or be killed world of Scarface, the cruelest, most sadistic, vindictive criminals become heroes. In other circles, the same types become Vice President.
All That I Can Be (Educational Video Center / New York, NY / 8:00)
A documentary about why one young man felt his best option for success in America was in the military, even during a war. This film is not making judgments, neither justifying nor refuting the case made by the Army recruiters or by William himself. Instead it merely presents the forces at work when an intelligent American chooses to risk his life for the hope improving his circumstances.
The Stork (Nina Paley / New York, NY / 4:30)
...is the bird of war. A cheery animated film about babies, bombs and suburban blight.
There There Square (Jacqueline Goss / Annandale, NY / 14:00)
The desire to own and name land and the pleasures of seeing from a distance color this personal survey of the history of mapmaking in the New World. There There Square takes a close look at the gestures of travelers, mapmakers, and saboteurs that determine how we read -- and live within -- the lines that define the United States. Brought to us by Video Data Bank.
Something Other Than Other (Jerry Henry / Los Angeles, CA / 7:05)
A beautiful personal portrait of the birth of a young multiracial couple's first child. Funded in part by the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund.
Pizza Surveillance Feature (Micah Laaker, American Civil Liberties Union / 2:20)
We think it's convenient when the take-out place knows our address from our phone number. But just how much information do we want to share?
World On Fire (Sophie Muller / Los Angeles, CA / 4:20)
$5,000 could cover the cost of one day of hair and make-up on set in L.A. or pay for one year's schooling for 145 girls in Afghanistan. Sarah McLachlan does the math and encourages you to join her.
Buried in the Backyard (Sarah Prior & Monica Bigler / New York, NY / 30:00)
In March 2003, The Wall Street Journal reported that bomb shelters were more prevalent now than during the Cold
War, but is this really true? Has the bomb shelter reached the mainstream? This documentary traverses the American
landscape, from Michigan to Utah, offering glimpses into a little-seen, sometimes festering and funky, interior. www.bombsheltermovie.com
El Moro (Jim Finn / Chicago, IL / 3:00)
As sung by Leonard Nimoy, this is the story of the bravest little hobbit in the world who fights the big bullies in the neighboring kingdom.
System Failure (WITNESS / Brooklyn, NY / 8:00)
Physical abuse, sexual harassment, inadequate education for incarcerated youth -- if a society can be graded by how it treats its prisoners, then the state of California gets an "F."
A Girl Named Kai (Kai Ling Xue / New York, NY & San Francisco, CA / 8:00)
Through a stirring and poetic mix of experimental video, home movie footage, and sliced up sounds, Kai appeals to her traditional Taiwanese parents for acceptance in spite of her unconventional take on life and love.
Luckiest Nut in the World (Emily James, Fulcrum TV / 5:30)
A singing peanut and his gang of shelled friends explain that sometimes free trade is just nuts. www.fulcrumtv.com
Hot Dog Man (Joyce Ventimiglia & Jim Haverkamp / Durham, NC / 5:45)
Director of Last Pack (Rooftop 7/14/01) and Armor of God (Rooftop 6/28/02). A hilarious and poignant home movie about an absurd American icon, a giant self-devouring hot dog statue in downtown Durham, North Carolina.
THE MUSIC:
The body, soul and voice of The Mountain Goats, singer-songwriter John Darnielle, comes to Rooftop Films to perform a classic solo set. His songs -- bitter and deadly love stories, character portraits of the wild and lonely, sharp cries of anguish -- are astonishingly uplifting. The sparse details of his lyrics are like postcards from long-lost friends, wandering the American wasteland and wondering how they'll ever survive.
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