ROOFTOP LAUNCHES PARTNERSHIP W/ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM, “BLIND PIG WHO WANTS TO FLY” & “LOS HEREDEROS” TO HAVE US PREMIERES

IFFR-logo_325w.jpgRooftop Films (NYC) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) have joined forces to present two remarkable films from IFFR 2009 in Rooftop’s Summer Series. Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly by Edwin (Indonesia) and Los Herederos by Eugenio Polgovsky (Mexico) will be screened on July 17 and 18, 2009 with the filmmakers and IFFR director Rutger Wolfson attending. Q&As with the filmmakers will be hosted by Rooftop Films Founder and Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg.

The collaboration, a pilot project between the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Rooftop Films, sets out to raise the profile and track record of both films in the US. The films screened at IFFR and have been supported financially by its Hubert Bals Fund.

Also that weekend, Rooftop Films will host a forum with film industry leaders about the future of independent, alternative film exhibition.


Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly, a dark comedy from Indonesia about the local Chinese community, was made by first-time feature filmmaker Edwin (who uses only his first name as his artist name). Los Herederos, by Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky, is an impressive and artful documentary about child labor.

Rooftop Films’ 13th Annual Summer Series runs every weekend from May 15-September 20. Programming for the 2009 Summer Series includes feature-length films and programs of shorts–all new, all independent. Rooftop screens films outdoor in unique locations, with live music before each screening, filmmaker Q&As after the screening, and after-parties for all in attendance. Rooftop creatively matches the film, the music and the venue, connecting films with communities and artists with audiences so that each event is unique and memorable.

The IFFR is interested in exploring new ways of finding an audience for independent cinema and therefore is glad to collaborate with Rooftop. Rooftop Films Founder and Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg said of the partnership, “Both our festivals are dedicated to supporting truly independent filmmakers who are making daring films, and in finding unique new ways to produce and exhibit these films. It’s an honor for Rooftop and the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund to be working with Rotterdam on this new venture.”

For screening dates, locations, visit www.rooftopfilms.com. To buy tickets, click here.

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Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly is a film that is both serious and playful. The film tackles a sensitive racial political issue, namely the denial of the cultural identity of the Chinese minority in Indonesia, but is also filled with humorous and bizarre jokes and situations.

Edwin’s film premiered November 2009 in Pusan’s New Currents section, then went on to compete in Rotterdam’s VPRO Tiger Awards Competition and there was honored with the FIPRESCI Award of the international film critics’ jury.

Edwin (1978, Indonesia) studied graphic design in Surabaya and film in Jakarta. Besides short fiction, Edwin makes music videos and documentaries. In 2005 his film Kara, the Daughter of a Tree became the first Indonesian short film ever invited to the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. For the IFFR, Edwin made the short film Hulahoop Soundings (2008), a kind of remake of Joel Coen’s graduation film Soundings. Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (2008) is his feature début.

Rooftop Films Summer Series screening date and location of Blind Pig: July 17, 2009, on the roof of the Old American Can Factory. Address: 232 3rd St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn). Doors open at 8:00pm. Live music at 8:30pm. Film at 9:00pm. BUY TICKETS.





Los Herederos (The Inheritors) is a hypnotic documentary that observes the young working poor in the hinterlands of Mexico, alternately expressing the joy of children finding ways to play, the frustration of their harsh and repetitive lives, and the fateful acceptance of their existence.

Eugenio Polgovsky (1977, Mexico) studied film, photography and directing at the CCC in Mexico and won the Special Prize in a UNESCO photography contest. He works as director and cinematographer. His first feature-length documentary Tropic of Cancer (2004) was awarded several times at festivals. Polgovsky’s Los Herederos received a digital production grant in 2007 from the Hubert Bals Fund, premiered August 2008 during the Venice Film Festival and was selected for Rotterdam 2009’s Bright Future section for first and second time filmmakers.

Rooftop Films Summer Series screening date and location of Los Herederos: July 18, 2009, On the roof of El Museo Del Barrio. Address: 1230 Fifth Ave. @ 104th St. (East Harlem). Doors open at 8:00pm. Live music at 8:30pm. Film at 9:00pm. BUY TICKETS.

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