Sundance Review: Utopia in Four Movements
Rooftop alum Sam Green and Dave Cerf‘s philosophical film essay Utopia in Four Movements swirls brilliantly and casually through cultural history and detritus, through fantasy and forgotten fact. The film hits NYC in October.
SUNDANCE REVIEW: THE RED CHAPEL
Poking Fun at North Korea, Suffering the Consequences
Traveling to one of the most isolated countries in the world, making fun of one of the most deadly regimes in history, takes courage and passion, but it should also be terrifying.
SUNDANCE REVIEW: GASLAND
Lighting Tap Water on Fire
Gasland opens on September 15th at the IFC Center in New York City. Learn more about Gasland screenings in your area. When a natural gas mining company offered Josh Fox and his upstate New York neighbors $100,000 each for the right to drill for gas on their land, Fox thought he’d better examine what was […]
TRAILER FOR “PERSONA NON GRATA” US PREMIERE OF ROOFTOP CO-FUNDED DOC PLAYING SAT. 6/13
Prosecuted as a rebel. Banned as a priest. Committed as an artist. Loved as a father. An inspiring and important documentary co-funded by Rooftop Films. Buy tickets here. Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory Address: 232 3rd St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn) Rain: In the event of rain […]
April 2-8: 15TH AND FINAL NYUFF
New York Underground Film FestivalApril 2-8, 2008@ Anthology Film Archiveswww.nyuff.com Tickets March 27 @ 9:45pm Selections from the 2007 NYUFF@ IFC CenterTickets The New York Underground Film Festival, a venerable anti-establishmentarian institution, the godfather of all “Underground” film festivals, will be hosting its 15th and Final installation in April, and then doing what any good […]
CINEMA EYE AWARDS
Last night I attended the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors, co-chaired by AJ Schnack and Thom Powers, produced by Danielle DiGiacomo, and presented by IndiePix at the IFC Center. I have never been a big fan of awards for art. I’m a big sports fan, and a competitive person, but I don’t judge success in anything […]
SXSW REVIEW: FICTION VS. NON-FICTION IN “WOODPECKER” AND OTHER FILMS
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 with Dan Nuxoll from Rooftop, Joel, and Alex Karpovsky and […]
SXSW REVIEW: A NECESSARY DEATH
In a certain way, this entire review is a spoiler, so if you don’t want to know too much, skip my writings and go see the film. Herein, I don’t really tell you the plot–an exciting and gripping drama–but I do get at the essence of the film. I highly recommend it. In Daniel Stamm’s […]
SXSW REVIEW: AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR
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 […]
ROOFTOP STAFF & ALUMS AT SXSW ’08
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 […]