Rooftop Films Announces 2019 Summer Series Feature Selections

Rooftop Films is proud to announce select feature films for their 2019 Summer Series, presented by SundanceTV! This year's series will take place from May 17th to August 23rd, featuring more than 45 outdoor screenings in more than a dozen spectacular outdoor venues, with live music, filmmaker appearances, and special enhanced screenings of the best, new, independent films from around the world.

The open-air festivities will kick off on Friday, May 17th, at Green-Wood Cemetery with This is What We Mean by Short Films, an annual collection of some of the most innovative short films of the past year. Featuring neighborhood celebrities, illegal Chinese Trap music, animated bungee dives and conga lines on the high seas, these daring and wildly entertaining works will transport you to heretofore unexplored realities and display the creative potential of the cinematic short form.

The 23rd Summer Series will continue through August with screenings of exceptional new films. Highlights include: Celebrated playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo's Sundance smash that took home the fest's U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Brittany Runs a Marathon ; Tali Shalom-Ezer's My Days of Mercy, starring Ellen Page, Kate Mara and Amy Seimetz; Annabelle Attanasio's Montana-set drama starring Camila Morrone, Mickey and the Bear; Alex Thompson's SXSW Audience Award winner, Saint Frances ; Michael Tyburski's strikingly unique Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grantee starring Peter Sarsgaard and Rashida Jones, The Sound of Silence; Tom Cullen's devastating directorial debut starring Tatiana Maslany and Jay Duplass, Pink Wall; Rashaad Ernesto Green's fresh portrait of New York love Premature ; Samantha Buck & Marie Schlingmann's playfully irreverent Sister Aimee; and Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe's suburban black comedy, Greener Grass.

"Last year, all of us at Rooftop Films dedicated ourselves to more inventive programming, adding more integrated musical performances, and we searched the far corners of the city to add several new, spectacular venues. The result was record-breaking attendance numbers and our most enthusiastic audience reaction to date," said Dan Nuxoll, Artistic Director of Rooftop Films. "This year we're building on that success and working to turn every single screening into a truly one-of-a-kind event. We're thrilled with our slate this year, and the wide variety of films and specially curated enhancements should make this Summer Series our most memorable yet."

More than a Film Festival, Rooftop is an independent film celebration, with live musical performances, after-parties, and additional enhancements throughout the summer. Special activations this year include a special free presentation of Melvin Van Peebles' ground-breaking classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song in Fort Greene Park, with a live score performance by Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber; a Green-Wood Cemetery-set screening of Brandon Vedder's documentary Strange Negotiations, followed by a special post-show Q&A and performance by Pedro the Lion frontman, David Bazan; Sonic Youth: NYC & Beyond, a New York-specific collection of film and videos from their private archives curated by members of the band and archivist Aaron Mullan; and as always, the Summer Series brings the triumphant return of several Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund Grantees, including Michael Tyburski (The Sound of Silence), Petra Costa (The Edge of Democracy), and more.

The 2019 Summer Series is presented by SundanceTV, and supported by signature sponsors Corona Extra, Industry City, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Ketel One Family Made Vodka, Lays Poppables, Jaguar, The Museum of Modern Art, and media partner WNYC.

Every Summer Series event will include live musical performances, and ticketed screenings will have after-parties featuring Corona Extra and signature cocktails by Ketel One Family Made Vodka.

Venues this year include Green-Wood Cemetery in Greenwood Heights, The William Vale in Williamsburg, New Design High School in the Lower East Side, Murmrr Theatre in Prospect Heights, Industry City & Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Fort Greene Park, Liberty Park in Tribeca, MetroTech Commons in Downtown Brooklyn, and Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City.

Tickets for select 2019 Summer Series shows are now on sale. For first-access to events, memberships are available at www.rooftopfilms.com/memberships.

Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios