Born in New York, The Bicycle Film Festival has evolved hand in hand with the unprecedented boom in urban cycling internationally. From its roots in New York City, The BFF has grown into a multi-faceted, global event that will travel to over 25 cities this year, from Milan to Tokyo, Minneapolis to Sydney. In 2001 Brendt Barbur, Founding Director, was compelled to start the Bicycle Film Festival after being hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City. He was inspired to turn this negative experience into a positive one, and created a festival that celebrates the bicycle through music, art, and film. The festival merges many creative communities, including fashion, music and art, as well as various bicycling communities – road cycling, mountainbiking, fixed gear, BMX, cyclocross – over a shared passion for bike riding. Watch above as Discosalt goes inside The Bicycle Film Festival’s headquarters in New York with its creator Brendt Barbur.

ArtBattles returns to New York after a tour through France and Spain with the ArtBattles Pop Up Gallery NYC. The gallery is open for free to the public for a limited time from Thursday, January 12th through Saturday, January 14th and located at 159 Bleeker St. in the West Village.

This exhibition of one of a kind originals will feature a live and silent auction starting at exclusive pricing that can only be found at the ArtBattles Popup Gallery. ArtBattles will not only showcase large-scale works created by rising stars and painters from the US, France, and Spain, but also Live Art and a video installation. Art enthusiasts will be able to learn about the artists’ process, history and style. This unique collection of work represents a range of painting from fine art to street art that will be showcased in a floor to ceiling exhibition of epic scale.

“We are excited to bring back a collection of work that accurately reflects the unique artistic cultures found all over Europe and the US. These pieces, which were made in a series of battles over a course of 6 months, show the dynamism of live art today. It’s fresh, it’s frenetic, it’s liberating,” said Sean Bono, founder of ArtBattles.

ArtBattles Pop Up Gallery brings famed European artists to the New York stage. All featured works were painted live, on stage, in front of hundreds and sometimes thousands of viewers. ArtBattles curated all 300 pieces from the most innovative artists who participated in these international, competitive, creative presentations in 2010 & 2011.

All pieces are available for sale on site and can also be found in the ArtBattles Gallery.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
US: Andre Trenier, Max (Mega 330) Bode, Zito, Don Rimx, Max Neutra, Michael Pukac, Beast, Ben Angotti, Sean Bono, Lexi Bella, Marthalicia Mattarita, Dirty Duke, Yatika Starr Fields, Kevin Ragnott, Gia Gutierrez, Erin Cadigan, Gregory Siff.
Spain: El Niño de Las Pinturas, Kram, Japon, 3TTMan, Paria,Daniel Thomas, Pichi & Avo, Sakristan.
France: Deuz, MattB, Kouka, Shane, Skio, Titi from Paris, Michael Beerens, Monsta, Move.

EVENT SPONSORS
Artist canvas will be supplied by Fredrix for Live Art each day of the Art Battles Pop Up Gallery.
Exhibition space has been provided by PopUpSpaceNY.

Come check out the DRAGONSLAYER  premiere party at Public Assembly w/ Psychic Ills and Endless Boogie w/ DJ Steve Lowenthal Nov 1. at 8pm FREE! If that’s not enough to wet your beak, there are free PBR from 9pm-10pm!  DRAGONSLAYER opens at Cinema Village on November 4 and be sure to get your hands on a copy of the November issue of discosalt Magazine to read our full interview with Dragonslayer director Tristan Patterson. 

Sorry folks, No soap, No Radiohead. The band’s representative Steve Martin of Nasty Little Man said in an email “We can officially confirm this is NOT happening.”   Twitter rumors have been circulating of  a confirmed Radiohead  ”surprise” show downtown for the Occupy Wall Street protest this afternoon at 4pm, but looks like this will not happen.  The band will however,  stick around NYC to play Jimmy Fallon’s late show Monday night, and has been rumored to play the All Tomorrow’s Party over the weekend.

Starfucker, also known as STRFKR, formerly briefly known as Pyramiddd, performed to a sold-out Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night.  A far cry from the Nachbar show I organized in 2008 (link) and even the Mercury Lounge performance of 2009 (link). How things have changed…bigger venue, bigger sound, bigger crowd, and even a bigger band…but there was one major deficiency.  Ryan, the face and frontman of Starfucker, is gone.  Starfucker may have started as a solo project of Josh’s, but for anyone who had seen them live, Ryan was the center of attention. For those that had never seen Starfucker before, the absence is really no loss.  The band sounded fantastic, Shawn and Josh both stepped up to share duties that the comically bad dancer Ryan once alone bore and had I not known better I would think they’d spent years with this approach.  Call me an old man, well-removed from the loop, as I was unaware that in early August, Ryan had announced his departure from the band to focus on his solo career.  It’s unfortunately hard to recover from an unexpected blow of that caliber. I wasn’t prepared.

Nevertheless, the band DID sound amazing.  Starting off with the their first ever single, German Love, the band instantly drew the crowd in.  Though in essence a simple and pure pop song, when combined with a rad laser show, harder-than-anticipated synth beats, and a crowd of primarily 18-20 yr olds, a pit was bound to erupt.  It was, in fact, in many ways, one of the most aggressive shows I have seen in New York, and it was from the first note.  My girlfriend and I were literally forced from front row, center stage to fifth row, stage left by the time German Love had finished.  Growing up going primarily to punk shows, I loved it.  The energy of the band and the crowd ramped up quickly and never faltered.  My concern that the show would lack energy, sweat and dancing without Ryan was quickly alleviated.

Starfucker

Beat Connection

Alexico

Brooklyn band nihiti have put out a new ep entitled Faced with Splendor on lo bit landscapes record label. It’s a solid 5-track ep to follow up their previous release other people’s memories and is a more approachable album with its more pop-savvy,  structured songs. You can grab the mp3 for the track Pinko Morning below.

Nihiti – Pinko Morning by goldestegg

This weekend is, sadly, the final two nights of Rooftop Films this summer. Closing Weekend features the World Premiere of World’s Best Dad, and ”Rooftop Shots,” a selection of the year’s best short films.

Friday, August 19, 2011:

World Premiere of World’s Best Dad

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music by Sport of Kings

9:00 PM Film Begins

10:30 PM Q&A with Filmmaker Joshua Gross

11:00 PM After Party in the Courtyard

Saturday, August 20, 2011:

“Rooftop Shots” Short Film Program and
Rooftop Films Closing Night Party

8:00PM Doors Open

8:30PM Live Music by Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

9:00PM Films Begin

11:00PM After Party in the Courtyard

WHERE: The Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St. (at 3rd Ave.), Brooklyn, NY 11215

THE FILMS:

Friday, August 19, 2011
WORLD’S BEST DAD – WORLD PREMIERE
(Joshua Gross | New York, NY | 84 min.)
Miles hasn’t seen Matt since their father passed away. Now, they’re going to blast him into space. Once they steal his ashes. And figure out how to launch the rocket. And get him to Nevada. We all have different ways of mourning. In some cultures, you don’t leave the house for a week. In others, you drink and have a big party. There might be praying, rending of garments, fire rituals. And that’s what you get here. Sort of. If you’re an aimless young man who’s life has been traumatized by a domineering father, you start by chucking some rocks at your little brother’s window in the middle of the night so you can show off the new stars and strips paint job on the van and the bright yellow t-shirts you hand-printed. Because for Miles (Charlie Ochs), the lead in this charming indie comedy, the adventure is always on the verge of beginning.

More information at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/worlds-best-dad/

Saturday, August 20, 2011
ROOFTOP SHOTS – CLOSING NIGHT
Short films so sharp we call them shots, fired from the roof one last time. Includes a haunting piece by the late celebrated documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington.

THE EAGLEMAN STAG (Mikey Please | United Kingdom | 9 min.)
CRAZY BEATS STRONG EVERY TIME (Moon Molson | New Jersey | 26 min.)
DIARY (Tim Hetherington | Brookly, NY | 19 min.)
IT’S ME. HELMUT. (Nicolas Steiner | Ludwigsburg, Germany | 12 min.)
A PIECE OF SUMMER (Marta Minorowicz | Poland | 23 min.)
SCHLAF (SLEEP) (Claudius Gentinetta, Frank Braun | Zurich, Switzerland | 4 min.)

More information at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/rooftop-shots-1/

Magazines play an essential role in skateboarding’s heritage, documenting the culture. 43 is a free, independent, non profit, bimonthly skateboard magazine, with a clean art book feel, dedicated to quality, photography and arts devoted to the unfiltered portrait of real skateboarding. The magazine has been in development for well over a year now with New York City skateboard photographer Allen Ying carefully building it thoughtfully from the ground up, questioning every detail to result in a magazine that is as inspiring as the skateboarding featured in it.

If you like this project, head over to kickstarter to give some support. Funding is still needed to cover the paper, printing, distribution, and contributors. with your support, this will be a special 1st issue with minimal or no advertising. moving forward, we will fund future issues with advertisements on no more than 38% of the magazine’s pages.

The second annual Out In The Streets fest is two-day party at Brooklyn Fireproof in Bushwick Saturday + Sunday August 27th and 28th, following up last month’s Bushwick Walkabout Festival. Free beer will be provided by Brooklyn Brewery, lots of give-a-ways and more than a dozen awesome bands.

DATE: August 27th & 28th, 2011

VENUE: Brooklyn Fireproof Outdoors

VENUE ADDRESS: 119 Ingraham Street, Brooklyn, NY

PRICE: 2-day pass: $15 // single-day pass: $10

TICKETS/MORE INFO: http://outinthestreets.com/

FREE BROOKLYN BREWERY BEER

(while supplies last)

The EPIX Free-For-All will screen Woody Allen’s Academy Award Winning classic Annie Hall on Coney Island, a key location for the film. The evening will feature a Woody Allen Impression contest with prizes. To enter, please email woody@rooftopfilms.com.

WHEN: Monday, August 8, 2011

7:00 PM Live DJ
8:30 PM Rooftop Films presents Kristen Lepore’s short film Bottle
8:40 PM Annie Hall

WHERE: On the Beach at Coney Island at W 12^th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224

Subway Directions: Take the F train to Coney Island, walk to the beach and make a left.

ABOUT THE FILM:

ANNIE HALL (Written and directed by Woody Allen | 1977 | 94 mins)

When most people hear the name Woody Allen, they think of two women: Soon-Yi and Annie Hall. Fortunately for Allen, his legacy in cinema had been cemented with the latter long before the former came along. With Oscar wins for best director, best picture and best actress for the radiantly quirky Diane Keaton, Annie Hall struck a chord with audiences outside of erudite Manhattan film houses-and with good reason. Sure, we get the standard dose of neurotic Woody-isms, but we also get a sweet, sad, hopeful tale that reminds us love is sweet, love is sad, and if we’re lucky, love is downright funny.

The Coney Island History Project will be in attendance to speak about the history of Coney Island and the filming of Annie Hall.

ABOUT THE EPIX MOVIE FREE-FOR-ALL

All summer long, the EPIX Movie Free-For-All is hosting FREE movie screenings in four NYC parks! Sit under the stars and watch movies in The East Village, Long Island City, Williamsburg and Coney Island. And not just the movies are free.

EPIX is giving away prizes and swag at each event and also via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and online.

Head on over to Hudson River Park’s River Rocks at Pier 54 in Manhattan tonight to see Metronomy play for FREE! They should be going on at 8:30PM just after Brooklyn based Class Actress opens it up. You can download their Free 2011 Digital Mix Tape, that contains tracks from a lot of the acts on their summer lineup, here.

See you there!

Daniel Isaiah’s recent release High Twilight winds it’s way through years of folk references with some refreshing indie ingredients.  There are tracks that speak to Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Conor Oberst, but with bursts of a youthful Montreal indie rock sound.  For those looking for an energetic update to more traditional folk songwriting, Isaiah delivers with tracks like “The Naked Night” which features some heavier guitars and synth backgrounds and “Candlemaker Row” with stark percussive interludes.  His charming French tracks “J’habites un pays” and “Mélissa” are a sweet addition and also offer a soft contrast to his folkier sounds. I like that he follows “Mélissa” with “Ogygia” which has a similar quality, but is sung in English.  The two songs speak to each other melodically and tonally.

Check out “High Twilight” and “The Naked Night” now and don’t miss Daniel Isaiah live Friday 6/24 at Pianos or Saturday 6/25 at Rock Shop.

Friday, June 24, 2011

ROOFTOP FILMS: CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME

(Madeline Olnek | New York, NY | 76 min.)

Premiering on Gay Pride weekend, this playful send-up of 1950′s sci-fi follows a group of lesbian extraterrestrials banished to Earth because their feelings of love cloud up the atmosphere on their home planet. Called “A hilarious date movie for couples of all orientations” by the Hollywood Reporter, New York playwright and filmmaker Madeleine Olnek’s feature-length debut is the joyously campy tale of extraterrestrial lesbians banished to Earth to experience heartbreak and rid themselves of love, a feeling that clouds up the atmosphere on their home planet. Shot in expressive black-and-white, the movie lovingly sends up 1950′s-era sci-fi while honestly dealing with the intricacies of contemporary relationships.

Tickets are $10 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at:

http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/codependent-lesbian-space-alien-seeks-same/

Venue:

OPEN ROAD ROOFTOP
350 Grand Street (at Essex), Lower East Side, New York, NY 10002

Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street-Essex Street; B, D, Q to Grand Street

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music by The Suzan

9:00 PM Film begins

10:30 PM Q&A with filmmaker Madeline Olnek and several lesbian space aliens

11:30 PM After Party at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St. btwn Broome St. and Grand St.)

Music:

THE SUZAN
THE SUZAN are a Japanese all-girl band formed by Rie(Key&G), Saori(Vo&G), Nico(Dr) and Ikue(Ba)-self proclaimed “riot-girls”. They gathered as a band in 2004 after sisters Rie and Saori had created a unique sound more influenced by the dislike of what they heard in Japanese Pop music. The music THE SUZAN plays is absolute original sound that takes in every kinds of music; Pop, Wild dance, Punk, Garage Rock and so on. The results THE SUZAN produce is a fresh sound easy to memorize but an exciting new sound for your soul to fall in love with.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

ROOFTOP FILMS: THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED

(Daniele Anastasion and Eric Strauss | Liberia | 90 min.)

Joshua Milton Blahyi is a murderous Liberian warlord turned evangelical minister in this stirring vérité documentary about the nature of justice and absolution. The man known as General Butt Naked murdered thousands during Liberia’s horrific 14-year civil war. Today this once-brutal warlord has renounced his sadistic past and reinvented himself as evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi. In a riveting cinema vérité journey that unfolds over the course of five years, filmmakers Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion follow Blahyi’s unrelenting crusade to redeem his life. Facing those he once terrorized, preaching where he once murdered, Blahyi is on a quest to save his soul.

Venue:

OPEN ROAD ROOFTOP
350 Grand Street (at Essex), Lower East Side, New York, NY 10002

Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street-Essex Street; B, D, Q to Grand Street

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music by Janka Nabay

9:00 PM Film Begins

11:30 PM After Party at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St., btwn Broome St. and Grand St.)

Tickets are $10 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at:

http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/the-redemption-of-general-butt-naked/

Music:

JANKA NABAY
“There was also an African apparition: Janka Nabay from Sierra Leone, wearing a straw skirt and singing and dancing to recorded tracks of what he said was a 500-year-old tradition called bubu music. The tracks were modern, and the beat, fast and skeletal and driven by bell taps, was unstoppable, demanding wider dissemination.” -NY Times

Sunday June 26, 2011

ROOFTOP FILMS: FAMILY INSTINCT – NY Premiere

(Andris Gauja | Latvia | 60 min.)

“Riding a razor edge between exploitation and art, Family Instinct is the documentary that Harmony Korine wishes he’d made.”
- David Wilson, True/False Film Festival

Luridly fascinating and darkly comic, Family Instinct is unlike any film you have seen before: a vérité  pseudo-documentary comedy about an isolated town in rural Latvia and a young mother’s patient wait for her lover/brother to return from prison. One part Borat, two parts Eastern Bloc Gothic, and three parts documentary tragicomedy, Andris Gauja’s feature film debut never lets you relax. If you don’t feel a little uncomfortable watching this film, there is something dead inside of you. And yet Family Instinct remains undeniably engaging throughout, making for an unforgettable and surprisingly entertaining movie-watching experience.

Tickets are $10 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at:

http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/family-instinct/

Venue:

On the roof of The Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St. (at 3rd Ave.), Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Subway: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music by

9:00 PM Film Begins

11:30 PM Reception in Courtyard

Music:

BIG SPIDER’S BACK
“The past few weeks have heard me relentlessly blasting Big Spider’s Back Memory Man from bedrooms, fire escapes, and cuddle puddles, and our ecosystem is better off for it. Since Yair shared his Warped EP in 2009 we’ve been huge appreciators of the blankets he so delicately threads and the smiles they bring to our cheeks, and were so grateful for his presence at our end of the year party last December. Memory Man is the debut record we’ve waited patiently for, and these pieces develop a journey carefully traversed through mind explorations. A short glance provokes that of jogging a familiar face while a deserving exposure plants these sounds within background thoughts and daydreams. ‘Black Chow’ has provided me with an anthem, whether the days that pass are sun-drenched or thunder-laden. The drops Yair creates leave room for environment to fill, and his comforting vocals wash into an audible hug for everyone. We love you Yair.”
- thefmly.com

The full schedule for Brooklyn’s Northside Music Festival with Guided By Voices, Twin Sister, Deertick, Waaves, Surfer Blood and too many other great bands to list, has finally been announced. You can catch the Festival spanning numerous North Brooklyn music venues from June 16-19.

Click below for:

music and arts schedule

film schedule

You can also still buy a Northside badge to get you into most of the events (capacity permitting) including the sold out Beirut/Sharon Van Etten show.

Individual tickets are also still on sale for a lot of the other shows like  Guided By Voices show withWavves, Surfer Blood, and The Babies in McCarren Park on June 18.

Herds of bicycle enthusiasts from around the world will flock to New York City this June for the Bicycle Film Festivalʼs Eleventh year in NY, to celebrate the worldʼs best invention: the bicycle.

Born in New York, the festival’s immense popularity and continued growth has evolved hand in hand with the unprecedented boomin urban cycling internationally. From its roots in New York City, the BFF has grown into a multi-faceted, globalevent that will travel to over 25 cities this year, from Milan to Tokyo, Minneapolis to Sydney.

In 2001 Brendt Barbur, Founding Director, was compelled to start the Bicycle Film Festival after being hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City. He was inspired to turn this negative experience into a positive one, and created a festival that celebrates the bicycle through music, art, and film.

The festival merges many creative communities, including fashion, music and art, as well as various bicycling communities – road cycling, mountainbiking, fixed gear, BMX, cyclocross – over a shared passion for bike riding.“NY is one of the greatest bicycle cities in the world” says Brendt Barbur. “We are very happy to bring the BFFback home.”

Film highlights include:

The World Premiere of RACING TOWARDS RED HOOK (Dir. Jessica Scott & HydeHarper)

The story of 3 cyclists of diverse backgrounds competing in one of New York Cityʼs biggest undergroundevents, the 2011 Red Hook Criterium. The rules are simple: 20 laps, one gear, zero brakes.

SUNCHASERS (Dir. Irvin Coffee)

This documentary explores the world of competitive cycling through the lives ofthree disabled women, each in distinct periods of their cycling careers as they prepare for the Paralympics.BFF11 showcases a stellar collection of short films, including

LAST MINUTES WITH ODEN (winner of VimeoʼsBest Video Award)

dramatic documentary about Odenʼs struggle with cancer,

BIKELORDZ: STUNTS ANDSTYLES FROM ACCRA, GHANA

showcasing a new interesting bike culture

BIKE RACE

a bike animationthat puts some of cyclingʼs greats head to head.

Aside from the films, you can also check out

BIKES ROCK, a BFF kick-off concert, June 22

JOYRIDE ART SHOW June 23 at the Spencer Brownstone Gallery

GOLD SPRINTS PARTY June 24 at The Acheron

BFF STREET PARTYJune 25 in the Lower East Side

Celebrating bikes & community, 12-6 PM 2nd street, between 1st and 2nd ave.

The BFF Annual Street Party brings together bicycle enthusiasts and street riders from all over the world foran afternoon of bike fun in the street. Bicycle contests hosted by the best riders in the world. Freestyle fixedgear compettions hosted by the popular group GRIME and BMX Jam hosted by Post BMX. Vendors that spanthe globe will be selling handmade bicycle goods. Thousands of people expected!

LET THE RYTHYM ROCK dance party, June 25 at China Chalet.

300,000 people are expected to attend BFF in 2011. Make sure that youʼre one of them!For the most up to date information on the festival please visit bicyclefilmfestival.com

Thursday, June 9^th

ROOFTOP FILMS: BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN – Free show

(Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley, David Beilinson | Brooklyn, NY | 93 min.)

A group of people in Rooftop’s beloved Brooklyn come together to fight the Atlantic Yards Project—a massive real estate development that threatens to destroy their homes and neighborhood—in this epic tale of how far people will go to fight for what they believe in. Presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Film Festival. BFF runs from June 3rd through June 12th.

No admission for this show. More information at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/battle-for-brooklyn/

Venue:

The Myrtle Avenue Hill in Ft. Greene Park, Myrtle and N. Portland, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Enter the park at Myrtle and N. Portland and walk up the path.

Subway: G to Fulton, C to Lafayette, 2,3,4,5 to Nevins or B,M,Q, R to Dekalb

9:00PM Film Begins

Friday, June 10, 2011

ROOFTOP FILMS: NEW YORK NON-FICTION (Short Films)

It’s Your City. Take a Look. One’s a hustler. One’s a magician. Several are men of music. And one’s just a regular guy. But they have two things in common: They’re all New Yorkers, and they all have a story. One that distinguishes them. One that defines them. One that strikes a universal chord, yet is uniquely New York. These New York stories will stick with you.

Tickets are $10 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at:http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/new-york-nonfiction-1/

Venue:

OPEN ROAD ROOFTOP
350 Grand Street (at Essex), Lower East Side, New York, NY 10002

Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street-Essex Street; B, D, Q to Grand Street

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music by Greg Garing

9:00 PM Films Begin

11:30 PM After Party at Fontanas (105 Eldridge Street, btwn Grand St. and Broome St.)

The Films:

FOUND: LOST PICTURES OF NEW YORK BLIZZARD (Todd Bieber | NYC)

A MAN NAMED MAGICK (Joaquin Perez & Robert Hatch-Miller | Brooklyn, NY)

THE BOWLER (Sean Dunne | NYC)

LEGEND: A FILM ABOUT GREG GARING (Emily Branham | NYC)

FOUND: LOST PICTURES OF NEW YORK BLIZZARD, PART 2 (Todd Bieber | NYC)
WHITE LINES AND THE FEVER: THE DEATH OF DJ JUNEBUG (Travis Senger | NYC)

FOUND: LOST PICTURES OF NEW YORK BLIZZARD, PART 3 (Todd Bieber | NYC)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

ROOFTOP FILMS: GREEN – Sneak Preview

(Sophia Takal | Brooklyn, NY | 72 min.)

An eerily compelling sexual thriller from writer-director Sophia Takal, Green focuses on a young literary couple who encounter an alluring country bumpkin during their weekend getaway. Brooklyn-based filmmaker Sophia Takal’s promising debut focuses on the romantic tensions that develop between a young literary couple and the outgoing country bumpkin they encounter during a getaway from the city. Out in the woods, existing relationships start to fray, and the makings of a dangerous love triangle start to come together. Or do they? Takal’s auspicious debut hovers in remarkable ambiguity. Winner of the Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award at the SXSW Film Festival.

Tickets are $10 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at:

http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/green/

Venue:

OPEN ROAD ROOFTOP
350 Grand Street (at Essex), Lower East Side, New York, NY 10002

Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street-Essex Street; B, D, Q to Grand Street

8:00 PM Doors Open

8:30 PM Live Music

9:00 PM Film Begins

11:30 PM After Party at Fontanas (105 Eldridge St., btwn Grand St. and Broome St.)

Plays with:

MEN IN LOVE (Keith Davis | Brooklyn, NY | 12 min.)
Following a bitter break-up, Leo’s best friend takes him out to meet a new woman and ‘get over’ his ex. But after a steamy and unexpected encounter with a stranger he’s forced to face what most men fear: they don’t realize they’re in love until it’s too late.

In preparation for the brand-new 4Knots Music Festival at South Street Seaport, the Village Voice is holding a free, all-ages  kickoff show on July 9 with Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.  Show starts at 6pm. Then the following week, on the 16th you can check out The Black Angels with Davila 666 and Oberhofer. More bands and DJ’s will be announced shortly and both days are rain or shine.

Two great shows coming up this week at Rooftopfilms. On Thursday, check out Sound of Noise, a maniacally funny Swedish comedy about a band of musical anarchists who break into banks, hospitals, and construction sites and perform guerilla style concerts using their surroundings as musical instruments. The film’s musicians and filmmakers will be at the show, facing off in a live, heavyweight drum battle that we hear has been brewing ever since they started shooting the film. Friday is “Dark ‘Toons,” the popular annual collection of enjoyable evil animation. This year’s batch will include a crazy quilt remix of Bill Plympton’s Oscar nominated short Guard Dog.

Show details below:

Thursday, May 19^th

SOUND OF NOISE

A clever and fiercely entertaining Swedish comedy about a group of “musical terrorists” who break into hospitals, banks, and other public places to play compositions using the surroundings as their instruments. The screening will feature a special live performance by the musicians from the film. Presented in partnership with MusicDoc Malmo.

Venue: On the pier at Solar One

2420 FDR Drive (E 23rd Street and the East River)

New York, NY 10010
Subway: R/6 to 23rd St., walk all the way east.

8:00PM        Doors Open

8:30PM        Live Music by Prylf

9:00PM        Film begins

10:30PM      Special LIVE Heavyweight Drum Battle between the Drummers and the Filmmakers!

10:45PM      After Party Onsite

Tickets and more info at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/sound-of-noise/

Friday, May 20, 2011

DARK ‘TOONS

Venue: On the pier at Solar One, 2420 FDR Drive (E 23rd Street and the East River

New York, NY 10010
Subway: R/6 to 23rd St., walk all the way east.

8:00 PM        Doors Open

8:30 PM        Live Music by Live Footage

9:00 PM        Films Begin

11:00 PM       After Party Onsite

Tickets and more info at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/dark-toons-1/

The Films:

GUARD DOG GLOBAL JAM (Bill Plympton | New York, NY | 5 min.)
75 different artists combined their talents (and styles) for this crazy-quilt remake of an Oscar-nominated short. plymptoons.com

THE HOLY CHICKEN OF LIFE AND MUSIC (Nomint | Greece | 3 min.)
A giant, two-headed chicken is the ultimate false god, in this jaw-droppingly surreal fantasy. theholychicken.com

THE GLOAMING (Niko Nobrain | France | 14 min.)
The last man in his world creates new life that quickly spins out of his control – despite his efforts to play God. An allegory for the ages. nobrain.fr

COSMIC JUNGLE (Marie Ayne, Martin Brunet, Alexander Casals, Sebastien DeOliveira Bispo, Fabrice Fiteni, Mathieu Garcia | France | 5 min.)
Two rambunctious mutts upset the order of a robot-run metropolis in this ultra-kinetic future fantasy.

THE REPLICANTS: USER (Edouardo Salier | France | 4 min.)
Old-school flipbook filmmaking – with an angst-rock soundtrack. Courtesy of Autour De Minuit.

TRIUMPH OF THE WILD (Martha Colburn | New York | 11 min.)
An exploration of the impulses that prompt hunting and the resiliency of people and animals in times of battle during 300 years of American history. [Sundance]

THE ONGOING LIFE OF PETER PEEL: CAN, CAN, CAN’T (Felix Massie | UK | 2 min.)
The drudgery of the stock clerk’s day is perfectly encapsulated, in this cheerfully wan vignette.

LGFUAD (Kelsey Stark | Brooklyn, NY | 4 min.)
Sex. Violence. Death. The interior life of the average, alienated suburban teen. riversideflesh.blogspot.com

MOSKITO BRAVO (Emeline Chankamshu, Alexandre Cuegniet, Paul Serrell, Sarah Sutter, Henning Wagenbreth | France | 7 min.)
One dog-eat-dog world is just a speck on the surface of another – which in turn exists inside another. And so on, in a riot of color and ordered chaos.

ENRIQUE WRECKS THE WORLD (David Chai | San Jose, California | 4 min.)
One surly kid with a sling shot accidentally unleashes a cataclysmic chain reaction in this mordant imagining of a whoops apocalypse. houseofchai.net

The new video off of the seventh full-length studio album from Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, entitled Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, for the track Mexican Grand Prix has a lighter and less epic-end-of-all-we-know mood than what Mogwai is so well known for producing. The video was shot entirely on the streets of Glasgow and is as approachable (for a lack of a better term – watch the video) and friendly as the song itself. The track is apparently a tribute to the home town of the band though I can’t quite make out if they are calling them Mexican or not.

You can also check out the video for San Pedro below. The video follows a man through an urban setting – starting in the Lower East Side of Manhattan then over the Williamsburg bridge into Brooklyn around Broadway Avenue – until the man eerily stops. Give it a go:

Mexican Grand Prix:

The Tribeca Film Festival Deluxe event went down at, of all places, the New York City County Clerk’s building in downtown Manhattan.

Discosalt got up close and personal with Robert De Niro (amidst about 20 other people, but, hey…) Jerry Seinfeld and Quincy Jones. It sounds like an odd group to just bump into on the street and in fact I think there is a joke that starts with the three of them walking into a bar. The celebs were arriving to the Tribeca Film Festival Deluxe and unfortunately I had only my iPhone with me to snap a few shots. Of all the celebs I would like to see, De Niro ranketh upon high. Thank you, sir.

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