Editor

Brooklyn - Rooftop Films summer festival is in full swing. Now in it’s 10th year, Rooftop Films has become one of the premiere venues, in New York City and beyond, for new, underground and independent short films and underexposed feature films. Running from June 1 through September 23, Rooftop Films is hosting more shows than ever before in 2006. The films come from around the globe, and include both world premieres and festival award-winners. The artists presented include first-time filmmakers, long-time outsider artists and seasoned film professionals. From an apartment roof in the Lower East Side to the top of a warehouse in Bushwick, from atop an artist complex in Gowanus to the roof of a high school on Williamsburg, Rooftop Films has always been about communities. As far as the founders are concerned, open air cinema is more than a spectacle; it's an artistic opening. And this creative choice is reflected in their programming. Rooftop Films' Summer Series provides a forum and an audience for emerging and established filmmakers who make deeply personal cinema, films that offer intimate looks into individual lives and distinct communities worldwide.

Rooftop Films has grown larger and more influential every year of their existence and 2006 will undoubtedly be the biggest year ever. This past weeks programming included a special July 4th show at Stuyvesent Cove Park in Manhattan in addition to the regular weekend screenings. Also, Rooftop started the season with a sneak preview of longtime Rooftop alumni Steve Collins feature “Gretchen