The climate is good for an additional season of the Rooftop Movies Summer season Sequence. The beloved annual competition is again, with IndieWire completely debuting the 2025 lineup. This yr’s Summer season Sequence will run from Might 16 by August 22, and can embody over 40 occasions, that includes new impartial characteristic movies, quick movie applications, household screenings, and reside performances.
The U.S. premiere of Sean Byrne’s horror movie “Harmful Animals” is a spotlight for the Rooftop Movies slate; “Harmful Animals” could have its world premiere throughout Administrators’ Fortnight at Cannes earlier than screening stateside on the Summer season Sequence, with an in-person Q&A that includes director Byrne and forged members Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, and Josh Heuston on Thursday, Might 22.
Non-profit Rooftop Movies yearly celebrates impartial movies and filmmakers with one of many world’s longest working and largest outside festivals for indie movie. The screenings happen in outside venues throughout New York Metropolis’s 5 boroughs, starting from the pier of Brooklyn Military Terminal in Sundown Park to Downtown Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Commons, the famed Fort Greene Park garden, the West Village’s Gansevoort Plaza, and the historic Inexperienced-Wooden Cemetery.
“Since 1997, Rooftop Movies has pioneered a brand new imaginative and prescient for theatrical cinema—creating unforgettable experiences the place movies, areas, and communities converge,” Rooftop Movies’ Government Director Adnaan Wasey stated. “Our 2025 season reaffirms our dedication to filmmakers at this pivotal second for impartial movie. We’re thrilled to assist impartial voices discover their audiences and rejoice creative risk-taking.”
Saidah Russell, Rooftop Movies’ Head of Programming, added, “This season, we’re constructing on almost three many years of the Rooftop Movies custom, showcasing daring, dynamic cinema in vibrant outside areas. Each movie we current is chosen to have interaction, shock, and encourage, and we’re thrilled to welcome audiences to a different summer time of unforgettable nights full of discovery and connection.”
The chosen options embody competition favorites corresponding to Isabel Castro’s “Selena y Los Dinos” and Katarina Zhu’s Rachel Sennott-starring “Bunnylovr,” in addition to Rachael Abigail Holder’s “Love, Brooklyn,” Amanda Kramer’s “By Design,” and Elizabeth Lo’s “Mistress Dispeller.” Magnificence Bratton’s documentary “Transfer Ya Physique: The Start of Home” and Jessica Earnshaw’s buzzy true crime doc “Child Doe” will moreover display screen.
For the ninth consecutive yr, the Rooftop Movies Summer season Sequence will likely be introduced by AMC Networks.
Try the complete lineup beneath, with all synopses offered by the competition. Further programming, dates, venues, and partnerships will likely be introduced all through the summer time.
Function Movie Applications
“Harmful Animals“
2025 | Sean Byrne | Australia | 97 minutes | US Premiere
Thursday, Might twenty second @ Tradition Lab LIC | Free with RSVP
When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is kidnapped by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she should determine escape earlier than he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks beneath. An Impartial Movie Firm & Shudder launch.
“Sally“
2025 | Cristina Costantini | US | 103 minutes | New York Premiere
Monday, June 2nd @ Gansevoort Plaza, Meatpacking District | Free with RSVP
Sally Trip turned the primary American lady to blast off into area, however beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life associate, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years collectively. A Nationwide Geographic Documentary Movies launch. Offered in partnership with NewFest and the Meatpacking District Enterprise Enchancment District, and as a part of the Alfred P. Sloan Science on Display screen® collection.
“We Need the Funk!“
2025 | Stanley Nelson & Nicole London | US | 88 minutes
Wednesday, June eleventh @ The Louis Armstrong Home Museum | Free with RSVP The syncopated story of funk music, from its roots to the explosion of ’70s city funk and past. A PBS launch. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Francisco Moya. RSVPs Obtainable Now
“Corina“
2024 | Urzula Barba Hopfner | Mexico | 96 minutes | New York Premiere Thursday, June twelfth @ Fort Greene Park | Free with RSVP
A 20-year-old housebound lady unintentionally compromises her publishing firm’s well-known guide saga. To avoid wasting her job and the corporate, she should overcome her fears. Offered in partnership with the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, as a part of the Chinese language and Spanish Language Movie Sequence, and Cinema Tropical.
“Bunnylovr“
2025 | Katarina Zhu | US | 86 minutes | New York Premiere
Saturday, June 14th @ New Design Excessive Faculty
A drifting cam woman (Katarina Zhu), struggles to navigate an more and more poisonous relationship with considered one of her shoppers (Austin Amelio) whereas rekindling her relationship along with her estranged, dying father (Perry Yung) and exhibiting up for her finest buddy (Rachel Sennott).
“Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story“
2024 | Alison Duke | US | 94 minutes
Saturday, July nineteenth @ Brower Park | Free with RSVP
Sister Nancy is without doubt one of the most legendary Dancehall artists to grace a mic, and but the understanding of her influence and legacy suffers past diehards of the style. It’s time to rectify that. The tune that has change into a pattern darling and star-making automobile for a lot of artists now brings into focus the trials, tribulations and rousing success of its unique songstress. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Chi Ossé and BRIC Have fun Brooklyn!.
Rooftop Selects: “Architecton”
2025 | Victor Kossakovsky | Germany, France, US | 99 minutes
Thursday, July twenty fourth @ The Previous American Can Manufacturing facility
A rare journey by the fabric that makes up our habitat: concrete, and its ancestor, stone. Filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Aquarela) raises a basic query: how can we inhabit the world of tomorrow? An A24 launch.
“Selena y Los Dinos“
2025 | Isabel Castro | US | 110 minutes | New York Premiere
Saturday, July twenty sixth @ Brooklyn Military Terminal | Free with RSVP
Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her household band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from acting at quinceañeras to promoting out stadium excursions. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled by never-before-seen footage from the household’s private archive. RSVPs Obtainable Now
“There Was, There Was Not“
2024 | Emily Mkrtichian | US, Armenia | 94 minutes
Wednesday, August thirteenth @ Brooklyn Commons | Free with RSVP
The primary line of each Armenian fairy story, There Was, There Was Not tells the collective delusion of a homeland misplaced endlessly — and 4 girls’s resistance to that loss. Offered in partnership with ArteEast’s Unpacking the Archive.
“How Deep Is Your Love“
2025 | Eleanor Mortimer | UK | 100 minutes
Saturday, August sixteenth @ Brooklyn Military Terminal
With deep-sea mining looming, biologists race to gather and title the undiscovered species of the abyss, the final wilderness on earth. Recipient of the 2022 Rooftop Movies Water Tower Function Movie Grant! Offered a part of the Alfred P. Sloan Science on Display screen® collection.
“Love, Brooklyn“
2025 | Rachael Abigail Holder | US | 97 minutes | New York Premiere
Saturday, August sixteenth @ Brower Park | Free with RSVP
Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship towards the quickly altering panorama of their beloved metropolis. A Greenwich Leisure launch. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Chi Ossé.
“By Design”
2025 | Amanda Kramer | US | 99 minutes | New York Premiere
Monday, August 18th @ Gansevoort Plaza, Meatpacking District | Free with RSVP A lady swaps our bodies with a chair and everybody likes her higher as a chair.
“Mistress Dispeller“
2025 | Elizabeth Lo | US, China | 97 minutes | New York Premiere
Wednesday, August twentieth @ The Previous American Can Manufacturing facility
A love triangle unfolds as a Chinese language “mistress dispeller” goes undercover to deliver a pair again from the sting of disaster. An Oscilloscope Laboratories launch. Recipient of the 2023 Rooftop Movies and Irving Harvey Shade Correction Grant!
“Transfer Ya Physique: The Start of Home“
2025 | Magnificence Bratton | US | 87 minutes
Saturday, September twentieth @ Brower Park | Free with RSVP
Home music has change into huge enterprise, as pop superstars like Woman Gaga and Beyoncé incorporate the euphoric depth and driving beats of the type into mainstream hits. However home didn’t start on the seashores of Ibiza or at a stadium present. It was born in Chicago, the place the backlash towards disco led to the creation of a musical subculture centering Black and queer individuals. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Chi Ossé.
“Child Doe“
2025 | Jessica Earnshaw | US | 100 minutes | New York Premiere
Date & Venue TBA
After new forensic proof emerges, a churchgoing mom of three in Ohio is arrested for homicide many years after abandoning a baby she says was stillborn.
Quick Movie Applications
That is What We Imply by Quick Movies: Opening Evening 2025
Friday, Might sixteenth @ Inexperienced-Wooden Cemetery
Kick the summer time off proper with considered one of Rooftop’s largest and finest quick movie applications of the season!
Tickets Obtainable Now
Vidas Vibrantes: Shorts en Español
Wednesday, June 4th @ Fort Greene Park | Free with RSVP
Transport your self into vibrantly distinct worlds with a group of Spanish-language shorts that discover reminiscence, household, love, loss, and youthful mischief. Offered in partnership with the Fort Greene Park Conservancy as a part of the Chinese language and Spanish Language Movie Sequence.
Rooftop Selects: Farm-to-Display screen Shorts
Thursday, June fifth @ Brooklyn Grange Sundown Park
People, animals, Earth—this new program explores our tangled ties by docs, narratives, and experiments on local weather, care, and kinship. Offered in curatorial partnership with The New York Occasions Op-Docs.
Cemetery Shorts
Saturday, June seventh @ Inexperienced-Wooden Cemetery
It’s arduous to face the top of life’s lengthy journey. Linger with us a short while longer, and expertise a considerate assortment of movies that shock, mystify, and stir the soul. Offered a part of the Alfred P. Sloan Science on Display screen® collection.
Poetic Portraits
Friday, June thirteenth @ The Previous American Can Manufacturing facility
Be part of us on the roof of Gowanus’ historic Previous American Can Manufacturing facility for a beguiling evening of docu-shorts that discover the depths of the human expertise.
Queerly Beloved: Satisfaction Shorts within the Park
Wednesday, June twenty fifth @ Fort Greene Park | Free with RSVP
Have fun NYC Satisfaction with an illuminating showcase of LGBTQIA+ tales from world wide.
Love is Unusual: Romance Shorts
Tuesday, July fifteenth @ Gansevoort Plaza, Meatpacking District | Free with RSVP
Really feel the nice and cozy embrace of our annual program of romantic quick movies about what it means to fall in love—or, at the least, one thing prefer it.
New York Non-Fiction
Friday, July twenty fifth @ Inexperienced-Wooden Cemetery
Fasten your seatbelts and embark on a cinematic journey by this assortment of New York Metropolis folklore. Offered in curatorial partnership with The New York Occasions Op-Docs.
Darkish Toons
Wednesday, July thirtieth @ Brooklyn Commons | Free with RSVP
A gateway to mind-bending desires, these unusual, sinister, and spellbinding toons will certainly transfix you.
Rooftop Pictures: Closing Evening 2025
Friday, August twenty second @ Inexperienced-Wooden Cemetery
Keep awhile and rejoice the fruits of our twenty ninth season with a bittersweet assortment of latest quick movies.
Trapped: Thoughts-Altering Shorts
Date & Venue TBA
Faucet into the collective unconscious of a rogue’s gallery of grifters, hermits, and sociopaths with our notorious showcase of gloriously confounding cinematic curios.
URL IRL: Web Shorts
Date & Venue TBA
From brainrot to belonging, these shorts dive into how the web shapes id, connection, delusion, and discovery.
Group Repertory Screenings
“Within the Temper for Love“
2000 | Wong Kar Wai | Hong Kong | 98 minutes
Wednesday, Might 14th @ Fort Greene Park | Free with RSVP
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) transfer into neighboring residences on the identical day. Their encounters are formal and well mannered—till a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. Offered in partnership with the Fort Greene Park Conservancy as a part of the Chinese language and Spanish Language Movie Sequence.
“Comrades, Nearly a Love Story”
1996 | Peter Ho-sun Chan | Hong Kong | 118 minutes
Thursday, Might twenty second @ Fort Greene Park | Free with RSVP
Nation boy Xiaojun (Leon Lai) strikes to Hong Kong, hoping to get wealthy in order that he can ship for his hometown sweetheart and marry her. However Xiaojun barely scrapes by within the baffling metropolis, and is lonely till he meets city-slicker Qiao (Maggie Cheung). Offered in partnership with the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, as a part of the Chinese language and Spanish Language Movie Sequence, and in curatorial partnership with The New York Occasions Op-Docs.
Drive-In Film Evening: “The Wild Robotic”
2024 | Chris Sanders | US | 118 minutes
Friday, Might thirtieth @ New York Corridor of Science | Free with RSVP
After a shipwreck, an clever robotic referred to as Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To outlive the tough atmosphere, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned child goose. Be part of us for a one-night-only revival of the Queens Drive-In, outside on the New York Corridor of Science!
“Chico & Rita“
2010 | Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal & Tono Errando | Spain, Isle of Man, Hungary, Philippines | 94 minutes
Tuesday, June tenth @ The Louis Armstrong Home Museum | Free with RSVP
Cuba, 1948. Chico is a younger piano participant with huge desires. Rita is an attractive singer with a unprecedented voice. Music and need unite them as they chase their desires and one another from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Francisco Moya.
“Moana 2“
2024 | David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand & Dana Ledoux Miller | US | 100 minutes Thursday, June twelfth @ P.S. 092 Harry T. Stewart Sr. | Free with RSVP
After receiving an sudden name from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana should journey to the far seas of Oceania and into harmful, long-lost waters for an journey in contrast to something she’s ever confronted. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Francisco Moya.
“Mufasa: The Lion King“
2024 | Barry Jenkins | US | 118 minutes
Friday, June twentieth @ Helen Marshall Playground | Free with RSVP
Mufasa, a cub misplaced and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the inheritor to a royal bloodline. The possibility assembly units in movement an expansive journey of a bunch of misfits looking for their future. Offered in partnership with NYC Council Member Francisco Moya.