Rooftop Films presents New York Non-Fiction June 12, 2009

New Yorkers are tough. They’re discerning, difficult, stubborn. Tell a New Yorker there’s a scrap of unused real estate that’s off limits, and that’s right where they’ll head ("North Brother"). Tell them they can’t do something, and they’ll just do it faster and more efficiently ("Labor Day"). And picking a mate? New Yorkers would sooner toss aside generations of tradition than get stuck with the wrong lover ("Unattached").

New York is a city—like all of America, like all the world—of the privileged and the poor. Like nowhere else, the wealthy live alongside the destitute. The difference between New York and the rest of the world, though, is that here everyone works equally hard. Some people are oppressed while others have unfair advantages, but the New York ethos is based on hustle, constant struggle, and the idea that success only comes to those who fight for it.

This program shows that in New York even royalty can't just cruise through life on charm ("Bronx Princess"), and that even a Holocaust-surviving immigrant ("Lessons from a Tailor") who claws his way to the top will lend a helping hand to others following his path. It's a rough city, but there is opportunity, community, and love. If you're gonna make it in New York, you better be tough, but you better have a generous heart, too.

Venue: on the roof of the Open Road Rooftop
Address: 350 Grand Street @ Essex (Lower East Side, Manhattan)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM - 1:00AM: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St), courtesy of Radeberger beer
Tickets: $9-$25