Rooftop Films presents Persona Non Grata June 13, 2009

Persona Non Grata US Premiere (Fabio Wuytack | Belgium & Venezuela | 1:30:00)
Prosecuted as a rebel. Banned as a priest. Committed as an artist. Loved as a father. An inspiring documentary—co-funded by Rooftop Films - about the filmmaker’s father, Franz Wuytack, a radical left-wing Belgian missionary in the slums of Venezuela in the 1960s. With a new liberal movement sweeping Latin America, and people like Wuytack needing to continue the fight for social justice in the US and around the world, this film is crucially relevant today.

Wuytack was a hands-on activist, gathering scrap lumber by himself to build housing for the homeless, frolicking with hundreds of impoverished children in the fountains of wealthy Caracas to protest the lack of clean water for the poor. You can see in his face and hear in his voice the deeply personal connections to the people he was fighting for. And all these years later, hearing the stories from the people who lived them, the connections he forged come alive, there to excite and incite us.

But Wuytack’s very public tactics ran afoul of the conservative church, causing a rift that stung him deeply, but didn’t dampen his passion for activism. Stories of being hounded by the police, and hidden like a fugitive, play out with the energy of an action film. Eventually Wuytack was exiled—twice—and returning to Belgium to become an internationally acclaimed politically-minded sculptor. Now with the new left-wing movement led by Hugo Chavez, Wuytack is finally allowed to return to Venezuela for a revelatory solo art show and a joyous homecoming.

Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Directions: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union Ave.
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be held indoors at the same location
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:00PM–12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9-$25 at the door or online