A Rooftop Films Sneak Peek in the Slope!

Film buffs both young and old are in for a treat this weekend.

On Saturday, Rooftop Films and the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District will host a pair of screenings – one for the younger set of cinema addicts, the other for adults – at M.S. 51 on Fifth Avenue.

The summer film series, known for screening new, independent films in unique outdoor locations across the city, will start off at 3 p.m. with a special screening of short films for kids, featuring fun and family-friendly shorts from all over the world. The films will range from nutty animation featuring knights, robots, monkeys, and people made of sand to live action shorts about ping-pong.

"Most of our shows run too late or just aren’t quite age-appropriate for younger audiences. So we wanted to present special shows that people in this area could attend as a family," said Lela Scott MacNeil, Outreach Manager for Rooftop Films.

For the grown-ups, starting at 7 p.m. Rooftop will preview a handpicked selection of shorts the program will screen in the 2011 Summer Series. Highlights will include David O'Reilly's twisted, animated masterpiece, The External World and the South by Southwest Short Film winner, David Lowery's Pioneer.

Both events are free and open to everyone. This is the program’s 15th year in operation.

"Part of our mission is to work with and engage the local communities where we screen our films, and this is especially true for Park Slope, it being the neighborhood we call home," said Scott MacNeil.

Rooftop Films will release the series’ full summer line-up in the coming weeks.