Rooftop Films Summer Series Submissions Now Open

In 2022, we celebrated our 26th Annual Summer Series—our signature program of new, independent films! We are already looking forward to bringing films to live, in-person audiences again next year!

At Rooftop we believe that the role of a festival is to help filmmakers bring their work to engaged and enthusiastic audiences. Rooftop Films is committed to helping filmmakers get their films seen, not to profit off of their dreams and ambition. Therefore, we aim to make it as easy as possible for filmmakers to submit to our festival.

We keep our submission fees and ticket prices low so that filmmakers and audience members can, at least in one small way, contribute equally to the Rooftop community and neither need be saddled with an unfair expense. Furthermore, if you submit a work to Rooftop Films you automatically get two free tickets to any Summer Series show, whether or not we screen your film.

We have always had a low, recommended submission fee, which must only be paid once regardless of how many films you submit to the festival. No film will ever be turned away due to lack of funds. If you are submitting multiple films or are unable to pay the submission fee for any reason email submit@rooftopfilms.com to request a fee waiver.

Rooftop Films is committed to providing a venue, an audience, and a community for the wide array of short and feature length films that are under-served by conventional commercial distributors, industry festivals, art galleries, and repertory theaters. We want films that tell us about where and how you live. We seek independent movies with original ideas. We screen the work of experienced professionals, long-time amateurs, and first-time filmmakers alike. We strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color and gender nonconforming filmmakers to submit to our festival.

We show films of all genres, formats, and lengths, as long as they’re daring, creative, and unique. We always search for films that break down boundaries or feature innovative, personal, and eccentric or hilarious takes on old forms. We love animation, satire, comedies and dramas, experimental and abstract films, personal and political documentaries, and every other form of film, entertainment or video art.

We screen hundreds of short and feature length films each summer and work tirelessly year round to bring these films to new audiences.

If you have any questions regarding submissions, please email submit@rooftopfilms.com

Categories
Fiction Features are features length films, sixty minutes and longer. We screen dozens of feature length films each summer.
Fiction Short Films are short films 59 minutes and under. We screen over 100 short films each summer.
Documentary Features are non-fiction feature length films, sixty minutes and longer. We screen dozens of feature length documentaries each summer.
Documentary Short Films are non-fiction short films, 59 minutes and under. We screen over 100 short films each summer.
Previews & Entry Form
All submissions not made through FilmFreeway must go through our Submission Form.
Submissions must be in English or have English subtitles and there must be a preview AND screening copy available in English or with English subtitles, excepting music videos and films without dialogue.
Rooftop accepts submissions via online secure links.
Screening Rights
Should your work be selected to be part of the Rooftop Films Summer Series, Rooftop Films reserves the right to screen your film at any Rooftop screening throughout the summer, between the start and end dates of the Summer Series for which your film was submitted.
After the Summer Series end date, Rooftop Films shall not screen any submitted films without the expressed consent of the filmmaker.
If your film is accepted, Rooftop generally screens digital files but we can often assist filmmakers in making transfers from other types of masters if necessary.
If your film is accepted, we will get a screening copy from you, and will mail them back at our expense.
Back to Top

Deadlines, Fees And Notification

Early Bird: $15, December 5th, 2022
Regular: $20, January 6th, 2023
Late: $25, February 10th, 2023
Extended Late: $30, March 3rd, 2023
Notification Date: No later than May 12, 2022

To ensure that your film will be considered for the Summer Series your film must be submitted on or before 11:59 PM EST on the day of the applicable deadline. All films submitted late will be considered for the following year’s Summer Series.

All submission fees must be paid in U.S. currency. If you are submitting a film from outside the U.S., please pay with a credit card online or with a U.S. money order to avoid the conversion costs.
The recommended submission fee can be paid via cash, money order, a check made out to Rooftop Films, or online via the Rooftop Submission Form or FilmFreeway.
The submission fee need only be paid once per filmmaker or curator. You may submit as many films as you like without paying an additional fee.
All filmmakers who submit a film to Rooftop will receive one ticket (one ticket admits one car, with up to five guests allowed per vehicle) to any single regularly priced ($35) Rooftop Films drive-in screening. We couldn’t have our festival without filmmakers, and even though we can’t show all of your films, we hope you can participate in the festival even if your film isn’t accepted. The tickets are transferable (in case you don’t live in New York).
All on-time submissions will be notified of their status before May 31st. All filmmakers will receive notification, whether or not their film is chosen to screen as part of the summer series.
No film will ever be turned away due to lack of funds. If you are unable to pay the submission fee for any reason email submit@rooftopfilms.com to request a fee waiver.

Back to Top

The Festival
The Summer Series runs annually from May through August and features daring new films, all screened outdoors, in front of big, loyal audiences in parks, on boats, and on rooftops overlooking the greatest city in the world. Tens of thousands of people attend Rooftop screenings every summer, making it one of the most popular festivals in New York City and one of the biggest festivals for independent films in the world.

In 2021, we celebrated our 25th annual Summer Series—our signature program of new, independent films—and we have every intention of hosting in-person screenings again in 2022! We are looking forward to bringing films to live, in-person audiences again this summer!

“The audience numbers are mind-boggling. Most of the industry people I’ve met at other festivals seem to have seen my film at Rooftop, yet I think Rooftop is perhaps the only truly populist screening venue for underground movies in America.”
–Benh Zeitlin, Director, Beasts of the Southern Wild