UPDATE: According to The Gothamist, the FDNY has shut down this weekend’s screenings due to safety concerns. Additionally, Bob Diamond’s tunnel tours maybe be “permanently cancelled.”
This weekend, December 11-12, 2010, Rooftop Films will be screening films in the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel underneath Brooklyn. From the official press release:
Rooftop Films Brings Underground Movies Underground into the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel was built in 1844 beneath a busy street in the City of Brooklyn. It is a half-mile long and was built to help prevent Long Island Rail Road trains from slaughtering pedestrians and horses as they pulled up to the piers near downtown Brooklyn (the trains could not break fast enough to operate on city streets). The tunnel was closed in the 1860’s and at the time it was believed that it had been entirely sealed in, but in fact it was merely hidden beneath Atlantic Ave and mostly forgotten for over 100 years. But urban spelunker Bob Diamond rediscovered the long forgotten Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in 1980 and The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association (BHRA) was formed in 1982 to preserve, publicize and provide public access to the historic tunnel. BHRA continues to maintain and conduct tours and events within the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, and visitors to the tunnel enter through a manhole cover in the middle of Atlantic Avenue.
Prior to the screenings, Bob Diamond will be conducting a tour of the tunnel, and his recounting of the history of this historic treasure is not to be missed. Following the screening, we will be hosting an after party at Last Exit Bar and Lounge at 136 Atlantic Avenue with complimentary drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum.
IMPORTANT – Please Note: Must be 18 or over to attend the screening (after-party is 21+). Entrance is through the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel via a ladder through a manhole in the middle of Atlantic Avenue. Traffic is blocked off, but attendees should wear comfortable shoes and those who are incapable of climbing up and down a 10 feet ladder should not plan on attending the event. We apologize for this, but there is no other way to enter or exit the tunnel. You must sign a liability waiver before entering the tunnel (forms will be available at the entrance). There are no chairs in the tunnel. Tarps will be placed on the ground to sit on, and attendees may bring small cushions as well (nothing too big, please). There are no bathrooms in the tunnel. Plan on using a restroom before you enter.
Show Details:
Saturday, December 11th
Rooftop Films: Trapped in the Tunnel1:00 p.m. Doors Open
1:45 p.m. Presentation by Bob Diamond
2:15 p.m. Films begin
4:15 p.m. After-party following the screening at Last Exit bar with complimentary Sailor Jerry Rum (136 Atlantic Ave)Location: Underground in the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
Atlantic Ave and Court Street (Cobble Hill)
Brooklyn, NY 11201Subway Directions: Take the 2,3, 4 or 5 to Borough Hall or the F to Bergen
Tickets are $20 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at: http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/70-trapped-in-the-tunnel
Freaks lurk deep below ground, and normally they stay out of sight and don’t interfere with the lives of us surface dwellers. If you are curious about subterranean life and aren’t feeling too claustrophobic, join us on December 11th for a program of films about people who wander into mysterious realms from which they just might never escape. The only way out is the way you came in.
Prior to the screenings, urban spelunker Bob Diamond will be conducting a tour of the tunnel, and his recounting of the history of this historic treasure is not to be missed. So buy your tickets now and we’ll see you on the other side of the street.
Following the screening, we’ll all head over to Last Exit Bar and Lounge at 136 Atlantic Avenue for complimentary drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry.
The Films:
Road to Moloch (Robert Glickert | USA | 14 min.)
While on a mission to locate three missing soldiers, a team of reconnaissance marines encounter a blood-spattered Iraqi stumbling through the desert. After following the distraught man into the depths of an insurgent cave, the marines make a horrifying discovery bringing them face-to-face with an ancient evil.Daylight Hole (Matt Palmer | United Kingdom | 5 min.)
A soundman descends into an isolated cave. Only when it may be too late does he begin to suspect that he might not be alone.Sinkhole (Eric Scherbarth | New York, NY | 13 min.)
A salesman approaches a mysterious landowner with an offer to buy the man’s smoldering abandoned coalmines but finds that there is more at stake than the land.Ledo and Ix Go to Town (Emily Carmichael | Brooklyn, NY | 7:45 min.)
What exactly do video game characters do when we’re not around? What if they chat and bicker like we do, wonder and dream like we do, feel boredom and dread like we do, despite being 48 pixels tall? An eight-bit tribute to Waiting for Godot, Carmichael returns to Rooftop with another film in the Ledo and Ix series, using the visual vocabulary of retro video games to explore the human fear of both the unknown and the known. kidcandrive.comCovered Tracks (Nathan Kensinger | New York | 12 min.)
An exploration of life and death underneath Manhattan, traveling through a 50 block-long train tunnel which was once an underground homeless city.Monsters Down the Hall (S. Vellie Osborn | Worcester, Massachusetts | 12 min.)
Michael is a young boy in an adult’s world. He resides in the projects of Worcester, Massachusetts with his mother Mary, a good intentioned but somewhat absent force from his life. Often disappearing into room 18E down the hall from the apartment they share, Mary returns slurring her words, walking funny, and directing her son never to enter that room. But he does, in his dreams, and discovers monsters. Monsters he needs to save his mother from. But what can a little boy do?Sunday, December 12th
Rooftop Films: Tunnel of Love1:00 p.m. Doors Open
1:45 p.m. Tour of the Tunnel with Bob Diamond
2:15 p.m. Films begin
4:15 p.m. After-party following the screening at Last Exit bar with complimentary Sailor Jerry Rum (136 Atlantic Ave)Location: Underground in the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
Atlantic Ave and Court Street (Cobble Hill)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Subway Directions: Take the 2,3, 4 or 5 to Borough Hall or the F to BergenTickets are $20 online or at the door. Tickets and more information at: http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/71-tunnel-of-love
Love is blind, especially when you are in an abandoned tunnel 10 feet underground. Join us on December 12th for an afternoon of tragic puppy love, ill-advised flings, and romantic road trips that don’t end as expected. These are short films that remind us how difficult it can be to resist temptation, how exciting it can be to chase after your fantasies, and how serious the consequences can be when you finally get what you thought you wanted. Sex wouldn’t be so exciting if it wasn’t a little terrifying.
Rooftop Films is best known for showing underground films outdoors, but in December we will be taking some of those films back where they belong: UNDERGROUND, into the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in Cobble Hill. On December 11th and 12th, Rooftop will take two programs of short films from the dark underbelly of the independent film world and screen them deep inside the oldest subway on earth.
Prior to the screenings, urban spelunker Bob Diamond will be conducting a tour of the tunnel, and his recounting of the history of this historic treasure is not to be missed. So buy your tickets now and we’ll see you on the other side of the street. And following the screening, we’ll all head over to Last Exit Bar and Lounge at 136 Atlantic Avenue for complimentary drinks courtesy of Sailor Jerry.
The Films: Mary Last Seen (Sean Durkin | New York, NY | 13 min.)
A young woman embarks on a road trip with her boyfriend to a place he promises will be beautiful and peaceful. But a series of strange events occur on their journey, and it becomes clear that their relationship is not what she thinks and their destination is not what was promised.Bugcrush (Carter Smith | Maine | 30 min.)
Bugcrush is the story of Ben, a small-town high school loner, whose fascination with Grant, a dangerously seductive new kid, leads him into something much more sinister than he could ever have imagined.Tub (Bobby Miller | Los Angeles, CA | 12 min.)
Paul jerked off in the shower. Paul just impregnated his bath tub.Strates (Yohan Guignard | France & Belgium | 9 min.)
A farmer discovers a very unexpected bounty buried in his soil.Presented in partnership with: Sailor Jerry Rum, the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, and Last Exit Bar and Lounge.
Full schedule, program notes, film descriptions, venue information, schedule of other events and more available at www.rooftopfilms.com.
