Quantcast

Cinema under the stars: Your guide to summer movies outdoors

Cinema under the stars: Your guide to summer movies outdoors

Trade in your Netflix queue for popcorn in the park! Brooklyn’s parks and gardens will light up with outdoor movies all summer long — and there is something for everyone, with classic films, indie flicks, and big-name blockbusters in the line-up. So consult our list, get a blanket, and invite your family and friends to experience cinema under the stars!

Grave start

The Rooftop Films summer season will launch on May 20 in a brand new location for the series — Green-Wood Cemetery! The opening night anthology “This is What We Mean By Short Films” will be projected onto three different screens near the graveyard’s Sylvan Water pond, followed by an after-party outside the Green-Wood Chapel featuring Brooklyn’s DJ Tara.

After the opening event, Rooftop will screen a mix of feature-length movies and short film collections at locations all over Brooklyn, including more shows at Green-Wood Cemetery, the William Vale in Williamsburg, the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Industry City and the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, and MetroTech Commons Downtown, with some free and some ticketed screenings.

Rooftop Films Opening Night at Green-Wood Cemetery [500 25th St. at Fifth Avenue in Greenwood Heights, (718) 210–3080, www.green-wood.com]. May 20 at 8:30 pm. $16. Visit www.rooftopfilms.com for more films, dates and locations.

Bridge to the past

Celebrate the 135th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge with the short film “Roebling’s Bridge,” about the tense relationship between Brooklyn Bridge architect John Roebling and his son, who had to take over the massive construction project after his father’s death. The short will screen in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier One, in sight of the bridge, and will be introduced by Kriss Roebling, the great-great-grandson of Washington Roebling. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director, its producer, and one of the stars, along with a short presentation from historian Clifford Zink.

“Roebling’s Bridge” at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 (enter at Furman Street at Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, www.brooklynbridgepark.org). May 24 at 7:30 pm. Free.

Pool party

In Williamsburg, the pool deck in McCarren Park will screen two queer films this summer: “Stonewall” on June 1, a drama about the 1969 bar uprising; and “Saturday Church” on June 8, about a boy who finds community at a weekly transgender dance party. The “Movies Under the Stars” series will also host single screenings at various spots in Brooklyn — see www.nycgovparks.org for more info.

McCarren Park Pool Deck (776 Lorimer St. between Driggs Avenue and Bayard Street in Williamsburg, www.nycgovparks.org). June 1 and June 8 at 8:30 pm. Free.

Free space

The Alamo Drafthouse will sponsor the outdoor film series “Outer Space Outdoors,” with a different outer space–theme flick screening in Albee Square every Thursday in June. The concrete spot Downtown will have chairs for people to settle in, and a Jumbotron on the back of a truck will make an electronic screen for the films. June 7: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” June 14: “Men In Black,” June 21: “Space Jam,” June 28: “Gravity.”

Albee Square (Fulton Street at Bond Street Downtown www. downtownbrooklyn.com). Thursdays, June 7–28 at 8 pm, with music starting at 7 pm. Free.

Narrows escape

Escape the urban life with a visit to Bay Ridge’s botanical oasis! On Friday evenings starting in June, the Narrows Botanical Gardens will screen a mix of musicals, comedies, and a sci-fi classic. June 22: “Grease;” July 13: “The Lion King;” July 27: “Vertigo;” Aug. 10: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding;” Aug. 24: “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

Narrows Botanical Garden (enter on Shore Road between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street in Bay Ridge). Movies start at sundown (about 8:30 pm). Free.

Park it

The city skyline sits as the backdrop for the movies screened at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s “Movies with a View” series, starting on July 12. This year, the eight-week film series celebrates the theme “She Directs!” showcasing films directed by women. The movie lineup will be announced next week, so keep an eye on this website for more details.

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 (enter at Furman Street at Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, www.brooklynbridgepark.org). Thursday nights, July 12–Aug. 30, at dusk. Free.

Prospect lights

Outdoor movies and live music make the perfect pair in Brooklyn’s Back Yard, for four Wednesday nights starting on July 18. Nitehawk Cinema has selected family-friendly films from the ’30s, ’50s, ’60s and ’90s for the “Summer Movies Under the Stars” series, each of which follows a live musical performances from a local band, including Morricone Youth on July 25. July 18: “The Wizard of Oz;” July 25: “Alice in Wonderland;” Aug. 1: “West Side Story;” Aug. 8: “Space Jam.”

Prospect Park’s Long Meadow North (enter at Grand Army Plaza at Eastern Parkway, www.prospectpark.org/summermovie). Music starts at 7 pm; films at sundown (about 8:30 pm). Free.

Three wise guys: In the short film “So You Like the Neighborhood,” screening as part of the Rooftop FIlms opening on May 19, three former mafia members help a woman when she gets kicked out of her Brooklyn apartment.