Rooftop Films & Vans Team for Screenings of ‘Skate Kitchen’ (with Jaden Smith Live) & Wax Trax! Records Doc, RSVP Now Open
We just love it when two of our favorite New York institutions team up on stuff. In this case, Rooftop Films and House of Vans are back at it with two free screenings coming up at the end of July, the first of which is a documentary about Wax Trax! Records, and the second is a preview screening of Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen followed by a performance by Jaden Smith. The RSVPs for both are open now (here for the Wax Trax! doc on July 28, and here for Skate Kitchen on July 30). Both events are all ages.
The partnership between Rooftop Films and House of Vans goes back several summers, with the pair working together on knockout screening events for Angela Boatwright’s Los Punks: We Are All We Have, Flying Lotus’ KUSO, and Zoe Lister-Jones’ Band Aid, among others.
As for their two upcoming collaborations, on July 28, Julia Nash presents Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records. In her documentary, which is currently making the festival rounds, Nash explores the story behind the underground record store and indie label founded back in the 70s by Jim Nash (the filmmaker’s father) and Dannie Flesher. Home to such artists as Ministry, KMFDM, Suicide, Revolting Cocks, and Psychic TV, her film features interviews with Trent Reznor, Steve Albini, Jello Biafra, Ian MacKaye, Dave Grohl, En Esch, Chris Connelly, Patrick Codenys (Front 242) and more. The House of Vans screening will be preceded by a DJ set by Codenys and followed by a Q&A with Nash and live performance by PIG with Raymond Watts & En Esch Youth Code. There will also be a pop-up record store onsite.
Then, on July 30, Crystal Moselle presents a preview screening of Skate Kitchen. Her narrative feature debut, Skate Kitchen is Moselle’s follow up to her breakout hit documentary The Wolfpack (which screened at Rooftop in 2015). For Skate Kitchen, Moselle cast a real-life all-girl skate crew to tell the story of a teenager who follows her passion. The film features Rachelle Vinberg and Jaden Smith. The event at House of Vans will include a Q&A with the cast and crew and musical performance by Smith, whose latest album of remixes, Electric, was released this past Monday on IGTV, Instagram’s new video streaming service. If you miss this screening, Skate Kitchen will be released in theaters by Magnolia Pictures on August 10.
For other screenings coming up at Rooftop Films, visit their website. As for House of Vans, the venue is currently hosting its summer Vans House Parties series. You can find out more about that here.