Rooftops

Ricky, a young painter from Brooklyn on the front of the Hipster Movement, is getting his first taste of success. But happiness evades him; his life flounders amidst unhealthy family dynamics, confusion over an artistic movement that lacks moral absolutes, and burdens of past heartaches kept secret. These heartaches, long tucked in his subconsciousness, are dredged to the surface when his teenage sister, Sailor, confides in him her unwanted pregnancy.

Overnight, his work grinds to a halt—his creative flow corked by demons he would rather ignore—while his little sister incessantly pleads for help. Thus begins an intimate journey into a troubled family's dynamics.

As a discussion of unwanted pregnancies, Rooftops leaves more questions than answers, but the film digs deep when it comes to family relationships—how unresolved baggage is often passed down to the next generation, which hardly has the life experience to sift through what is sound advice versus what is an older person's inner, and veiled, projections. In the midst of such dysfunction and selfishness, teenaged Sailor is left blowing in the wind and fending for herself. Rooftops is the product of a brother-sister collaboration between Megan and Josh Mayes, who are based in New York.

The overall effect is powerful: fine acting and cinematography lend Rooftops all the soulfulness and aesthetic one would hope for in a film that employs the motif of the tortured artist. You can watch the trailer here (parental discretion is advised): Rooftops Trailer