Synopsis
Many years ago, Brooklyn had a thriving community of rooftop pigeon breeders whose birds would fill the skies above as they flew together in complicated and beautiful formations. Today the hobby is on the wane, but there is still a small group who continues the tradition, some of them flying huge stocks of over 1,500 birds. Through interviews with many of the city's longtime pigeon fanciers, we are able to explore the lives of these true Brooklyn characters, their relationships with each other, and the ever-changing neighborhoods in which they live and fly. This project steps into a world that exists on Brooklyn's rooftops, where men obsessed with their birds have found a connection with nature and the sky above them, one that contrasts greatly with the bustling streets only a few flights below.
Above Brooklyn premiered in September 2009 to a sold-out audience at the Rooftop Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York, and has screened at Anthology Film Archives, the Crown Heights Film Festival, and Prescreen. It has been featured in several film blogs including the L Magazine Film Blog, Frontier Psychiatrist, and The Artswire.