The people behind Gabi on the Roof in July pretty much created their film on a whim: director/star Lawrence Michael Levine wanted to follow up his previous project, Territory, but was finding trouble matching his ambitions with what the market would fund. Meanwhile, co-star/ producer Sophia Takal was willing to put up some residuals from a commercial shoot if Levine could strip his aspirations back enough to get things done on a shoestring budget. The result: a spontaneous, semi-improvised, sometimes funny and occasionally raunchy tale of a New York artist (Levine), prompted into personal reevaluation by Gabi, his impulsive, college-age younger sister (Takal).
The film's been making the rounds of fests and will be playing in Brooklyn for the next week -- hopefully someone will recognize that its energy and naturalistic performances deserve to be seen by a wider audience. In the meantime, click on the player to hear my conversation with Levine and Takal.
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