Locally filmed ‘Roofman’ to open the 2025 Charlotte Film Festival
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- The Charlotte Film Festival will open in 2025 with the local premiere of Roofman.
- Roofman tells the true story of serial robber Jeffrey Manchester’s Charlotte crimes.
- Writer Derek Cianfrance and producer Jaime Patricof will hold a post-film talk.
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Fresh off its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Charlotte-based story “Roofman” has set a date to screen for a local audience.
On Monday, the Charlotte Film Festival announced it would be opening its 2025 festival on Sept. 23 with the Charlotte premiere of the Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst thriller, which filmed in and around the area late last year.
The premiere will be at the recently renovated Carolina Theatre and will include an in-person discussion after the film with writer/director Derek Cianfrance and producer Jaime Patricof. The movie will be released in theaters on Oct. 10.
Tickets for the “Roofman” premiere will be available for purchase on Friday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m.
The true story of ‘Roofman’
The premiere is a coming home for the movie, not only because it was filmed locally, but also because it features a Charlotte story.
The movie is based on the true story of serial robber Jeffrey Manchester, known as “Roofman” or the “Rooftop Robber.” Manchester broke into McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. and in the Charlotte area by entering through the roofs. He was arrested in Gaston County in 2000.
Four years into his prison sentence, Manchester escaped from an Anson County prison and hitchhiked to Charlotte.
There he hid out for months in a Toys ‘R’ Us and abandoned Circuit City store on Independence Boulevard. Manchester lived off of baby food and snacks before being caught after leaving a fingerprint on a “Catch Me If You Can” DVD in the store.
For more information about the Charlotte Film Festival, visit charlottefilmfestival.org.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
