In a city where many public spaces double as traffic lanes, it’s difficult for a movie programmer to think too intimately when it comes to organizing a series of outdoor movie screenings. So it’s little surprise that most outdoor film events focus on well-known classics or flashy Hollywood blockbusters — titles that can be enjoyed despite the excess noise and interference, that will accommodate the distractions of the city.

But things are different at the Elevated Acre. Located near the southern tip of Manhattan, this open square is an isolated public space raised up above Water Street that offers visitors a panoramic view of the East River with Brooklyn beyond. It is a miniature park divided among several levels — an artificial green common area ringed by colorful gardens. In reality, the Elevated Acre is the specially modified roof of a parking garage, located between two buildings. But it has the feel of a sliver of seclusion.

As part of the ongoing River to River Festival, the nation’s largest free arts festival, the Elevated Acre will present a special outdoor screening on each Tuesday evening in August, beginning tomorrow. And thanks to the Acre’s isolated locale, organizers captured the opportunity to plan the “Movie Nights on the Elevated Acre” program in a unique way.

“It’s a more intimate experience that you’ll find at some of the other outdoor series,” the curator of the monthlong film series, Tal Yarden, said. “It’s easier to focus on the films than in a bustling square like Bryant Park or in Dumbo. It’s not so much using the city as a backdrop. We put the screen against the surface of one of the buildings and because of all this — the fact that we’re above the city, and that we are drawing the attention toward the film that’s showing — we’ve gotten a really positive response. The sound is good, [and] people are not as distracted by the surrounding environment.” Mr. Yarden added that he has tried tofocusonprogrammingfilmsthat match the aesthetic of the Elevated Acre, preferring to think of it more as a theater than a park. “I try to pick a nice mix of New York movies, usually older ones,” he said. “I think it’s very interesting to focus on movies that were actually shot on location in the city, and to then have those New York images showing outdoors, in the open air, where audiences are hearing the sirens and the traffic, and the sounds of the city. It creates this immersive experience.”

Tomorrow’s program features a quintessential New York musical, “On the Town,” starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra and set to the music of Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Yarden said he deliberately endeavored to slate this rousing fan favorite — about sailors making the most of their shore leave by running wild in New York — as the season opener before moving on to more challenging material. Next Tuesday, Woody Allen’s moody and iconic “Manhattan” will make the most out of the Elevated Acre’s picturesque locale. On August 19, a rare screening of Stanley Kubrick’s first film, “Killer’s Kiss,” will be the main attraction. Finally, Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life,” from 1959, will close the program on August 26.

“‘Imitation of Life’ is such a big melodrama, but it’s also a classic New York story,” Mr. Yarden said. “It deals a lot with race, which interests me. It’s about an aspiring actress who meets a homeless black mother in Coney Island and brings her in as a nanny, and about the two kids growing up together, and about the black daughter deciding to pass for white. It’s quite powerful.”

In addition to programming each evening’s featured film, Mr. Yarden has also curated an opening program of short films crafted by local experimental filmmakers. This Tuesday’s shorts were directed by Nisi Jacobs, daughter of renowned New York avant-garde master Ken Jacobs. The 8-minute work, titled “Dishing,” juxtaposes an urban July 4 celebration with a magician’s deck of cards to hypnotic effect; the 10-minute “Sugartown” alters the colors and textures of the city, viewing New York through the eyes of two women as they look through a glazed window.

Mr. Yarden said it is this balance — of high-profile films about New York and lesser-known experimental filmmakers by New Yorkers — that makes “Movie Nights on the Elevated Acre” a vital River to River event.

“It’s unique, because a lot of people don’t even know this hiddenoff amphitheater is here,” he said. “But it’s also a great place to discover New York talent. I consider my mission as curator to introduce audiences to experimental filmmakers who won’t necessarily get seen by a large-scale audience — to marry the features we’ve chosen with short films that are equally inspired.”

ssnyder@nysun.com