2008 WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL HONORARY AWARDS 

 

KEVIN SMITH

“ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE VOICES IN INDIE FILM” 

WILL BE PRESENTED WITH THE 

9TH ANNUAL HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD

Writer/Director’s latest project Zack and Miri Make a Porno closes 2008 Festival in Woodstock

 

KEVIN SMITH, the director/screenwriter/actor/editor/comic book writer hailed as “one of the most unique voices to emerge during the American independent filmmaking renaissance of the 1990’s,” will be presented with the 2008 Honorary Maverick Award for his past and continuing work in independent film. Smith’s latest offering, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, will help close the 9th Annual Woodstock Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 5, courtesy of The Weinstein Company.

 

"I can't imagine a single person in the entertainment industry who embodies the spirit of the Woodstock Mavericks more than Kevin Smith” said John Sloss, head of Cinetic Media, member of the Woodstock Film Festival Advisory Board and a long time colleague of Mr. Smith. “From "Clerks" to "Dogma" to the upcoming "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" he has tweaked the noses of the Establishment and expanded the bounds of propriety in a singularly brilliant and irreverent way. More remarkably, all the while imbuing his work with an uncommon humanism, a quality also historically attributed to the Woodstock community,”

 

JAMES SCHAMUS NAMED 

TRAILBLAZER AWARD RECIPIENT IN 2008

 

/Trail-blaz-er /: an innovative leader in a field; a pioneer

 

Focus Features CEO and award-winning writer/producerJames Schamus will be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 9th annual Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) on October 4th.

 

“We are honored and delighted to be presenting James Schamus with the 2008 Trailblazer Award,” said Meira Blaustein, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the festival. “The award was created with the intention of honoring those who have taken an innovative and transforming approach in the film industry. Mr. Schamus surpasses those objectives. The fact the he has exhibited excellence in both business and creativity sets him apart from all his peers.”

 

Mr. Schamus commented, “I’m touched to be receiving this honor from one of my very favorite film festivals – one that carries on the spirit of adventure and discovery that characterizes its hometown.”

 

 

HASKELL WEXLER HONORED WITH WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

 

Award-winning cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, ASC, is set to receive the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th Annual Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) this October 1-5.

 

“Haskell Wexler’s outstanding talent as a cinematographer, his unique voice as a director, and his unwavering passion as a social activist have been an inspiration and a guiding light to the Woodstock Film Festival audience and to the film community at large,” Woodstock Film Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director Meira Blaustein said, “We are thrilled to present him with the Woodstock Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award”.

 

Considered one of the most well respected cinematographers in the film industry today, Haskell Wexler’s career spans six decades and work ranging from such films as Bound for Glory, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf", Interviews With My Lai Veterans, and American Graffiti. Wexler has received five Academy Award® nominations and a number of other prestigious awards, honoring his outstanding achievements in the photography of a wide range of films. He won his first Best Cinematography Oscar® in 1967 for Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and received the coveted prize again, ten years later, for Hal Ashby’s Bound for Glory. His other nominations were for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976), Matewan (1988), and Blaze (1989).

 

 

THREE FILMS TO OPEN 2008 FESTIVAL

 

All Screening on Thursday evening Oct 2nd 

 

For the first time, the Woodstock Film Festival will present THREE Opening Films, including the U.S. Premiere of Pride and Glory,  to kick-off its annual “fiercely independent” film extravaganza in the towns of Woodstock, Rhinebeck and Rosendale, all on Thursday evening, Oct. 2nd .The 9th Annual Festival runs from Oct. 1 through 5, featuring more than 150 outstanding films & shorts, thought-provoking panels, exciting concerts and other luminous events.

"You might say we hit the trifecta of quality films with the diverse slate of our three opening selections, and we are especially pleased to be able to offer the U.S. premiere of ‘Pride and Glory," said Meira Blaustein, festival executive director and co-founder.“For the past several years we have been screening films in Rosendale as well as Woodstock and Rhinebeck, and we have developed a strong following there, so we are delighted to celebrate with a great opening film in Rosendale as well.”

 

The search for enduring love and the quest for justice and honor are the recurring themes of this year’s opening films, all of which comes with impeccable credentials!

 

 

COLIN FARRELL stars as Jimmy Egan and EDWARD NORTON stars as Ray Tierney, two New York City police officers, in New Line Cinema’s 

crime drama “PRIDE AND GLORY,” 

distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. 

Photo by Glen Wilson

 

PRIDE AND GLORY: U.S. Premiere! Opening Night Film in Woodstock… 

An explosive multi-generational police drama starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, directed by Gavin O’Connor. (New Line Cinema production, released by Warner Bros Pictures)

 

In Woodstock, the U.S. premiere of Pride and Glory, a fast-paced, cop drama by award-winning director Gavin O’Connor and starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, examines a family’s moral codes in the face of police corruption in New York City. The family is tested when Ray Tierney (Norton), investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law (Farrell), a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD. This tightly-crafted, exciting story explores honor and loyalty when a family’s honesty and safety are put in danger. Director O’Connor will be at the screening for a Q & A after the film.

 

SALLY HAWKINS as Poppy in Mike Leigh's 

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY 

Photo credit: Simon Mein

Courtesy of Miramax Films

 

HAPPY-GO–LUCKY: Opening Night Film in Rhinebeck…  

A joyous comedy from Academy Award nominated director Mike Leigh (Miramax Films)

 

In Rhinebeck, the jubilant Happy-Go-Lucky follows the life of Polly, a freethinking, carefree schoolteacher as she searches for love and happiness.  This infectiously joyous comedy is directed by Mike Leigh, a multiple Academy Award nominee in directing and writing for his films Vera Drake and Secrets and Lies and for his screenplay of Topsy-Turvy.  Happy-Go-Lucky will send you away happy and transformed and wasthe winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s award for Best Actress, and an official selection of The Toronto Film Festival and The Telluride Film Festival.

 

(L to R) Brilliant inventor Dr. Robert Kearns (GREG KINNEAR) and his business partner, Tom Previck (DERMOT MULRONEY), in the drama that tells the true inspirational story of one man's decades long battle with the U.S. automobile industry: "Flash of Genius". 

Photo Credit: Kerry Hayes - Copyright: © 2007 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

FLASH OF GENIUS: Opening Night Film in Rosendale… 

Mark Abraham’s  corporate “David & Goliath” drama starring Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham (Universal Studios)

 

In Rosendale, Flash of Genius, is based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear), whose long battle with the U.S. automobile industry, comes at a heavy price. The Kearns were a typical 1960s Detroit family, trying to live their version of the American Dream. When Bob invents the intermittent windshield wiper – a device that would eventually be used by every car in the world - their aspirations are dashed after the auto giants unceremoniously shun the man who invented it. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life's work be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit. While paying the toll for refusing to compromise his dignity, this everyday David will try the unthinkable: to bring Goliath to his knees. Director Marc Abraham is a multi-talented filmmaker whose credits also include producing (Children of Men, The Road to Wellville), and writing (The Earth Day Special, 21 Jump Street) as well as directing

 

 

FOCUS ON MUSIC: FESTIVAL FILMS AND CONCERTS

 

ABIGAIL WASHBURN AND THE SPARROW QUARTET FEATURING BELA FLECK kickstarts 2008 festival with Opening Concert

 

Eight-time Grammy award winner Bela Fleck will open the 9TH Woodstock Film Festival, in concert with Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet featuring Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee

 

The Sparrow Quartet features the borderless sounds of two banjos, fiddle and cello, fronted by Abigail Washburn who has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "a daring, definite talent, whose feel for the folk idiom results in moving material. Soulful is the word." The LA Times described her music saying, "Abigail Washburn stomped and skipped through fiery Appalachian takes on the local songs of SichuanŸ She nails the dips and peaks of pitch while leading her band in scorching variations on simple, repetitive traditional melodies."

 

Bela Fleck joins the festival in two capacities this year, as he is also the producer and star of the documentary THROW DOWN YOUR HEART, director Sascha Paladino's full-length documentary chronicling Fleck's recent trip through Africa to uncover the roots of the banjo. The film follows the award-winning musician's travels to Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali, where he meets and plays with indigenous musicians and discovers more than he bargained for. Not only does he find many similarities between African melodies and American folk & bluegrass songs, he uses music to overcome cultural differences and touches on the human similarities hidden in the rhythms and the melodies of the cradle of civilization.

 

For concert tickets, click here

 

Directed by Sascha Paladino, beautifully shot film THROW DOWN YOUR HEART documents master musician Bela Fleck’s trip through Africa searching for the roots of his instrument, the banjo. He meets his match in exuberance and sheer musicality as he journeys through Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali to play and record with notable musicians. Screening Saturday at the Bearsville Theater.

 

 

Valerie Dee Naranjo will openfor The Sparrow Quartett in support of the short film she appears in – ”Knock on Wood.” A percussionist, vocalist, composer and clinician, Naranjo is best known for her pioneering efforts in West African keyboard percussion music. ”Knock on Wood” follows her love of African xylophone music to Ghana, where her performances on the gyil prompted a decree that women be permitted to play the instrument for the first time. 

 

She plays percussion for NBC's Saturday Night Live Band, and has recorded and performed with Broadway's The Lion King, The Philip Glass Ensemble, David Byrne, The Paul Winter Consort, Tori Amos, Airto Moreira, and the international percussion ensemble, MEGADRUMS, which includes Milton Cardona, Zakir Hussein and Glen Velez.

 

 

Legendary Troubador DONOVAN to Perform and appear in biopic

 

The legendary folk-rock-pop troubadour Donovan Leitch began his career as an itinerant folk musician, creating acoustic hits in 1965 with the gentle "Catch The Wind" and "Colours" and his version of Buffy Sainte Marie's protest anthem "Universal Soldier" before transforming the pop music landscape with a series of enigmatic and wondrous pop masterpieces that continue to be played on radio and television.

From 1966 through 1969, Dr. Donovan Leitch scored a string of eleven Top 40 hits in a row, including "Mellow Yellow," "Sunshine Superman," "Epistle To Dippy," "There Is A Mountain," "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Jennifer Juniper," "Lalena," "Atlantis" and "Riki Tiki Tavi."

 

During his career Donovan has played with The Beatles, folk music greats Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan, as well as rock musicians Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and The Beatles.

 

In the past five years Donovan has completed the successful album Beat Cafe; a new box set, Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan; and a book, "The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man" (Arrow Books). Donovan also fulfilled his 40-year interest in Transcendental Meditation by heading up the musical wing of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.

 

In Sunshine Superman: The Journey of Donovan, Director Hannes Rossacher paints an intimate portrait of music legend Donovan, spanning four decades of peace, love and incomparable music. Narrated mostly by Donovan in a series of anecdotes and interviews, with plenty of songs, the film follows the cultural icon from his early days in Glasgow, to his international chart-topping success in the '60s, to the present. Appearances by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Jimmy Page, and many others.  

 

Donovan will also be the featured guest on the BMI Music panel.

 

 

Guitar Master EARL SLICK and Singer/Songwriter SAPHIN are THE EONS Friday Night at Colony

 

An amazing blend of Slick's searing guitars and Saphin's soaring vocals set the back drop for The Eons. These works are guitar driven-rock masterpieces encompassing a musical spectrum from Retro to Future! Rock legend Earl Slick is a guitarist and producer best known for his collaboration with David Bowie over the past three decades (Diamond Dogs Tour, David Live, Young Americans, Station to Station, more recently, Bowie's Heathen and Reality). Notable records like Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey with Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Slick has worked with a string of artist like Jim Diamond, Robert Smith (The Cure), Martha Davis (Motels), Royston Langdon (Space Hog), to name a few. Since his first deal with Warner Brothers, Saphin continues to rise as a respected and accomplished singer/songwriter/performer and producer. His caricature driven concepts such as the ongoing saga of Tim Essquare or Tim E., are groundbreaking, multimedia extravaganza's crafted for the masses that suck the audience into a Saphin's vivid visions via video interaction and ominous rocking. Slick and Saphin deliver driving, edgy rock performances in an innovative, evocative and altogether seductive sonic and visual package ready for silver screens, tv screens and arena stages alike.

 

This collaboration has already produced the current fan favorite Secrets, featured in the Woodstock Film Festival's featured short Predisposed. You can find Slick on the web at www.myspace.com/earlslick. Saphin's at his award winning website www.saphin.com and The Eons at www.theeons.com

 

WACBIZ was conceived in Spring 2003, emerging out of the music industry at a time when its future was unclear and frustrating for many. WACBIZ set its sights and goals for artists, writers and producers to work cooperatively as a team with a network of executives at the core offering their collective experience. Artists will communicate, as they always do, through writing, performing, recording and touring, but now have a way, through technology, that would make a difference to their futures. Visit www.wacbiz.com

 

Predisposed (World Premiere), directed by Philip Dorling, has big credentials with Melissa Leo starring and award-winning writer Ron Nyswaner sharing the writing and producing credits! Eli, on the big day of his college interview, has one small task to tend to before he can secure his scholarship. He has to take his mother (Leo) Penny to rehab. When they learn that she cannot be admitted unless she is physically intoxicated, everything changes. This rollicking short features the song Secrets  by rock guitar master EARL SLICK, the longtime collaborator of David Bowie. 

 

Outernational

If you missed Outernational last time they appeared at the Woodstock Film Festival, don't let it happen again. "These boys are the next big thing..." says BBC Radio. "They are an incredible mix of hip-hop, hard-rock, and world music. They mix politics and dance music in the best way, much like The Clash did."

MTV News said "Outernational uncompromisingly tells the truth, and they paint a picture of the world the way they see it and a way that we don't hear on the radio and television as much as people need to. They're very political, but super exciting."

 

NYC's Outernational just finished its debut album for Warner Bros. The record was produced by Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine with guest appearances by Chad Smith of the Chili Peppers among others. Watch for the EP to be released this fall and debut album early '09.

 

 

TWO CLOSING NIGHT FILMS

 

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO, directed by Kevin Smith, 2008 Honorary Maverick Award Winner; follows lifelong friends and roommates Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) faced with hard times and a mountain of debt. When the electricity and plumbing get cut off, they seize upon the idea of making a homegrown porno movie for some quick cash, enlisting the help of their friends. But as filming begins, what started out as a business proposition between friends turns into something much more.  (Woodstock)

 

 

THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD (East Coast Premiere), directed by Sean McGinly, tells the tale of Buck Howard, a has-been mentalist extraordinaire who can read minds and hypnotize not just a single soul but an entire room of people.  He longs for the days when he had a marquee act in Vegas with 61 appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He hires Tony, an unemployed law school dropout to help climb back to the top, and with a bold stroke of fate, Buck surprisingly lands back into the American consciousness. As the coveted spotlight again shines, both Buck and Troy question whether or not they have made the right choice in their lives. (Rosendale)

 

FESTIVAL'S CENTERPIECE FILMS

 

WENDY AND LUCY, Director Kelly Reichardt, (Old Joy) returns with this heartbreakingly beautiful tale of friendship and survival. Michelle Williams shines as the hard-up, empathetic Wendy, an Indiana native traveling through America's Pacific-Northwest on her way to find a better life in an Alaskan fish cannery. With her beloved dog Lucy, Wendy is sidetracked when her car breaks down in a small Oregonian town and makes a futile attempt at shoplifting that will change her life forever. A hit at this year's Cannes Film Festival, featuring a host of amazing cameos including Woodstock area actor/producer Larry Fessenden.

 

 

 

THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN, Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, multi-award winner (Cesar Awards for Best Film, Best Director & Best Original Screenplay; Venice Film Festival's Special Jury Prize & International, Critics Prize) this turbulent family drama offers a heartfelt and simple story of family, culture and food, telling the tale of aging, laid-off Tunisian boat worker Slimane Beiji’s quest to open a restaurant featuring his ex-wife's couscous recipe. Internal family conflict and complex bureaucracy threaten his plans. Sounds of the ocean, Tunisian music and beautiful photography, work seamlessly to create a portrait of a multi-generational family grappling with the culture of a new homeland.

 

 

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

ALL TOGETHER NOW (NEW YORK PREMIERE), Award-winning documentarian Adrian Wills, captures the moment in history when two of the greatest groups of artists, The Beatles and the performers of Cirque du Soleil, come together to create the outstanding show, LOVE.  Fueled by a dream from George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil director Guy Laliberte, we get an inside look at this newest Cirque show, through breathtaking rehearsal footage and often hilarious interviews with all parties involved, including the two surviving Beatles.

 

 

GOSPEL HILL (World Premiere), directed by Giancarlo Esposito; greed and idealism collide in this powerful narrative set in a small southern town as preparations are made to memorialize the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of civil rights activist Paul Malcolm. Stars Julia Stiles, Adam Baldwin, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson and Esposito himself, who has family ties in nearby Saugerties. 

 

JULIA (U.S. PREMIERE), directed by Erick Zonca, starring Tilda Swinton as a 40 year old alcoholic, and compulsive liar, who, between shots of vodka and one-night stands, gets by on nickel-and-dime jobs.  Glimpsing imminent perdition, Julia convinces herself - as much in panic and despair as for financial gain - to commit a violent act. As the story unfolds, Julia's journey becomes a headlong flight on a collision course, but somehow she makes the choice of life over death.

 

RELIGULOUS,documentary directed by Larry Charles (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Borat), explores world religions through the eyes of confirmed skeptic and satirist, the irreverent comedian and social commentator Bill Maher, as he attempts to discover why people believe the things they do.

 

TOKYO! (EAST COAST PREMIERE), directed by Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry, WORLD CINEMA, (Japanese with English Subtitles); From the weird and wonderful mind of master filmmakers, Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Leos Carax (Pola X) and Joon-Ho Bong (The Host) comes a wildly beautiful triptych of stories that pay homage to the diversity of modern-day Tokyo. In Gondry's INTERIOR DESIGN, a troubled couple goes on a surreal apartment hunt; Carax's side-splittingly funny MERDE tells the story of a mysterious man who emerges from the sewer to wreak havoc on the streets above, while Joon-Ho Bong's SHAKING TOKYO  offers a touchingly poignant story of a shut-in forced to face love following an earthquake.

 

 

TRIBUTE FILMS

In honor of Haskell Wexler, legendary cinematographer and director, who is receiving WFF’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award, the festival is screening THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH, shot by Wexler and directed by John Sayles, who along with Wexler, will be present for the Q & A after the film.  This exquisite 1994 film is renowned for its magnificent images and rich story tableau: a young girl, Fiona, is fascinated with her grandfather’s tales of her family's departure from the island of Roan Inish, where a beautiful Selkie, a human that can transform herself into a seal, stole her baby brother. Fiona travels back to Roan Inish and sees her brother playing alone on the beach, but can she convince her family her visions are real?  One of Haskell Wexler's greatest cinematic achievements, the festival is proud to screen it in tribute to this modern master. 

 

 

In honor of James Schamus, CEO of Focus Features, who is receiving the 2008 Honorary Trailblazer Award, the festival is holding a tribute screening of the 1999 film RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, written by Schamus and directed by Ang Lee, with whom he has worked several times. Ride with the Devil tells the story of Jake Roedel (Toby Maguire), the child of German immigrants living in Missouri during the civil war who joins up with a rag-tag militia of Southern loyalists. Hailed as ‘word-perfect’. WFF is proud to present this modern classic.

 

In honor of Lee Marvin, the Hollywood legend whose first professional appearance as an actor was at the summer stock theater in Woodstock, WFF presents Marvin’s most personal film, the stylish 1967 neo-noir crime thriller POINT BLANK.  Directed by John Boorman (Dirty Dozen) in close collaboration with Marvin, who plays a reluctant criminal who stumbles into a bad situation and pays dearly for it.  Marvin was involved in all aspects of the film and wanted to use various metaphors within the film to explore his deep-seated feelings about violence. Marvin retained his Woodstock ties throughout his life and WFF’s award for Best Feature Narrative Film, this year was re-named in honor of this iconic actor.

 

PANELS

- MUSIC IN FILM: CONVERSATION WITH DONOVAN, with BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross. 

- SHOW ME THE MONEY: From Dream To Reality- How To Finance Your Independent Film;

- AMAZING WOMEN IN FILM 

- A CONVERSATION WITH TRAILBLAZER RECIPIENT JAMES SCHAMUS 

- IS IT SAFE? THE FUTURE OF INDEPENDENT FILM 

- CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN INDEPENDENT FILMMKAING

- MOVIES THAT MATTER: DO THEY COUNT? 

- ACTOR’S DIALOGUE 

- THE DOCUMENTARY STORY TODAY: HOW IS IT DOING?

- CAREER DAY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: With Filmmakers, Industry Members, Musicians, And Entertainment Professionals

 

Gospel Hill 

 

Explicit Ills

 

FILMS WITH HUDSON VALLEY TIES

WFF is passionately committed to supporting regional filmmakers and film production. This year there are several outstanding short films in our MADE IN THE HUDSON VALLEY category, as well as some great features. And many other films include local ties...

 

GOSPEL HILL (World Premiere), directed by Giancarlo Esposito; greed and idealism collide in this powerful narrative set in a small southern town as preparations are made to memorialize the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of civil rights activist Paul Malcolm. Stars Julia Stiles, Adam Baldwin, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson and Esposito himself, who has family ties in nearby Saugerties. 

 

BLOOD RED EARTH, directed by JT Petty; a brave named Red Earth takes his younger brother into the grasslands to kill meat that will feed their family and earn their father's respect. The family’s admiration is short-lived when the dangerous truth emerges. Executive produced by LArry Fessenden. Shot locally with help from Hudson Valley Film Commission.

 

DINOSAURS AND ROCKETSHIPS, directed by Liz Fulton and Bruce Stanbery, profiling Woodstock area artist Steve Heller, the eccentric artist who builds a life size Tyrannosaurus Rex out of tire chains and bulldozer sprockets and then has to figure out how to move it. 

 

EDGE OF TOWN (World Premiere), directed by Christopher Ciancimino; When the body of a woman is discovered in the woods, it triggers a series of connections between four locals and gradually reveals the cause of her death. 

 

EXPLICIT ILLS – This powerful and emotional drama that connects seemingly unconnected lives in a woven series of moving vignettes is directed by Mark Webber and executive poduced by Hudson Valley resident Jim Jarmusch. The cast features Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Dano, Rosario Dawson, Naomie Harris, Tariq Trotter, Frankie Shaw

 

THE GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN, directed by Paul H-O and Tom Donahue; uniquely personal and comprehensive documentary exposes the fragility of one man 's ego in the light of fame and fortune. All star cast!

 

NATURAL CAUSES (New York Premiere), directed byAlex Cannon, Paul Cannon and Michael Lerman:"Can your first love, be your last love... or are all early relationships doomed to fail until you know what you are looking for?" Bard College alumni!

 

THE PRIDE (East Coast Premiere), directed, written and starring Tivoli resident Gerard Hurley, explores forgiveness, trust and love in a community of Irish travelers in upstate New York. Cinematography by Woodstock resident Ian Ellerby; 

 

PREDISPOSED, directed by Woodstocker Philip Dorling, follows Eli, who, on the big day of his college interview, has to take his mother Penny to rehab. When they learn that she cannot be admitted unless she is physically intoxicated, everything changes. Featuring Ulster County’s Melissa Leo. Shot locally with help from Hudson Valley Film Commission. 

 

SUPERMAN #1,directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms; friends gather for beer and a brutal inquisition. Co-starring Woodstock-based actor Michael Burke.

 

WENDY AND LUCY, directed by Kelly Reichardt–currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bard College.

Film features local actor, director, producer Larry Fessenden.

 

 

Were the World Mine

 

 

Paper Covers Rock

 

 

Pressure Cooker  

FULL LINE-UP: NARRATIVES, DOCUMENTARIES AND SHORTS

 

NARRATIVE FEATURES: 32 A directed by Marian Quinn; EDEN directed by Declan Recks; EXPLICIT ILLS directed by Mark Webber; FLASH OF GENIUS directed by Marc Abraham; GOSPEL HILL directed by Giancarlo Esposito; THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, directed by Sean McGinly; HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRIS MALDEN directed by Sweaty Robot; HAPPY- GO- LUCKY directed by Mike Leigh; I’LL COME RUNNING directed by Spenser Parsons; IDIOTS AND ANGELS directed by Bill Plympton; JULIA directed by Erick Zonca; LET THE RIGHT ONE IN directed by Tomas Alfredson; MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY directed by Barry Jenkins; NATURAL CAUSES directed by Alex Cannon, Paul Cannon and Michael Lerman; THE NEW YEAR PARADE directed by Tom Quinn; NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS directed by Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig; PAPER COVERS ROCK directed by Joe Maggio; POINT BLANK directed by John Boorman; PRIDE AND GLORY directed by Gavin O’Connor; THE PRIDE directed by Gerard Hurley; PRINCE OF BROADWAY directed by Sean Baker; RIDE WITH THE DEVIL directed by Ang Lee; THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH directed by John Sayles; THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN directed by Abdellatif Kechiche; TOKYO! directed by Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry; VISIONEERS directed by Jared Drake; WENDY AND LUCY directed by Kelly Reichardt; WERE THE WORLD MINE directed by Tom Gustafson; ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO directed by Kevin Smith.

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES:  ALL TOGETHER NOW directed by Adrian Wills; AMERICAN SWING directed by Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart; AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD directed by Dan Stone; THE BETRAYAL directed by Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath; BLIND SPOT directed by Adolfo Doring; BULLETPROOF SALESMAN directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker; CAPTURED directed by Bon Solomon and Dan Levin; DIPLOMACY- THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT directed by Rasmus Dinesen and Boris B. Bertram; EXAMINED LIFE directed by Astra Taylor; FLYING ON ONE ENGINE directed by Joshua Z Weinstein; GARRISON KEILLOR: THE MAN ON THE RADIO IN THE RED SHOES directed by Peter Rosen; GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN directed by Paul H-O and Tom Donahue; HI, MY NAME IS RYAN directed by Paul Eagleston and Stephen Rose; IN A DREAM directed by Jeremiah Zagar; JOHNNY CASH’S AMERICA directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon; KASSIM THE DREAM directed by Kief Davidson; KNOW YOUR MUSHROOMS directed by Ron Mann; MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT directed by Wendy Key; OF ALL THE THINGS directed by Jody Lambert; PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC directed by Jonathan Walls and Mark Johnson; PRESSURE COOKER directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker; RELIGULOUS directed by Larry Charles; SUNSHINE SUPERMAN: THE JOURNEY OF DONOVAN directed by Hannes Rossacher; THING WITH NO NAME directed by Sarah Friedland; THROW DOWN YOUR HEART directed by Sascha Paladino; TRINIDAD directed by PJ Raval & Jay Hodges; UNDER OUR SKIN directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson; UPSTREAM BATTLE directed by Ben Kempas.           

 

Das Dores

 

Only Love

 

WORLD CLASS SHORTS:

The WFF has garnered a reputation for screening some of the most exciting films of the genre! 

The program this year includes:

COMEDY SHORTS (Fifty Cents, Hose, Phone Book, Slow)

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS (Bodega, Dinosaurs and Rocketships, Knock on Wood, Pickin' & Trimmin', The Unhappy Traveler)

EPIC SHORTS (Blood Red Earth, Das Dores, Glory at Sea) 

KILLER SHORTS (A Day's Work, Edge of Town, Sikumi)

LATIN AMERICAN SHORTS (2 Segundos de Oscuridad, La Corona, Flowers for San Lazaro, Mexican Dreams/American Dreams) 

PREDISPOSED SHORTS (Bomber, Distractions, Predisposed, Small Collection, This is a Story About Ted and Alice, Window) 

SUPERHERO SHORTS (Adventures of Chin-Chin the Chillin' Chinchilla, The Aviatrix, The Heist, Return to Labradoria, Superman #1, Uber Alice) 

YOUTH/TEEN SHORTS  (A Year in a Day, Absence, America for Dummies, Artifical Allies, Ashes and Bones, Candyland, Classical Reign, Didget and the Woo Nods, The Duality of Peter Hyde, Humans, Imagine the Day, Jugglers, Manhattan to Mekelle, Mars, Samaritan)

 

Also featured, our heralded ANIMATED SHORTS (Berni's Doll, Circles, Compost, Doxology, Germans in the Woods, KJFG No.5, Last Time in Clerkenwell, A Letter to Colleen, Mexican Standoff, Teat Beat of Sex: Episodes 8,9,10,11, Western Spaghetti, Yours Truly)

 

The program is the only U.S. program curated by the incomparable Bill Plympton (full length animated feature IDIOTS AND ANGELS) and Signe Baumane (TEAT BEAT OF SEX: EPISODES 8,9,10,11).

 

Shorts playing prior to other films include the world premiere of Only Love, The Bicycle Trip, Veneer, The New Yorkist, Dream Girl, Diving Women of Jeju-Do, Love No.