Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 6, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival | 
DEAR LEMON LIMA, directed by Suzi Yoonessi
The Tenth Anniversary Woodstock Film Festival announced the audience award for best narrative and best documentary.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
First Place went to DEAR LEMON LIMA, directed by Suzi Yoonessi
Second place went to DON’T LET ME DROWN , directed by Cruz Angeles
Third place went to HARLEM ARIA, directed by William Jennings
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
First Place went to AFTER THE STORM, directed by Hilla Medalia
Second place went to MIGHTY UKE, directed by Tony Coleman
Third place went to WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE, directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler
Tags: AFTER THE STORM, Cruz Angeles, DEAR LEMON LIMA, Emily Kunstler, HARLEM ARIA, Hilla Medalia, MIGHTY UKE, ON'T LET ME DROWN, Sarah Kunstler, Suzi Yoonessi, Tony Coleman, William Jennings, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 4, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival |
The feature film debut of Brooklyn-based director and screenwriter Cruz Angeles, “Don’t Let Me Drown” is this year’s winner in the feature narrative category at the Woodstock Film Festival. The film tells the story of two Latino teens of immigrant families whose budding friendship turns into a romance in a post-9/11 New York. The winner of best feature documentary went to director Jenna Rosher’s “Junior,” which tells the story of a 75-year-old man facing retirement and his relationship with his 98-year-old mother.
Other award winners include
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 23, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival |
Paramount Pictures’ Up in the Air, co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, starring George Clooney and Vera Farmiga will close the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival. The film screens Sunday, October 4th, at the Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock, NY.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 3, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival |
The Woodstock Film Festival yesterday unveiled its 10th Anniversary Line-up of nearly 150 extraordinary films, panels, and events, screening Wednesday Sept. 30 through Sunday Oct. 4, in the arts colony of Woodstock NY, and neighboring towns of Rhinebeck, Kingston and Rosendale. The 2009 line-up embodies the festival’s “fiercely independent” spirit, while upholding the tradition of quality filmmaking, causing filmmakers and industry professionals to hail WFF as “one of the very best regional film festivals in the world”.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 2, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival |
Known for its ardent support of regional filmmakers and film production, the 10th Anniversary edition Woodstock Film Festival will again showcase a bevy of features and shorts made in the Hudson Valley or by local residents, from Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2009.
Working in conjunction with the Hudson Valley Film Commission (it’s sister organization), the Woodstock FIlm Festival has worked since its inception to unite and strengthen the Hudson Valley film community, making the creation of many of these screen gems possible.
Against the Current (East Coast Premiere) a heartfelt drama directed by Peter Callahan (Last Ball), depicts a man, haunted by a tragic loss in his past, who is determined to swim the length of the Hudson River from Troy to New York City. Showcasing tour-de-force performances by Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk and Elizabeth Reaser, this beautiful film paints a unique portrait of the Hudson River and its surrounding countryside. The film will also be featured during the Hudson Valley Programmers Tour (from Troy to NYC) just after the Woodstock Film Festival (see www.hvpg.org)
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on August 18, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival |
Hailed for its riveting performances by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Steve Buscemi, the East Coast Premiere of Oren Moverman’s The Messenger will kick off the 10th Anniversary Woodstock Film Festival, Thursday night, October 1, at the Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock, followed by a Q&A and reception with the director and select cast.
Woody Harrelson was WFF’s 2003 honorary Maverick Award Recipient. Steve Buscemi received the honorary Maverick Award in 2005 and director Oren Moverman co-wrote the Bob Dylan bio-pic I’m Not There, which closed the 2007 Woodstock Film Festival.
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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 6, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival |
The Ninth Annual Woodstock Film Festival wrapped yesterday as filmmakers, industry members and national and regional press trickled out of picturesque Woodstock, each with fond memories of the festival, a strengthened love of independent film and a select few, with a Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award Statue. The festival congratulates every WFF filmmaker for their great accomplishments and participation in the festival and wishes them great success in their future projects.
The Award Ceremony were held for the first at the historic Backstage Productions in nearby Kingston, NY. Nearly 500 people attended! Presenters included Ang Lee, Melissa Leo, John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn, Morgan Spurlock, Haskell Wexler, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mark Duplass, Amy Taubin, Karen Durbin, Bill Plympton, John Sloss, Amy Gossels, Ellen Kuras, Pamela Marvin, Sabine Hoffman, and Sloane Klevin.
It was the first time the WFF Awards Ceremony was open to the public, and the largest to date. Filmmakers gave it an immediate thumbs up:
“This has been an amazingly warm and welcoming and genuine award ceremony,” said Focus Features CEO James Schamus, the 2008 Trailblazer Award Recipient.
“It was wonderful too see how the festival has grown …. and still has maintained its particular charm and eccentricity and hands on feel. All a testament to your guidance and instincts. Brava!” exclaimed actor David Strathairn.
“The awards ceremony was one of the best ones we have ever been to….it had such a great feel,” said Schamus’ former Good Machine partner - producer Ted Hope.
Next Year’s Tenth Anniversary Festival is set for September 30 through Ocotber 4th.
Look below for a list of our Award Winners, Jurors and Sponsors.
THE HONORARY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD was presented to cinematographer Haskell Wexler, by writer/director/actor John Sayles, producer Maggie Renzi, and actor David Strathairn (award previously announced).
THE HONORARY TRAILBLAZER AWARD was presented to James Shamus, CEO of Focus Features and award winning writer/producer, by director Ang Lee and actor Melissa Lee (award previously announced).
THE HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD was presented to director/screenwriter/-actor/editor/comic book
writer, Kevin Smith, by producer John Sloss (award previously announced).
THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE goes to LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Dir. Tomas Alfredson) followed closely by ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (Dir. Kevin Smith) and PRIDE AND GLORY (Dir. Gavin O’Connor).
THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY goes to PLAYING FOR CHANGE: MUSIC FOR PEACE (Dir. Jonathan Walls and Mark Johnson) followed closely by MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT (Dir. Wendy Keys) and AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (Dir. Dan Stone and Patrick Gambuti Jr.).
THE LEE MARVIN BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD went to PRINCE OF BROADWAY (Dir. Sean Baker)
With a HONORABLE MENTION to MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (Dir. Barry Jenkins)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE went to IN A DREAM (Dir. Jeremiah Zagar)
The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE went to GLORY AT SEA, (Dir. Benh Zeitlin)
The Diane Seligman Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM went to SIKUMI (On the Ice), (Dir. Andrew Okpeaha Maclean)
The Diane Seligman Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY went to PICKIN’ AND TRIMMIN’, (Dir. Matt Morris)
The Maverick Award for BEST ANIMATED FILM went to BERNI’S DOLL, (Dir. Yann J (Jouette))
The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY went to AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, (Dir. Dan Stone; Cinematographers Daniel Fernandez, Tim Gorski, Simeon Houtman, James Joyner, Jonathan Kane, Mathieu Mauvernay, and John “Rip” Odebralski)
The James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE DOCUMENTARY went to IN A DREAM, (Editors, Keiko Deguchi and Jeremiah Zagar)
The James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE NARRATIVE went to WERE THE WORLD MINE, (Editor, Jennifer Lilly)
Tags: Amy Gossels, Amy Taubin, Ang Lee, Bill Plympton, David Strathairn, Ellen Kuras, Haskell Wexler, John Sayles, John Sloss, Karen Durbin, Maggie Renzi, Mark Duplass, Mary Stuart Masterson, Melissa Leo, Morgan Spurlock, Pamela Marvin, Sabine Hoffman, Sloane Klevin, Woodstock Film Festival
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 2, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival |
We hear that Oscar-winning director Ang Lee will be traveling to the Woodstock Film Festival to present his longtime collaborator James Schamus with the Trailblazer Award at our Maverick Awards Ceremony this Saturday night. We also hear that Ulster County–based actor Melissa Leo will also be flying to Woodstock from New Orleans where she is shooting a new film with James Gandolfini, specifically to participate in Awards night!
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 9, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival |
The Woodstock Film Festival celebrates its ninth year with another outstanding collection of nearly 150 “fiercely independent” films, panels, concerts and special events, Wednesday October 1 through Sunday October 5. The exceptionally diverse program takes place in the arts colony of Woodstock and the neighboring towns of Rhinebeck and Rosendale.
Tickets go on sale September 10th online and at the new Box Office location at 13 Rock City Road, just across the street from Festival Headquarters at the Colony Café, in the heart of the most famous small town in the world! The full schedule of events will be available on-line at www.woodstockfilmfestival.com.
The 2008 festival presents 44 premiere films, the highest number since the festival began in the year 2000, consisting of 10 world premieres, 4 North American Premieres, 8 National Premieres, 13 East Coast Premieres and 9 New York premieres.
More than 2100 films were submitted from around the world, another record for an event that has become known in independent film circles as one of the foremost regional independent film festivals on the planet.
“Each year brings with it a new crop of extraordinarily talented filmmakers who offer fresh and exciting approaches to filmmaking,” said WFF Executive Director Meira Blaustein, “We are proud to celebrate the work of those who take on issues that effect our lives as they try to illuminate, in their own singular way, what lies in the dark, and what is hidden from our eyes and our hearts.”
Senior WFF Programmer Ryan Werner has been working with WFF for more than seven years and notes that the industry has clearly recognized the festival’s accomplishments:
“Our strategy at Woodstock has always been about attracting quality films, not just scoring premieres, “ said Werner, who is the Vice President of Marketing, at IFC Entertainment. “As it happens, this year we do have more premieres than ever before and they are of superb quality, so I think we are starting to see people realize just how special Woodstock is. It’s our most diverse line-up ever, and I think one of our best.” Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 3, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival |
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.
Widely known for his inteligent comedies, Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jersey Girl, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma and Clerks II, Smith will receive the Honorary Maverick Award at the WFF Awards Ceremony on October 4th.
“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,”
Avoiding large Hollywood films, Smith has stayed true to his independent film roots and continued to make intelligent comedies that explore deeper themes such as religion, youth, and romance.
“Woodstock embodies the Maverick spirit as a symbol of creative, risk-taking, independent thought,” said Meira Blaustein, WFF Executive Director and Co-Founder. “This year’s honorary Maverick Award recipient, Kevin Smith, personifies all of these qualities. His films perceptively pursue humanity with a satiric and fiercely independent eye. He’s an outstanding choice for this award.” Past recipients include Les Blank, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Tim Robbins, Woody Harrelson, Mira Nair, Steve Buscemi, Barbara Kopple and Christine Vachon.
Starting his career in his native state of New Jersey, Smith made his first film, Clerks, for less than $30,000 dollars, shooting it at the convenience store where Smith had worked. It won both the Mercedes Benz award and the Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival, a Filmmaker Trophy at Sundance and was picked up by Miramax. Since then, Smith has written and directed a number of underground successes including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Clerks 2. He’s also responsible for larger budget films such as Dogma, Jersey Girl, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith’s work has won many film festival accolades including the Independent Spirit Award.
His new project, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, is another smart comedy which stars Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks as two friends who, faced with dire financial straits, decide to make a porno movie. While they agree that the endeavor will remain completely professional and sex won’t get in the way of their friendship, what starts out as a film project turns into much more. The film is one of two closing films this year…Smith’s film will close in Woodstock. (The Great Buck Howard, directed by Sean McGinly, closes in Rosendale.)
In addition to acting, writing, and directing, Smith has created comics for Marvel and DC and released two lecture DVDs entitled An Evening With Kevin Smith. Last year he also released a memoir/diary, entitled “My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith.”
The 9th annual Woodstock Film Festival takes place October 1-5th, 2008.
Tags: Barbara Kopple, Chasing Amy, Christine Vachon, Clerks, Clerks II, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Dogma, Elizabeth Banks, independent film, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, KEVIN SMITH, Les Blank, Mallrats, Mira Nair, Seth Rogan, Steve Buscemi, The Weinstein Company, Tim Robbins, Woodstock Film Festival, Woody Harrelson, Zack and Miri Make a Porno