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Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 23, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival | 
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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.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 3, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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”.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 2, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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)
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on August 18, 2009 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 6, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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)
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on October 2, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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 | Be the First to Comment
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 | Be the First to Comment
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.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on August 29, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
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 our three opening selections, and we are especially pleased to be able to offer the U.S. premiere of ‘Pride and Glory’, which will be a major film this year,” 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!
- In Woodstock, the U.S. premiere of Pride and Glory, a fast-paced, cop family 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.O’Connor’s previous feature, Tumbleweeds won three independent film awards and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. His producing credits include the award winning The Slaughter Rule.
- 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 was the 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.
- 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.
These three fabulous films are just the beginning of a festival famous for its entertaining and insightful programming.
The five day gathering kicks off Wednesday night, Oct. 1, 8pm, with a highly anticipated concert at The Bearsville Theater featuring Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet featuring the incomparable Bela Fleck along with Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee. Films and events run through Sunday evening, Oct. 5, with the Gala WFF Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 4. The full schedule of events will be announced in Mid-September.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on August 14, 2008 under Woodstock Film Festival | Be the First to Comment
Eight-time Grammy award winner Bela Fleck will open the 9th Woodstock Film Festival, in concert with Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck with Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee, Wednesday, Oct. 1st, at 8pm at the Bearsville Theater. This very special concert kicks off the “fiercely independent,” five-day film extravaganza, which runs Wednesday October 1 through Sunday Oct. 5, at various locations in Woodstock, Rosendale and Rhinebeck, NY. Read more of this article »