Pre-Fest Program PDF

Transcription

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Box Office: 13 Rock City Rd Woodstock, NY 12498 | 845.810.0131
woodstockfilmfestival.com
The Woodstock Film Festival is a not-for-profit, 501c3 organization with a mission to present an annual program and year-round
schedule of film, music, and art-related activities that promote artists, culture, inspired learning, and diversity.
narr at i ve s
The Adderall
Diaries
with James Franco, Ed Harris
Directed by Pamela Romanowski
USA / 2015 / 87 minutes
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Fri
Oct 2• 10:00pm
Orpheum Theater SAUGERTIES
Sat Oct 3 • 5:00pm
Courtesy of A24
Adapted from Stephen Elliott’s
true crime memoir of the same
name, The tells the unflinchingly
honest story of Elliott (James
Franco), a once-successful novelist
paralyzed by writer’s block and in
the thrall of an Adderall addiction,
who becomes fascinated by a highprofile murder case as a way to
escape his personal struggles. As
Elliott delves into the twisted case
and its motley crew of suspects,
he is haunted by the memories of
his own tortured childhood and his
cruel, estranged father (Ed Harris).
When his father mysteriously
resurfaces and claims that his
son’s nightmarish memories were
fabricated, Elliott’s past is further
thrust under the microscope. He
embarks on a journey to separate
fact from fiction, amidst a backdrop
of self-medication and false
confessions.
Q&A Attendee: Pamela Romanowski
The Americans
An episode from the the
critically acclaimed show
followed by an in depth
discussion with showrunner
Joe Weisberg
Upstate Films WOODSTOCK
Courtesy of FX
STINGERS
Season 3, Episode 10
Philip and Elizabeth deploy a
plan for the C.I.A.’s Mujahideen
visitors. Tensions at the Jenning’s
home escalate.
Nominated for numerous awards
and two-time winner of the AFI
Best TV Program of the Year,is an
exciting Cold War series about two
Soviet intelligence agents posing
as a married couple to spy on the
American government. This superb
suburban spy thriller, staring Keri
Russell and Matthew Rhys, balances
the escapades of espionage with the
tribulations of parenting and, in the
process, achieves what might appear
unimaginable — empathy for the enemy. Explore the ins and outs of this
“hide in plain sight” story with show
creator Joe Weisberg, who worked in
the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in
the early 1990s.
Emily Nussbaum, TV critic at the New
Yorker calls The Americans “possibly
the best current drama out there.”
East Coast Premiere
East Coast Premiere
THE AUTOMATIC HATE
Band of Robbers
Directed by Justin Lerner
Thur Oct 1• 9:00pm
Courtesy of funfilm
How would you react if you
discovered everything you thought
you knew about your family turned
out not to be so? After an enigmatic
visit to his dying grandfather and the
surprise appearance of an alluring
and whimsical young woman claiming
to be his cousin, Davis Greene
discovers a family he never knew
existed. Gingerly, he allows himself
to be seduced into uncovering the
past. But as estranged cousins Davis
and Alexis grow close to each other,
they discover the dark secret that
shattered the relationship of their
fathers.
The second feature film from
director Justin Lerner, is an intimate
and gripping portrait of a family told
with spectacular pacing and assured
direction, offering plenty of surprise
turns along the way. Starting out as
a simple indie drama, where Davis
and his girlfriend are struggling to
understand their relationship, The
evolves into a heartbreaking romance
that spans two generations of families broken apart. – Sam Robotham
Q&A Attendees:
Justin Lerner and several cast members
Directed by Adam Nee & Aaron Nee
USA, France / 2015 / 95 minutes
Fri Oct 2 • 7:00pm
ROSENDALE Theatre
Expertly adapting the characters
from Mark Twain’s seminal stories
into the 21st century, Band of
Robbers is a clever escapade that
truly honors the essence of its
source material. We meet thrillseeking Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer
as young boys pursuing adventure.
But the authorities have a different
concept of fun, and after being
released from his latest stay in
prison, petty crook Huck hopes to
leave his criminal activities behind.
But lifelong friend and corrupt
police officer Tom has a different
idea in mind. In a final endeavor to
achieve their childhood dreams, Tom
pulls the gang back together in the
hopes of discovering a legendary
treasure. Little do they know, this
new caper will send them into
more unexpected and dangerous
territories than they ever faced as
children. The sophomore feature
from brothers Aaron and Adam Nee,
with its impressively talented cast,
comes together to create a slightly
dark, but always witty comedyadventure. – Sam Robotham
Q&A Attendees: Adam Nee & Aaron Nee
in depth discussion with showrunner
Joe Weisberg follows screening
2
All events are subject to change. For latest updates,
visit www.WoodstockFilmFestival.com
WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL2015
n a rratives
WORLD PREMIERE
New York Premiere
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
East Coast Premiere
Blunt Force Trauma
Bob and The Trees
The Forbidden Room
Good Ol’ Boy
with Mickey Rourke
Directed by Ken Sanzel
Directed by Diego Ongaro
Directed by Guy Maddin
Co-director: Evan Johnson
Columbia / 2015 / 96 minutes
ROSENDALE Theatre
Sun Oct 4 • 11:30am
Sun Oct 4 • 12:30pm
Welcome to an underground,
money-making subculture of
people who wear bulletproof vests
and shoot each other. Set against
Colombia’s majestic landscapes and
impoverished villages, Blunt Force
Trauma follows two modern-day gunslingers, John and Colt, who are on
parallel but very different journeys,
one seeking excitement, the other
revenge. Part action drama-part love
story and always engrossing, their
worlds collide with passion and pain
as John and Colt each try to fulfill
their own wants and at the same time
keep each other safe in the dueling
underworld.
Writer/director Ken Sanzel
impressively weaves a yarn of loss,
longing, alienation, and revenge, right
up to the climactic moment of fleeting
satisfaction when John finally meets
the fight champion, impeccably played
by Mickey Rourke. is a visual masterpiece and a must-see film for anyone
with an interest in realistic action
dramas. -Woodstock Film Festival
Q&A Attendee: Ken Sanzel
Bob is a handsome, rugged
logger who spends his days
either cutting trees in the silent,
majestic Massachusetts woods or
listening to hardcore rap music
and playing golf. But this routine
life is rudely interrupted when one
of his beloved cows gets brutally
wounded and his work suffers a
financial blow following a bad
business deal. Suddenly Bob finds
himself facing some hard decisions.
Despite family opposition, the
unyielding winter woods ultimately
push Bob to do whatever it takes to
keep his failing business alive. Just
how much is he willing to sacrifice
to hold his life together?
Bob and the Trees thrives
on ultra-realism. With non-actors
portraying fictionalized versions of
themselves, debut feature director
Diego Ongaro succeeds in getting
impressively honest performances
from his cast, especially lead Bob
Tarasuk, who plays himself in the
film. The arresting Berkshires and
slow-building tension add to this
story of struggle that pays tribute
to a declining population still holding onto their rural dreams. – Sam
Robotham
Q&A Attendee: Diego Ongaro
with Jason Lee
Directed by Frank Lotito
CANADA / 2015 / 120 minutes
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Courtesy of kino Lorber
The Forbidden Room is Guy
Maddin’s ultimate epic
phantasmagoria. Honoring classic
cinema while electrifying it with
energy, this Russian nesting doll of
a film begins (after a prologue on
how to take a bath) with the crew
of a doomed submarine chewing
flapjacks in a desperate attempt to
breathe the oxygen within. Suddenly,
impossibly, a lost woodsman wanders
into their company with his tale of
escaping a fearsome clan of cave
dwellers. From here, Maddin and
co-director Evan Johnson take us
high into the air, around the world
and into dreamscapes, spinning tales
of amnesia, captivity, deception,
murder, skeleton women, and
vampire bananas. Like some glorious
meeting between Italo Calvino,
Sergei Eisenstein and a perverted
six year-old, The Forbidden Room is
Maddin’s grand ode to lost cinema.
Created with the help of master poet
John Ashbery, the film features a
high profile cast playing a cavalcade
of misfits, thieves and lovers, all
joined in the joyful delirium of the
kaleidoscopic viewing experience.
Be prepared for a trip like nothing
you’ve taken before!
ROSENDALE Theatre
The year is 1979, when life was
simpler but families were still
complex, and an Indian family
moves to America hoping to live
the American Dream. Reminiscent
of The Wonder Years, Good Ol’ Boy
is an endearing coming-of-age
story, where 10-year-old Smith
falls for the girl next door and is
caught between his family’s Hindu
traditions and his desire to become
a good ol’ boy. While the children
and their stories take the lead, Good
Ol’ Boy challenges the stereotypical
notion of both traditional Indian
and predictable redneck families as
the patriarchs help tell a compelling
tale of the struggles of parenthood
and married life for anyone of any
race or background. By initially
treating the characters as caricatures of themselves, we’re given the
chance to laugh with them as we
watch how the depth of their characters and love for their families
evolve. – Benjamin Scott
Q&A Attendees:
Frank Lotito, Anjul Nigam
Q&A Attendee: Guy Maddin
2015 WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
3
narr at i ve s
East Coast Premiere
East Coast Premiere
New York Premiere
the Grace of Jake
Homeless
How He Fell In Love
Bearsville Theater WOODSTOCK
Upstate Films I RHINEBECK
Directed by Chris Hicky
Just out of prison, drifter/
musician Jake steals a car and
hits the road for small town
Arkansas, intent on exacting
revenge from the father he never
knew. Although he never met the
man, Jake blames him for all of life’s
troubles, starting with his mother’s
death. Arriving in this dustbowl town
with only a guitar to sustain him, Jake
discovers nothing is as he imagined.
The Grace of Jake is, at its core, the
story of a man who finds redemption
through friendship, faith and his
deep-rooted love of gospel music,
which bonds him with the locals and
sets him on a righteous path. Religion,
however, is backdrop to the music.
Grammy-nominated director Chris Hicky
proves his musical aptitude by wisely
casting Jake La Botz, who learned his
trade from old Mississippi bluesmen,
as lead man. The soul-filled music is
extraordinary, the acting genuine, and
the tempo in perfect harmony with
the surroundings. From crop dusters to
gospel churches, this compassionate
film captures the essence of the
Arkansas delta. – Ben F. Fischer
Directed by Clay Riley Hassler
Filmed in a real shelter with real
people, Homeless tells the story
of Gosh (Josh), a teenage boy
lost in the bleak routine of life in
a shelter. After his father is sent
to jail and his grandmother passes
away, Gosh, unable to pay rent, is
forced onto the streets with only the
clothes on his back and his iPod.
If this were a Hallmark production,
we’d expect some kindhearted soul
to rescue Gosh. And indeed, after
weeks of loneliness and setbacks,
he is befriended and lands a job.
But Homeless isn’t a family-TV
movie. Based on a real life story,
debut director Clay Riley Hassler
manages to truly portray a sense of
what being homeless is like. With
heartbreaking honesty, we are pulled
into the world in which it is set. But
despite the stark realism, Homeless is
a tender story, told in quiet yet deep
beats that slowly pierce our hearts.
– Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees:
Clay Hassler, Tif Hassler
Directed by Marc Meyers
Courtesy of visit films
A sweeping drama about forbidden
romance, How He Fell in Love is a
story of love doomed to failure.
Struggling young musician Travis
(Matt McGorry of ) has fallen head
over heels for the beautiful, older,
married yoga teacher Ellen (Amy
Hargreaves of ). Alternating between
vulnerability and pulsating sexuality,
McGorry and Hargreaves seduce the
audience with an impossible love
story that is mesmerizing to watch.
With New York City as the backdrop
to their love, and a steamy getaway
to the country as added spice to their
already hot relationship, the lovers
traverse this dangerous road with
alternating abandon and control.
Supported by veteran character
actor Mark Blum, who delivers a
touching performance as Henry, the
jilted husband, the film peaks when
husband and lover confront each
other in the park. Will new love or old
relationships persevere? Come see for
yourself. – Svetlana Krotek
I Dream Too Much
with Diane Ladd
Directed by Katie Cokinos
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Thu Oct 1 • 3:30pm
Like many recent college grads,
Dora (Edith Brolin) doesn’t know
what to do with her life. She spends
most of her time in daydreams about
traveling the globe and becoming
a romantic poet, while her overly
practical mother is more focused
on her daughter staying at home in
New Jersey to prepare for the LSATs.
After learning her great-aunt Vera
(Oscar Winner Diane Ladd) is injured
and requires assistance at her home
in Upstate NY, Dora jumps at the
chance to escape, hoping to find her
true calling. The sophomore feature
from director Katie Cokinos, I Dream
Too Much is a light-hearted, dreamy
story of self-discovery that initiates
a candid relationship between two
artistic, intelligent women two
generations apart. In the time they
spend together, both Dora and Vera
will learn that no matter your age,
now is always a good time to follow
your dreams. – Sam Robotham
Q&A Attendee: Katie Cokinos
Q&A Attendee: Marc Meyers
Q&A Attendee: Jake La Botz
4
n a rratives
World Premiere
New York Premiere
EAST COAST Premiere
US Premiere
It Had To Be You
Lamb
Love & Taxes
Meet Me in Venice
USA, Italy / 2015 / 82 minutes
Directed by Eddy Terstall
Co-Director: Erik Wünsch
Upstate Films II RHINEBECK
Sonia is a neurotic and utterly
charming jingle writer who has
always dreamt of a big and exciting life. Surprised by a sudden
proposal of marriage and subsequent ultimatum from her easy-going boyfriend, Chris, Sonia has to
decide whether she’ll join the ranks
of her married friends or take a leap
and pursue her fantasies. Director
Sasha Gordon, who worked on past
Woodstock Film Festival favorites
and Dear Lemon Lima (2009), God
of Love (2010) and I Believe in Unicorns (2014), brings the same sensitivities to It Had To Be You, her
directorial debut. In this whimsical
and edgy romantic comedy that is
raunchy yet gentle, she explores the
choices women face today, while at
the same time satirizing cultural expectations of gender and romance.
– Woodstock Film Festival
Based on the novel by Bonnie
Nadzam, Lamb traces the self-discovery of David Lamb in the weeks
following the disintegration of his
marriage and the death of his father. Hoping to regain some faith
in his own goodness, he turns his
attention to Tommie, an awkward
yet adventurous eleven-year-old
girl played beautifully by rising
young star Oona Laurence. Lamb is
convinced that he can help Tommie
avoid a destiny of apathy and
emptiness, and takes her for a road
trip from Chicago to the Rockies,
planning to initiate her into the
beauty of the mountain wilderness.
Never quite certain where is going,
the film maintains a slow-burning
intensity as the unfolding circumstances threaten to veer into very
disturbing territory. But Lamb is not
Lolita and Ross Partridge masterfully
directs and stars in what is truly
a provocative psychological drama
of two lonely strangers who use
one another to find direction and
purpose in their lives. – Woodstock
Film Festival
Love & Taxes is a riveting comic
account of seven years of tax
avoidance. Director Jacob Kornbluth
takes on the role of “biographer,”
following the exploits of his brother
Josh, who is an autobiographical
monologist (think Spalding Gray).
The child of a radical upbringing, Josh prides himself on living
“outside the system.” Thus, despite
working for a high-powered tax
attorney, he hasn’t filed his taxes in
seven years. When he decides to go
legit, everything in his life takes an
upward turn. Or does it?
Part documentary, part narrative, Love & Taxes blends Josh’s solo
performances with scripted scenes to
bring the subjective reality of the
storyteller hilariously to life. What
is real, what is exaggerated, we may
never know. Nor does it matter. In
this tale of procrastination, making
movies and growing up, we are privy
to a middle-aged coming-of-age
story that is, quite possibly, the
first ever pro-tax romantic comedy.
A perfect antidote for these troubled financial times. – Woodstock
Film Festival
Directed by Sasha Gordon
Directed by Ross Partridge
Thur Oct 1 • 6:30pm
Q&A Attendee: Sasha Gordon
Q&A Attendees: Ross Partridge
Directed by Jacob Kornbluth
Q&A Attendees:
Netherlands / 2015 / 93 minutes
Thur Oct 1• 4:00pm
The parent-child relationship is a
popular theme in film; typically there
is friction between the generations,
but gradually each realizes they have
more in common than previously
thought. Meet Me in Venice adds a
new voice to this story. Recounted by
Lisa through a video she makes for her
son, this Dutch father-daughter story
of reconciliation unfolds between a
woman and the father she first meets
in adulthood. When the absentee Mauro
invites Lisa to join him in Venice, she
decides to go. But the journey doesn’t
stop there, and the father-daughter
road trip takes them from Italy to
Istanbul along the Orient Express
route, with breathtaking imagery of
the Balkans and heartwarming musical
interludes. In getting to know her
father, Lisa gets to know herself. She
shares this experience with her son so
when he is older, he will understand
her decisions and life choices. Anguish
and charm combine to make watching
enjoyable and enlightening at the same
time. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees:
Eddy Terstall, Erik Wünsch
Jacob & Josh Kornbluth, Brian Newman
5
narr at i ve s
EAST COAST Premiere
US Premiere
NORTH AMERICAN premiere
EAST COAST Premiere
the Missing Girl
Moscow Never
Sleeps
Oliver’s Deal
Outliving Emily
Directed by A.D. Calvo
ROSENDALE Theatre
When watching writer/director A.D.
Calvo’s The Missing Girl it is hard
to find anything, well... missing.
The Missing Girl follows quintessential comic book store owner,
Morty, who has a hard time letting go
of the past. His humdrum existence is
dramatically changed when he hires the
too-beautiful-to-be-working-as-a-clerk
Ellen, a burgeoning artist and satirist
with an appreciation of his meticulous
yet grumpy nature.
Integrating illustrations and
split scenes in classic graphic novel
layout, details of the characters
desires are symbolically displayed
in dream sequences or drawings by
Ellen, who uses her art and her new
day job to try and escape her former
life as an erotic dancer. When Ellen
seemingly disappears, our emotionally stunted hero transforms into a
detective. The Missing Girl cleverly balances tension and suspense, fantasy
and intrigue, as we search for a girl
who perhaps isn’t missing at all.
– Benjamin Scott
Q&A Attendee: A.D. Calvo
Directed by Johnny O’Reilly
Ireland / 2014 / 100 minutes
In Russian with English subtitles
ROSENDALE Theatre
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Moscow Never Sleeps is a
multi-narrative drama that dives
headlong into the volatile intersections of Moscow itself and the
intimate lives of five Muscovites
from diverse backgrounds. The
Courtesy of atlantic pictures
Sat Oct 3 • 11:00am
film tracks an oligarch forced to
leave Russia, a young man conflicted
about sending his grandmother to a
nursing home, a famous comedian on
his death bed, a woman powerless in
her marriage, and an aspiring singer.
The characters are connected by past
relations, as well as chance, and
while they don’t always physically
cross paths, all experience a certain
element of Moscow at the same
time. The city, in fact, is one of the
main characters. Opening with stunning panoramas of Moscow at dawn,
the calm gives way to the hustle and
bustle of Moscow City Day, an annual
festival celebrating the biggest
metropolis in Europe, which is the
backdrop for the 24-hour rollercoaster encounter. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendee: Johnny O’Reilly
ThurOct 1 • 7:30pm
Set against a backdrop of international finance and intrigue in New
York and Peru, Oliver’s Deal weaves a
tapestry of exploits, corruption, familial
bonds, and human redemption. Oliver
Campbell, an American businessman,
finds himself torn between the icy corporate CEO and the poverty stricken Peruvian boy who tends the family’s sheep
and llamas while dreaming of a new life.
Though cold greed propels the story,
the suffering that eventually seeps in
alters the trajectory and softens the
hearts of some of the more hardcore
characters. In this intense drama that
keeps you speculating throughout the
interwoven stories, we see people from
vastly different walks of life facing
situations no one has prepared them
for. With a gifted international and
American cast and outstanding cinematography, director Barney Elliot tells a
story that is unpredictable, emotional
and ultimately questioning whether the
end can justify the means. – Svetlana
Krotek
Outliving Emily is the poignant
story of the tumultuous marriage
of Tim and Emily Hanratty, from
the night they meet in a bar to
their twilight years half a century
later. The Hanrattys are cleverly
portrayed by six diverse pairs of
actors in six acts, with real-life
husband and wife Louis Zorich
and Olympia Dukakis playing the
couple in the final stage of their life
together. Tim and Emily wrestle with
the extraordinary push and pull of a
long-term relationship – the feelings
of attraction and antagonism, the
desire to please and the desire to
dominate. Unfolding in a series of
shape-shifting roles between race,
gender, sexual orientation, and age,
the Hanratty marriage skillfully
demonstrates that no matter who we
are - man, woman, black, white, gay,
straight - we all love the same. A
unique and daring approach to one
of life’s most universal subjects.
Q&A attendees: Eric Weber, Sean Devaney, Josh Sugarman
Q&A Attendees: Barney Elliott, Darren
Goldberg
Remember
Directed by Atom Egoyan
CANADA / 2015 / 95 minutes
Courtesy of A24
6
Peru, USA / 2014 / 97 minutes
with Olympia Dukakis,
Andre Braugher and Zosia Mamet
Directed by Eric Weber
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
OPENING NIGHT FILM
US Premiere
with Stephen Dorff
and David Strathairn
Directed by Barney Elliott
Remember tells the story of Zev
Guttman (Academy Award®-winner
Christopher Plummer), a 90-year-old
struggling with memory loss who is
living out his final years in a bucolic
retirement home.
A week following the death of his
beloved wife Ruth, he suddenly gets
a mysterious package from his close
friend Max (Academy Award®-winner
Martin Landau), containing a stack
of money, a gun, and a letter detailing a shocking plan. Both Zev and
Max were prisoners in Auschwitz,
and the same sadistic guard was responsible for the death of both their
families—a guard who, immediately
after the war, escaped Germany and
has been living in the U.S. ever
since under an assumed identity.
Max is wheelchair-bound but in full
command of his mental faculties;
with his guidance, Zev will embark
on a cross-continental road-trip to
bring justice once and for all to the
man who destroyed both their lives.
Q&A Attendee: Atom Egoyan
n a rratives
US Premiere
East Coast Premiere
Us Premiere
New York Premiere
Rendez-vous
Scout
Silver Skies
Summer (Zomer)
Directed by Antoinette Beumer
The Netherlands / 2015 / 100 minutes
In Dutch & French
with English subtitles
with Ellen Burstyn and Nikki Reed
Directed by Laurie Weltz
Simone needs a change. Together
with her husband Eric and their
two children, she buys a decrepit
mansion in the south of France to
turn it into a home and B&B. While
the chaos of the renovation grows,
Simone flees into a thrilling affair
with one of the French construction
workers, the gorgeous twenty-yearold Michel. She slowly loses control
of her life and the French dream
turns into her worst nightmare.
Exquisitely shot and acted,
this whirlwind tale of forbidden and
dangerous passion is one you will
not be able to keep your eyes off.
Q&A Attendee: Antoinette Beumer
Despite a disregard for convention and lax parenting, rebellious
15-year-old Scout is willing to risk
everything for her little sister.
When this charming con-artist
enlists a wealthy mental patient to
help her find Lulu, we embark on a
road trip across Texas in search of
their estranged carnie father who
has kidnapped his young daughter.
The characters in this film are as
unpredictable as the story. Twenty-one-year-old India Ennenga as
Scout and child star Onata Aprile as
Lulu are supported by a stellar cast:
James Frecheville as the convincing
suicidal side-kick, Jane Seymour
as his overbearing mother, Danny
Glover as the misleadingly menacing
Red, Tim Guinee as the malevolent
dad, Nikki Reed as his religious
zealot wife, and Ellen Burstyn as
sympathetic but erratic Gram. In
spite of its wit and dysfunction, at
its heart, Scout is a touching tale of
deep sisterly bonds and two misfits
who come together to create a new
kind of family. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees: Laurie Weltz
with George Hamilton
Directed by Rosemary Rodriguez
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Silver Skies chronicles a group of
seniors whose lives turn upside
down when their Los Angeles
apartment complex threatens
to be sold out from under them.
Director Rosemary Rodriguez has
assembled a high-profile cast to
play some very complicated roles.
With humor and compassion, she
brings these old-timers to a place
of fear, a little romance and deep
caring for each others’ well-being.
Long term pals Phil and Nick
(George Hamilton and Jack McGee)
tenderly face Phil’s descent into
Alzheimer’s. Ethel (the sexy Valerie
Perrine) finds friendship trumps
love. Mariette Hartley’s Harriet
discovers life is good when you
let down your guard. And with
incredible moxie, Eve (Barbara
Bain) demonstrates that age is
no impediment when it comes to
defending what’s right. The story
is easily relatable, as our aging
population confronts a downturn in
health, money and self-esteem. Now
in their twilight years, facing the
unknown, these underdogs will have
you rooting for them all the way. –
Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees: Rosemary & Nestor
Rodriguez
Directed by Colette Bothof
The Netherlands /
2014 / 89 minutes
Dutch with English Subtitles
ROSENDALE Theatre
Zomer (Summer) is sweltering in
a Dutch village where everyday
life is dominated by the continually droning power plant.
Sixteen-year-old Anne, her brother
and their friends spend the days
biking through winding roads that
lead nowhere and everywhere. It is
a time of adventure and youthful
awakening. Anne, however, a quiet
girl who longs to escape the confines of her small town, often feels
like an outsider — until she meets
Lena, a new girl in town who rides
a motorbike, wears leather and is
different from everybody else. With
the awkward tenderness of youth
and innocence, the two girls quickly
form a bond and the audience gets
to watch as young love unfolds.
Authentic performances and cinematography that captures the languor
and heat of summertime create a
beautiful story of sexual awakening
and a girl daring to be different. For
those who have traveled beyond the
teenage years, it is a reminder of
the possibilities life holds.
Q&A Attendees: Colette Bothof
7
narr at i ve s
East Coast Premiere
East Coast Premiere
East Coast Premiere
There Should Be
Rules
Touched With Fire
Waffle Street
The Walk
with James Lafferty
and Danny Glover
Directed by Eshom and Ian Nelms
ROSENDALE Theatre
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Directed by Linda-Maria Birbeck
Sweden / 2015 / 89 minutes
In Swedish with English subtitles
Mia and Mirjam, two passionate,
free-spirited 14-year-olds, along
with Karl, who is inventive and wise
beyond his years, are a close knit
threesome in a small town in Sweden
where nothing ever happens. Although
the young friends spend nearly every
waking hour together, each attempts
to discover a unique path to coming
of age. In the center is Mia, torn
between youth and adulthood, family
and friends. Mia wishes there were no
rules and tempts life again and again.
Mirjam, seeking love, finds her road
to adulthood in a steamy romance
with an older man who claims he loves
her. Karl, supporting Mia’s sense of
loss as her best friend is pulled away
by new love, helps concoct ways to
bring Mirjam back to them. While
friendship and family bonds are tested
and facades eventually crumble, the
teens declare, ‘we are never becoming
ordinary.’ And they don’t. Beautifully
shot and acted, and superbly written,
There Should Be Rules exemplifies fine
Swedish cinema, where nuances are
everything and delicate stories unfold
in their own tempo and style.
– Svetlana Krotek
with Katie Holmes
Directed by Paul Dalio
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Courtesy of roadSIDE attractions
Dedicated to a long list of bi-polar
artists, Touched With Fire propels
us into the roller coaster lives of
Marco and Carla, two young poets
drawn to each other’s mania. Is
it a gift? An illness to be cured? An
entry into fierce creativity? Does mania inspire fierce genius, and if so,
is it worth the price of the crushing
depression that inevitably follows
the high? Writer-director Paul Dalio
tells his story from the inside-out,
using Van Gogh’s Starry Night as the
backdrop to an alternate reality. Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby strike just
the right note as the manic young
lovers, and Christine Lahti’s Sara is
perfect as Carla’s mother navigating
the difficult terrain between protecting and alienating her daughter.
Lighting is used to great effect
in this harrowing story of lovers
spinning in and out of control and
a cameo by Kay Jamison, author of
Touched with Fire, the definitive work
on creativity and madness, lends
even more authenticity. – Barbara
Pokras, ACE
Q&A Attendees: Paul Dalio, Kristina
Nikolova
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Directors Eshom and Ian Nelms
(Lost On Purpose, 2013) return
to Woodstock with their second
feature, Waffle Street, based on
the memoir of James Adams, former
VP of a $30 billion hedge fund,
who loses his job and unexpectedly winds up in the world of
the unemployed. In this genuine
riches-to-rags story, Jimmy, played
by a charming James Lafferty,
finally finds work waiting tables at
a chicken & waffles chain, where
the hectic pace and general mayhem
become both comedic and endearing. Under the tutelage of master
grill man Edward (Danny Glover in
a stunningly earnest performance),
Jimmy learns some hard lessons
about life, finance and making grits.
But the foremost thing he discovers
is carpe diem, as he begins to enjoy
the pleasures of the moment and
realize that the measure of a man
is far more than luxury homes and
expensive cars. Fundamentally,
Waffle Street is an authentic account of what it means to rediscover yourself. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees: Eshom and Ian Nelms
Q&A Attendee: Linda-Maria Birbeck
Carpe Diem award recipient
8
with Joseph Gordon-Levitt
and Ben Kingsley
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Courtesy of sony pictures
Twelve people have walked on
the moon. Only one has ever, or
will ever, walk in the immense void
between the World Trade Center
towers.
Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), guided by his real-life
mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley),
is aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, who overcome
long odds, betrayals, dissension and
countless close calls to conceive
and execute their mad plan. Robert
Zemeckis, the master director of
such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast
Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting
edge technology in the service of
an emotional, character-driven
story. With innovative photorealistic
techniques and wizardry, The Walk
is genuine big-screen cinema, a
chance for moviegoers to viscerally
experience the feeling of reaching
the clouds.
It is also one of the rare
live-action films that is a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for
moviegoers 8 to 80 — and a true
story to boot. It is unlike anything
audiences have seen before, a love
letter to Paris and New York City in
the 1970s, but most of all, to the
Towers of the World Trade Center.
documentaries
US Premiere
East Coast Premiere
1 Giant Leap II:
What about me?
3 Still Standing
A Woman Like Me
After the Spill
Directed by Robert Campos and
Donna LoCiera
Directed by Alex Sichel
and Elizabeth Giamatti
Directed by Jon Bowermaster
Directed by Duncan Bridgeman
and Jamie Cato
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
ROSENDALE Theatre
1 Giant Leap: What About Me? is a
unique music, TV and film project,
the culmination of 4 years of
directors Duncan Bridgeman and
Jamie Catto visiting 50 locations
around the world, collecting
wisdom and musical jewels. It’s
an inspiring and alarming look at
our collective insanity: how we are
ego-driven, needy in relationships,
insatiable in desire, addicted to
status, wounded by childhood, and
unable to stop thinking, but still
manage to be inspired and creative.
At its core is the music, starting with
pre-composed backing tracks and
seamlessly layering on international
stars like Alanis Morissette, KD Lang,
Michael Franti, Michael Stipe, Khrisna
Das, and Stewart Copeland, Bedouin
musicians, Chinese rappers, Gabonese
pygmies, Tuvan throat singers,
Egyptian folk musicians, Japanese
taiko drummers, and more. Along with
Noam Chomsky, Eckhart Tolle, Stephen
Fry and other renowned thinkers,
writers, and entertainers, everyday
folks speak out — gravediggers,
taxi drivers, brain surgeons, street
kids. These unscripted conversations
reveal how we are connected by
not only creativity and beliefs, but
primarily through our madness!
An unforgettable and completely
unconventional musical and cinematic
journey that will leave you stunned
and inspired.
ROSENDALE Theatre
Courtesy of Cargo Films and
Releasing
3 Still Standing follows three
veteran stand-up comics as they
struggle to survive the downfall of
comedy in a changing world. Contemporaries of Robin Williams, Dana
Carvey and others in the hotbed
of San Francisco during the heady
1980s, success seems to be just one
great set away for Will Durst, Larry
“Bubbles” Brown and Johnny Steele.
Now that the heyday is over and
comedy seems to have taken a hiatus, the skilled live performers must
seek new ways to reinvent their acts
in an unfamiliar landscape of social
media and online celebrity. With
surprisingly serious intent — after
all these men are comedians — the
“3” pursue creative ways to make
their comebacks. 3 Still Standing is
a 30-year roller-coaster ride through
comedy’s boom and bust, with
recollections from contemporaries
and close colleagues Rob Schneider
and Paula Poundstone. And on a
poignant note, we get to hear one
of Robin Williams last recorded interviews. – Woodstock Film Festival
Q&A Attendees:
Robert Campos, Donna Lokiero,
Will Durst, Johnny Steele
World Premiere
When filmmaker Alex Sichel
learns she has metastatic breast
cancer, she decides to persevere
by making a movie about a woman
facing the same diagnosis, displaying as much optimism as she
can, while simultaneously documenting her own experience. The
result is two movies unfolding sideby-side, with behind-the-scenes
footage of both.
A Woman Like Me proceeds
with unflinching honesty, humor
and an enormous dose of personal
strength. A majority of the film is
diary-style, with Alex speaking into
her handheld camera. Enlisted to
play Anna, Alex’s upbeat fictional
alter-ego, Lili Taylor is directed
on screen in scenes that meander
between pure fantasy and reenactments of real-life moments, playing
them not always as Alexis behaved,
but in the way she wishes she had.
In a brave effort, that is at times
painful, yet always touching, the
legacy Alex leaves is raw and real.
– Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendee: Elizabeth Giamatti
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Evocatively titled, After The
Spill takes us five years out,
after BP’s Deepwater Horizon
exploded and sank in April 2010.
Has life returned to normal along
Louisiana’s coastline? Or has it
been changed forever? Filmmaker
and adventurer Jon Bowermaster
was putting the finishing touches
on SoLa, Louisiana Water Stories,
which he began filming in 2008,
when the well exploded. The film
gorgeously captured a place and
a way of life that many believe
will never return. Bowermaser
and his camera have revisited the
area many times, interviewing
fishermen, scientists, politicians,
environmentalists, and oil-rig
workers to investigate how the
Louisiana coast has been altered.
What really happened to that oil?
What about the dispersant used
to push it beneath the surface?
How has the spill impacted local
economies, human health and the
health of marine life and the Gulf
itself? Has Louisiana’s coastline
been tainted forever? With skill
and determination, filmmaker Jon
Bowermaster probes and uncovers
the truth beneath the spill.
Q&A Attendee: Jon Bowermaster
SCREENING Followed by Aa Rare
Live Performance
WITH COMEDIANS
Will Durst & Johnny SteelE
Q&A Attendees:
Duncan Bridgeman, Krishna Das, Stewart
Copeland
9
d o c ume nta r i e s
East Coast Premiere
World Premiere
East Coast Premiere
NEW YORK Premiere
the Babushkas
of Chernobyl
Buried Above
Ground
Deep Run
DRAWING THE TIGER
Directed by Hillevi Loven
Directed by Ben Selkow
Directed by Amy Benson, Scott
Squire & Ramyata Limbu
Directed by Holly Morris,
Anne Bogart (Co-Director)
English and Ukranian with subtitles
ROSENDALE Theatre
Here in the exclusion zone life
never stopped, nature just took
over. So says Valentyna Ivanivna,
one of a remarkable group of elderly
babushkas living in the shadows
of Chernobyl in a scattering of
small villages on some of the most
toxic land on earth. Ironically,
this contaminated earth produces
herbs, fruits and vegetables that
seem to sustain the babushkas. How
is it possible that these ancient
women continue to thrive? Is
the deep and enduring friendship
they share part of the answer?
Do we need to rethink everything
we’ve been taught about nuclear
contamination? What about the
thrill-seeking young men who tempt
fate in acts of bravado that may
someday claim their lives? Evacuees
were told they could never return,
but motherland is everything. Each
person should live where their
soul desires, says one. This is a
fascinating and powerful film, with
indelible images and a near perfect
score. Brilliant and courageous
filmmaking. A must see. – Barbara
Pokras, ACE
Q&A Attendee: Holly Morris
10
Buried Above Ground brings to
light the global health condition
we now recognize as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by
sharing the courageous journeys
of three Americans wrestling
with the aftermath of devastating
events. The film broadens the scope
of PTSD beyond combat veterans to
include other forms of debilitating
trauma that currently impact 450
million people worldwide. Struggle
along with U.S. Army captain Luis
Montalvan, back from the Iraq War,
as he learns to cope with his inner
war wounds and resurface via the
bond he forms with his service dog,
Tuesday. Relive Hurricane Katrina
with evacuee Ashley as she pledges
to rebuild her home while she
rebuilds herself. Empathize with
Eurndina, fighting to stay sober and
go back to school after surviving
child abuse and domestic violence.
Filmed over six years, with intimate
access to these survivors as they
unburden themselves of the past,
Buried Above Ground pays tribute to
the human spirit and the skill of the
filmmaker. – Woodstock Film Festival
Q&A Attendees: Ben Selkow
Fri Oct 2 • 11:45am
In Nepali with Subtitles
Growing up is difficult. But when
you are a boy living in the body of
a girl in rural North Carolina, life
can be extremely complicated.
Meet 17-year-old Spazz, exiled by
her family, rejected by her ex, with
no one to lean on for support.
When Spazz falls in love again, she
finds the courage to transition to
Cole Ray Davis, a gutsy trans young
man. Directed by social justice
activist Hillevi Loven and executive
produced by LGBTQ supporter
Susan Sarandon, Deep Run is
Cole’s coming-of-age and comingout story. It is also an intimate
exploration of young outsiders in an
insular Christian community, whose
candid humor and steadfast beliefs
help them face the harsh, gritty
reality of their daily lives. With a
small group of supportive friends,
relatives, and his girlfriend, Ashley,
Cole’s search for love and belonging
leads him to a radical revision of
what faith and church can be.
– Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees:
Hillevi Loven, Samara Levenstein, Chris
Talbott, Cole Ray Davis
preceded by
All About Amy
Directed By
Samuel Centore
USA / 2014 / 7:33
Minutes
An intimate portrayal that follows a
widowed transgender taxi driver in
the catskills. amy recounts her late
wife’s support as she works the night
shift and returns at sunrise to her
unfinished, decaying home in the
woods.
In rural Nepal, where each day is
a work-filled struggle to survive,
young Shanta Darnal is her family’s
hope for something better. When
Shanta is awarded a scholarship
to attend school in the city, they
envision circumstances changing.
And so they do, but in a way neither
the family nor the filmmakers, who
spent seven years filming, could
have anticipated. Drawing the
Tiger is an unflinchingly real and
almost unbearably touching portrait
of an impoverished family and a
young girl faced with an enormous
responsibility. In their first featurelength production, Amy Benson and
Scott Squire exhibit an amazing
commitment to telling the story of
a family and a culture, even when,
as can happen with a documentary,
happenstance takes the story in a
unplanned direction. The exquisite
cinematography, whether in the
majestic yet desolate village or the
chaotic, bleak city, perceptively
complements this compelling and
poignant story of an impossible
situation that goes from bad to worse
when it was only supposed to get
better. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees: Amy Benson
documentaries
EAST COAST Premiere
East Coast Premiere
Hot Type: 150 Years
of The Nation
I Will Not
Be Silenced
Incorruptible
Directed by Barbara Kopple
Directed by Judy Rymer
SUSA / 2014 / 93 minutes
Australia / 2014 / 84 minutes
North American Premiere
Family Matters
Directed by Noa Roth
Israel / 2015 / 67 minutes
Hebrew with Subtitles
Courtesy of Go2films
Deep family secrets and
heartfelt attempts to heal broken
relationships are the crux of this
moving documentary about the
little known world of the extreme
orthodox Jewish population.
Directed by Noa Roth, Family Matters
is her unflinching journey of selfdiscovery as she tells the story of
how, 30 years ago, the divorce of her
parents shook the religious Israeli
city of Bney Barak and affected
the lives of their seven children.
Her father was an esteemed rabbi;
after she left with the children, her
mother became a renowned author.
The film follows a family divided
between the conflicting worlds of the
ultra-orthodox and the secular. Roth
bravely travels among the ghosts
of her childhood in an attempt to
reunite her fractured family and,
finally, start one of her own. Told
with respect and love for both worlds,
Family Matters is a testament to selfempowerment and the deep-seated
force of religious life. – Svetlana
Krotek
When a renowned filmmaker
makes a film about a renowned
magazine, the outcome is sure to
be captivating. Barbara Kopple is
well known to Woodstock, and around
the globe, for such break-through
films as Harlan County USA, Woodstock
My Generation, Shut Up and Sing,
Running from Crazy, and more. Her
latest, Hot Type; 150 Years of The
Nation, is a vivid look at America’s
oldest continuously published weekly
magazine. With editor Katrina vanden
Heuvel (who will be in attendance)
at the helm, as well as an impressive
array of brilliant and passionate
writers, the film takes us on a journey
into the soul of American Journalism.
With unfettered access and unfiltered
honesty, Hot Type captures the
day-to-day pressures and challenges
of publishing a weekly magazine, as
well as illuminating how the past
continuously ripples through and
shapes current events. It is the story
of The Nation — and the nation
— evolving into the future, as it is
guided by its remarkable past.
Screening will be followed by a
conversation
between director
Barbara Kopple
and The Nation’s
Editor and Publisher,
Katrina
vanden
Heuvel
Hosted
by Robin
Bronk
English and Swahili with subtitles
Charlotte Campbell got more than
she bargained for when she left
her home in Australia to volunteer
in Africa to help orphans and vulnerable kids and experience the
Kenyan way of life. She became
the victim of a violent daytime
rape by a gang of young thugs.
Assuming the police and the court
system would mete out justice,
Charlotte reported the attack and
landed at the intersection of law
and culture. While rape has become
a pandemic in Kenya, especially
in the slums, women are afraid to
report it out of embarrassment and
fear of reprisal from the police. Is
justice delayed, justice denied?
Certainly in this case, but Charlotte,
determined to find justice, set out
to empower other rape victims,
many of whom were sexualized at
a young age through poverty, poor
living conditions and gender bias.
Mobilizing women to stand up to
the rapists, Charlotte’s journey is
a story of courage in the face of
enormous obstacles. An inspirational and unforgettable film. – Barbara
Pokras, ACE
Q&A Attendee: Judy Rymer
Directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi
French,Wolof with English subtitles
In the spring of 2011, Senegal was
pitched into crisis when President
Abdoulaye Wade decided to change
the constitution to allow for a third
term. An artist-led youth movement
— the Y’en a Marre (Enough is
Enough) — erupted to protect one
of Africa’s oldest and most stable
democracies. Fourteen candidates ran
for president. Incorruptible follows the
main players: incumbent President
Wade, opposition candidate Macky
Sall and music superstar Youssou
Ndour, along with the Y’en a Marre
movement. Displaying passion,
exuberance, corruption, religious
ploys, a call for accountability,
collaboration, and the registration
of 300,000 new voters, the results
were stunning. More people voted
than ever before in the history of
independent Senegal. Macky Sall,
running on a platform of reform
and anti-corruption, won. The film
explores this transition and asks:
after you unite against something,
what do you then unite for? With
democracies around the world under
siege, Incorruptible offers hope, while
honestly examining the sustainability
of a peoples’ movement and the role
youth are taking to shape the future.
Inspiring!
Q&A Attendee: E. Chai Vasarhelyi
11
WORLD Premiere
New York Premiere
New York Premiere
Lee’s 88 Keys
Left on Purpose
Directed by Justin Schein
Co-director David Mehlman
Look At Us Now,
Mother!
Mavis!
Directed by Susan Robbins
Directed by Gayle Kirschenbaum
You may not know her name, but
88-year-old jazz pianist Lee Shaw
is a legend among musicians. She
was coveted by Lionel Hampton (but
declined an invitation to join him),
tutored by Oscar Peterson, and her
current trio boasts Hudson Valley
homeboys Rich Syracuse on bass and
Jeff Siegel on drums. Shaw fell in love
with the piano at age 5, and director
Susan Robbins’ bio-pic, Lee’s 88 Keys,
comes alive with recollections of
Shaw first hearing music and learning
to play, on to becoming a bona-fide
musician. The story is rich with music,
history and a multitude of anecdotes
and accolades from fellow musicians,
former students (including local
luminary John Medeski), and friends.
Shaw has struggled with being a
woman in a male dominated field,
the financial challenges of pursuing a
musical dream, and the conflict of her
ever-sharp mind residing in an aging
vessel. Indomitable, she is driven
by her love of music and passion for
jazz. Experience that passion in Lee’s
88 Keys. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendee: Susan Robbins
The Lee Shaw Trio will be performing
before the screening, at Love Bites in
Saugerties from 5pm to 9pm
When director Justin Schein
set out to film the life story of
Mayer Vishner, an aging hippy
and former political activist living
alone in NYC in a tiny, overly
crowded apartment, it is unlikely
he anticipated the turn the story
would take. Loneliness is one of
the hardest maladies to live with,
and Mayer, after years of coping
with solitude, and six months into
filming, announces that his last political act will be the taking of his
own life. An ethical struggle ensues
as the filmmaker can’t help but put
himself inside the story, trying to
help his subject create a different
ending. As Schein’s own young
child becomes a part of the film in
a tender moment that restores hope
that Vishner’s life can be preserved,
the viewer is inadvertently pulled
into the unfolding tragic drama in
a rare and deeply affective experience of self-questioning. Left on
Purpose is a cinematic journey that
poses ethical questions not easily
answered, yet oh so important to be
asked. – Svetlana Krotek
Q&A Attendees:
Justin Schein, David Mehlman, Eden
Wurmfeld, Yael Bridge
‘Mother knows best’ hardly applies
to Mildred Abramowitz Kirschernbaum, the ascerbic, hypercritical
and sometimes downright nasty
mother of documentarian Gayle
Kirschernbaum. With wit, humor
and compassion, Gayle, a bulldog
of a daughter, is determined to
understand, forgive and cherish
her mother before it’s too late. But
how? Forgiveness is easy to roll
off the lips, but what if you’d been
criticized and made to feel deficient
all your life by the one person who
means the most? What if the only
safe love is the four-legged kind?
Gayle and Mildred travel the road
to forgiveness with alternately
hilarious and poignant stops along
the way. Gayle’s journals, starting
at age eight, reveal an acutely
sensitive child who can’t understand
what she’s done wrong. Was she
born into the wrong family? Should
she have been a boy? Gerald, Gayle’s downtrodden father, seems to
think so. So does her therapist. You
won’t want to miss this delightful, searingly honest and intimate
mother-daughter story. – Barbara
Pokras, A.C.E
Directed by Jessica Edwards
Levon Helm Studios Fri Oct 2•9:30pm
Calling singer/civil rights activist
Mavis Staples a living legend is
no overstatement. With roots in
gospel and a visionary father who
molded his family into the Staple
Singers, we watch the group go
from gospel performances at local
churches during the 1960s and
‘70s to chart-topping mainstream
hits. Skillfully combining archival
material, new interviews and live
performances, filmmaker Jessica
Edwards hits all the high notes
of the Staple Singer’s tenure.
The movie continues to track the
rollercoaster of the artist’s solo
career, including such tender
moments as Mavis’ visit to the
late Levon Helm at his Barn.
Julian Bond, Bonnie Raitt, Wilco’s
Jeff Tweedy, and Bob Dylan are
prominent among the friends,
fellow musicians and civil rights
veterans who pay homage to
the documentary’s star. But it is
Mavis herself who performs most
eloquently, especially after winning
a 2011 Grammy for her album You
Are Not Alone. Mavis! — both
the woman and the film — richly
deserve the exclamation point in
the title. – Woodstock Film Festival
“
”
“
”
Q&A Attendee: Jessica Edwards
Q&A Attendees: Gayle Kirschenbaum,
Jessica Philliips
12
documentaries
Monty Python:
The Meaning of Live
world Premiere
New York Premiere
WORLD Premiere
Paradise Is There
the Poet of Havana
Directed by Ron Chapman
Reconquest of the
Useless
Canada / 2015 / 97 minutes
Directed by Sam Pressman
UK / 2014 / 92 minutes
A Memoir
by Natalie Merchant,
The New Tigerlily Recordings
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
USA/2015/90 minutes
Ulster Performing Arts Center
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Orpheum Theater SAUGERTIES (film only)
ROSENDALE Theatre
Directed by Roger Graef & James Rogan
ROSENDALE Theatre
In 1969, six men joined forces
to create an absurd surrealist
comedy group that would one day
become one of the most notable
icons of the comedy world. Now,
nearly 35 years later, these illustrious Monty Python players have
reunited to bring their unique brand
of silliness back to their massive fan
base. Focusing on their sold-out,
ten-night run at The O2 Arena in
London, Monty Python: The Meaning
of Live presents a behind-the-scenes
look at Monty Python’s largest show
ever. Filled with heartfelt interviews
and insights, as well as a nostalgic
look back at old sketches, this historic documentary shows the always
hilarious, always hard-working
Pythons in a brand new light. Artfully balancing stage performance,
personal memories, and a view of
who these men are today, this film
is sure to have you laughing in your
seat. A treat for any fan of this brilliant, one-of-a-kind comedy group
and an education for anyone who
missed them back in the day.
– Sam Robotham
Twenty years after it was first released, singer/songwriter Natalie
Merchant has re-recorded her 5
million-selling album Tigerlily.
Paradise Is There, A Memoir by
Natalie Merchant, directed by Merchant, is a personal account of
the beloved singer’s journey. Told
through her voice and the voices of
her fans, the bio-pic illustrates how
powerfully the songs from the record — Carnival, River, Wonder, The
Letter, and more — have impacted
her audience. At the same time, it is
a first-hand telling of how the music
and her avid admirers have significantly influenced Merchant’s own
life. We have all enjoyed her music
and with this film we get to know
Merchant in a new way and appreciate the humanity of the woman that
is reflected in her songs. Filled with
archival footage from her early days
fronting 10,000 Maniacs, this is the
first documentary about herself that
Natalie Merchant has participated
in.
Q&A Attendees:
Natalie Merchant, Jon Bowermaster
English and Spanish with Subtitles
Wed Sept 30 •7:30pm
The Poet of Havana explores the
cultural, political and social significance Carlos Varela has had in
his 30 years as a singer-songwriter. A veteran of censorship battles
with the Cuban government, his
emotionally charged songs—raw, metaphoric chronicles of contemporary
Cuban life— have drawn comparisons
to Bob Dylan’s work. Jackson Browne’s
translation of Varela’s Muros y Puertas
(Walls and Doors), talks about how
polarized we are as a society, evident
in the song’s refrain, “There can be
freedom only when nobody owns it.”
Shot in Havana with unique access,
the audience enjoys stunning concert
and insider backstage moments, along
with exclusive interviews with such
international stars as Ivan Lins, Luis
Enrique, Juan and Samuel Formel,
Diana Fuentes, X Alfonso, Alexander
Abreu, in addition to Jackson Browne
and actor Benicio Del Toro (The Usual
Suspects, Traffic, Guardians of the
Galaxy). – Woodstock Film Festival
Reconquest Of The Useless is a
documentary film that follows the
travails of three young men as
they journey nearly 5,000 miles
through the Peruvian Amazon
searching for inspiration, adventure and the legacy of Werner Herzog’s classic film Fitzcarraldo thirty
years after it was made. Like Fitzcarraldo, who dreamed of building
an opera house in the jungle, and
Herzog himself, with his transcendent vision of cinema, the creators
of Reconquest Of The Useless also
pursue quixotic dreams: to travel
without being tourists and to have
transformative experiences by exploring what is rarely sought after.
Imbued with the spirit of Fitzcarraldo, the ultimate film for impossible
dreamers, Reconquest Of The Useless
is about the quest for the ineffable
and unknown, and where that path
can take you. A true journey for the
audience to embark upon.
Q&A Attendees:
Sam Pressman, Walter Saxer
Wednesday’s Screening
will be followed by a performance featuring
Cuba’s Carlos Varela and band
with special guest Jackson Browne
 Tickets for this event are available at
BARDAVON.ORG or UPAC. A limited
amount of tickets are available via WFF
13
East Coast Premiere
East Coast Premiere
World Festival Premiere
World Festival Premiere
She’s The Best
Thing In It
The Student Body
Shelter
Sporting Dreams
Directed by Barbara Kopple
Directed by Leon Gast
Directed by Ron Nyswaner
Directed by
Bailey Webber, Michael Webber
screening with Sporting
screening with Shelter
Oscar-nominated writer/producer
Ron Nywaner’s first documentary
feature is an examination of the
actor’s craft and the sacrifices
demanded by a lifelong career.
Watch the feisty and and at times
hilarious veteran character actor
and Tony Award winner, Mary Louise
Wilson, age 79, teach her first
acting class to skeptical members of
the YouTube generation, smashing
their red carpet illusions and challenging them to bring emotional
honesty into their acting. Featuring
interviews with Frances McDormand,
Melissa Leo, Tyne Daly, Estelle Parsons, Valerie Harper, and playwright
Doug Wright, She’s The Best Thing in
It discusses what it means to be a
character actor, whether acting can
be taught, what constitutes ‘talent,’
and whether the profession is harder
for women. Nyswaner, known for
such features as Philadelphia, The
Painted Veil and the popular TV series Ray Donovan, handles this film
and its real life subject with the
same sympatico and style that he
brings to his perceptively portrayed
fictional characters. – Woodstock
Film Festival
Q&A Attendees:
Ron Nyswaner, Mary Louise Wilson
14
10th grade filmmaker Bailey Webber
is on a mission. The investigation
begins when her school district
implements a controversial mandate
forcing schools to perform Body Mass
Index tests in a misguided attempt to
address childhood obesity. After a sixth
grader voices her protest against the
“fat letters,” Webber recognizes the
injustice of telling children they are
fat if they don’t fall within a narrowly
accepted range. Believing they are
being unfairly profiled and bullied, her
keen inquiry includes a relentless chase
after the bureaucrat who sponsored the
law. Whether she is staging a vigil at
the state house, or interviewing health
experts for their input, Bailey never
loses her cool. Her dogged pursuit is
always done with poise and immense
charm. Despite the filmmaker’s youth,
The Student Body is a sophisticated,
smart, steadfast, sensitive, and often
humorous chronicle of two brave girls
who expose the hypocrisy of grownups
who think they are safeguarding the
nation’s young. – Ben F. Fischer
Q&A Attendees:
Bailey Webber, Michael Webber
Dreams
Courtesy of Al Jazeera
During the final year of an unprecedented national effort to end
military veteran homelessness,
two-time Academy Award winning
director Barbara Kopple intimately
documents the on-the-ground work
of the veteran-founded community-based service organization, Veterans Resource Center, in Northern
California. Sharing the struggles of
those they seek to pull out of a life
lived on the streets, Shelter tells a
story of vets saving vets, delving
into the psychological trauma created by military service, the effects
that remain long after active duty,
and the difficult road back to a normal life for these women and men.
Courtesy of Al Jazeera
Through the intimate stories of
three American families, we grasp
that childhood and high school
sports are still the bridge to
attaining the American Dream....
for the child as well as the parent.
Is it worth it?
Sports play an enormous part
in the American social fabric. More
children than ever are participating
in competitive sports. Sports can help
achieve their athletic dreams, help with
their academics, teach how to deal with
adversity and failure, learn to succeed
through hard work and dedication and,
of course, how to have fun. Academy
Award® winner Leon Gast looks at
several different individual and team
sports in America: from boxing and
hockey, to the girls AAU basketball.
The film examines family relationships
between mothers and fathers and sons
and daughters. We look at their joys and
struggles by exploring how sports play a
part in their American dream.
ees
ast
Leon G
&
e
l
ra Kopp
Barba
ttend
Q&A A
documentaries
SOUVENIRS
EAST COAST Premiere
The Three Hikers
Directed by Natalie Avital
Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and
Joshua Fattal, human rights activists
and educators, got more than they
bargained for when, in 2009, they
inadvertently stepped out of Kurdistan
and stumbled into Iran. Caught in the
turmoil of strained diplomatic relations
following the notorious 1979 hostagetaking episode and more recent student
uprisings protesting rigged elections,
the three were thrown into prison and
charged with crimes punishable by death.
Sarah was held in solitary confinement,
while Shane and Josh shared a cell. With
limited access to diplomatic intervention
— the Swiss Ambassador, the Sultan of
Oman, and behind-the-scenes American
efforts played a role — the plight of the
three, through family and friends, sparked
a grassroots movement that eventually
caught the attention of Desmond
Tutu, Sean Penn and Cesar Chavez. Far
more than a story of wrongful
imprisonment, The Three Hikers is
a testament to courage, endurance
and the power of love. Electrifying
filmmaking.
– Barbara Pokras, ACE
2015 WFF POSTER by JOY + NOELLE
18” x 24” - $15
Signed 2015 Limited Edition Giclee
On Archival 24” x 32” Paper - $100
2015 T-Shirts
Ladies Long Sleeved $20
Unisex Short Sleeved $15
WFF Mugs $ 10
WFF Caps - $15
Available at Box Office • 13 Rock City Road • Woodstock, NY
www.woodstockfilmfestival.com
The Woodstock Film Festival
and Hudson Valley Film Commission
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
NEEDS YOUR HELP
Q&A Attendees:
Natalie Avital, Joel Ides
Help KEEP our
D r e a m
a Reality
You Can Contribute By Mail:
Woodstock Film Festival, PO Box 1406, Woodstock, NY 12498.
To view additional details or to contribute online, visit:
www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/fundraising/capitalcampaign.php
15
s ho rts
Runtime: 78:00 MinutesWITH BILL & SIGNE
ANIMATION
U
F
W
 S O 3 • 12:00P
pstate
ilms
oodstock
at
ct
m
Alchemist’s Letter
Directed by
Carlos Andre Stevens
USA, UK / 2015 / 5:17
minutes
A late alchemist
exposes his estranged son to the truth
surrounding his tumultuous life and the
dark magic used to power a gold making
machine.
Aubade
Directed by Mauro Carraro
Switzerland / 2014 / 5
minutes
In a surrealist backlit
scene, swimmers and
birds witness the
spectacle of the dawn,
hypnotized by the music of a cellist.
Ayn Rand on Love
Directed by Patrick Smith
Ayn Rand talks about
love and other things
in this animated interview.
New York Premiere
Driving
The Night
of the Naporitan
Directed by Nate Theis
USA / 2015 / 3:51 minutes
Driving is a satirical
look at people in their
cars. With explosions.
Directed by Ysuke
Sakamoto
Japan / 2015 /
6:19 minutes
A tragic story of
spaghetti, who
never learned to love others.
Eggplant
Directed by Yangzi She
Made at UCLA
Durian was born with
his facial expressions
opposite to everyone
else’s.
The Five Minute
Museum
The Panty Fairy
Directed by Juanwei Chen
East Coast Premiere
Directed by Paul Bush
USA / 2015 / 5
minutes
The Five Minute Museum
is an experimental
animation in which thousands of artifacts
from museums are brought to life in a
history of human endeavor.
Haircut
Directed by David Chai
A disheartened Earnest Knapp learns that
the things he holds most dear are often
just a butt cheek away.
Birthday
Directed by Nick Tustin
School of Visual Arts
An alien bug is born
into a dangerous jungle. As he enters this
strange new world, he realizes things are
not what they appear.
Chase Me
Directed by
Gilles-alexandre
Deschaud
France / 2015 / 3 minutes
This short film follows
a ukelele-playing girl
who is chased through a dark forest by
the monster that emerges from her own
shadow.
New York Premiere
France, Italy / 2015 /
8 minutes
A teacher and her pupil
linger in an empty classroom. Through their looks
and gestures, a strange
confrontation begins.
Loneliest Stoplight
Directed by Bill Plympton
The life and times of a
neglected stoplight.
New York Premiere
Directed by Jaime Giraldo
Toro
Directed by Lynn Kim
A closer look into the
bullfight. Hand drawn
and stop motion
animation.
Mojo Thunder
Directed by Benjy
Brooke, Vikkal Parrikh,
Kris Merc
Wandering Eye
Directed by Edwin
Chavez
The story of a man trying to escape the pain
of his past, only to see
himself sinking deeper
into the grim realities
of life.
Music Jail
Directed by
Jeremy Galante, David
Cowles
Religatio
Canada / 2014 /
3:23 minutes
Made at Vancouver
Film School
Beings who exist
in a world hanging
from ropes are all
engaged in a struggle to stop themselves from
falling into the void below.
Directed by Virginia Mori
Behind My Behind
USA / 2014 / 2
minutes
The School of Visual
Arts
One day, a young
teenage girl
suddenly lost her
panties as she was taking
them out to dry. Billy, the
panty fairy, happens to come
across her lost panty and
decided to return it to her.
USA / 2015 / 1 minute
Hostos Community
College
A parasitic eye
wanders around
and consumes
everything in its
path.
New York Premiere
Where you going
buddy? Won’t you come
with me to music jail?
The “Week 4” video of
They Might Be Giants’ 2015 Dial-A-Song
project.
16
A bout W ff
Shorts
Based On
Fever Dream
Woodstock Community Center
 Fri Oct 2 • 8:30Pm
 Sun Oct 4 • 6:00Pm
How I Didn’t
East Coast Premiere
Become A Piano
Player
 Fri Oct 2 • 6:30Pm
 Sun Oct 4 • 4:00Pm
Against Night
Directed by
Tommaso Pitta
UK / 2014 /
17:40 Minutes
9-Year-Old Ted Is
Desperately Searching For Something He Is Good At. On The Day
His Father Comes Home With An
Old Monstrous Piano, Ted Has A
Revelation: He Will Become The
Next Mozart. Based On The Short
Story Every Good Boy By David
Nicholls.
The Lady Of
Larkspur Lotion
World Premiere
Directed by Sergio
Rico
USA / 2014 /
22 Minutes
In A Beat-Up Old
Boarding House In
New Orleans, A Frustrated Landlady Decides To Confront One Of
Her Troublesome Tenants For The
Rent. As Their Arguing Ensues,
An Aspiring Drunken Writer Decides To Finally Speak His Truth.
Based On The Play By Tennessee
Williams.
Peacock Killer
East Coast Premiere
Directed by
Boyd Holbrook
USA / 2015 /
14:39 Minutes
A Man And His Dog
Go On An Unlikely
Journey Of Reconciliation. Adapted From A Short
Story By Sam Shepard.
Sure Thing
Directed by
Deborah Reinisch
USA / 2014 / 13
Minutes
Bill Takes The Only
Available Seat In
A Cafe–At Betty’s
Table. Could She Be The “One”?
Could He? Are There Any Guarantees When We Open Our Hearts?
Sure Thing. Based On The Play By
David Ives.
2015WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
Directed by
Stefan Kubicki
USA / 2014 /
28:18 Minutes
In Russian With
English Subtitles
Made At American Film Institute (AFI)
Set In The 1960S, A Cosmonaut Confronts
The Death Of His Wife And Daughter Years
Earlier After His Space Capsule Crash Lands
In The Frozen Steppes Of Mongolia.
Devil’s Work
Directed by Miguel
Silveira
East Coast Premiere
USA / 2014 /
19 Minutes
Made At Columbia
University
A Troubled
14-Year-Old Boy Grows Increasingly Isolated
As He Obsesses Over The Circumstances
Surrounding His Father’s Death. His Descent
Puts Him On A Dismal And Potentially Violent Course That Will Lead To Major Truths
And Even Greater
Questions.
Through The
Breaking Glass
Directed by
Ivan Mena-Tinoco
Spain / 2014 /
15 Minutes
In Spanish With
English Subtitles
After Waking Up In A Foreign Land, Alice
Does Not Remember Her Name Or How She
Got There. With Evil Forces At Work, She
Will Have To Fight To Survive Wonderland
And Get Back To Her Daughter.
Exposure Programming at the
WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL encourages
those who use film as a way to explore
social, environmental and political
themes, while challenging their inherent boundaries.
Some of this year’s exposure program films include
Incorruptible, Buried Above Ground, After The Spill.
The Hudson Valley and Catskills have
been a hotbed of creative energy and
artistic vibrancy for over a century. In
addition to attracting production talent
from all over the world, many established and emerging
filmmakers have now made the hudson valley their home.
The 2015 WFF schedule has programmed several locally
produced films including the feature narratives I Dream
Too Much, Good Ol’ Boy, How He Fell In Love, and the
short Mountain Low.
Focus on Music showcases films about
music and musicians, while exploring
the role that music plays in film. Many
of the films emphasize how music can be an important
and powerful tool for expression and conflict resolution.
The BMI music panel and concerts play a critical role
in focus on music programming. 2015 Focus on Music
films include The Poet Of Havana, 1 Giant Leap II,
Paradise Is There, Lee’s 88 Keys, Mavis!
As technology makes our world seem
smaller and increasingly a ccessible, we
are given the rare opportunity to expand
our global consciousness. Wff is proud
to present the world cinema program to further our
commitment to sharing experiences across continents.
2015 highlights include Moscow Never Sleeps, There
Should Be Rules, I Will Not Be Silenced, Family Matters.
As a part of this year’s world cinema
program, the WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
presents a Focus On Dutch Cinema
sponsored by the Netherlands Consulate
and the Department of Dutch Culture USA. The program
features three outstanding selections from top dutch
filmmakers: Summer by Colette Bothof, Rendez-vous by
Antoinette Beumer and Eddy Terstall’s Meet Me in Venice.
Since its inception, the WOODSTOCK
FILM FESTIVAL has explored and
celebrated LGBTQ voices with an
exciting slate of films, concerts and special guests.
Some of 2015 highlights include Deep Run, Summer,
and All About Amy.
LGBTQ
FO C U S
Shorts
Screening Prior To...
All About Amy
World Premiere
Directed by
Samuel Centore
USA / 2014 /
7:33 Minutes
An Intimate Portrayal
That Follows A Widscreens prior to
owed Transgender Taxi
Deep Run
Driver In The Catskills.
Amy Recounts Her Late
Wife’s Support As She Works The Night
Shift And Returns At Sunrise To Her Unfinished, Decaying Home In The Woods.
The WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL’S
Spotlight on Women in Film & Media
initiative highlights exciting new works by
some of today’s most talented, established
and up-and-coming female directors. The initiative
includes a panel presented by New York Women in Film
and Media and a special event presented by film fatale. In
addition the Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award will
be presented for best female director. 2015 highlights are
Scout, The Adderall Diaries, It Had To Be You, Silver Skies.
17
s ho rts
GROWING UP
Breatharians
East Coast Premiere
Directed by Marc
Turtletaub
USA / 2014 /
27 minutes
August is a twelveyear-old boy growing
up on his family’s dairy farm. Dealing with his
parents separation and navigating the distance
between his parents’ homes, August must grapple with whether he can complete a grisly job
his father has assigned him.
Share
Directed by Pippa
Bianco
New York Premiere
USA / 2014 / 12:17
minutes
A 15-year-old girl
returns to school
after someone shares
an explicit video of her.
NO TRESPASSING
The Cut Through
East Coast Premiere
Directed by
Weldon Powers
A bored suburban
husband follows the
neighborhood kids and
discovers a mysterious portal in the woods leading
to a better, more exciting life.
Mountain Low
Directed by
Andrew J. Bruntel
World Premiere
A solitary Game Warden
spends one last day with
his estranged daughter
before she moves to
Florida. When he sidetracks their day to investigate
a strange sound heard deep in the woods, he risks
their safety and jeopardizes his deep desire to
reconnect.
SPANISH SPOTLIGHT
The English Teacher
Directed by
Alan Gonzalez
Cuba / 2015 / 15 minutes
In Spanish with English
subtitles
Tired of her husband’s
terminal illness, Sonia decidehs to resume giving
English classes at home.
18
 Fri Oct 2 • 12:00pm
 Sat Oct 3 • 6:30pm
Stanhope
Directed by
Solvan “Slick” Naim
Stanhope, a young
teenager from a
single parent home
in Brooklyn, spends a great deal of time with his
Grandmother. When she agrees to buy him his first
skateboard, a series of events is put into motion
that will change the course of Stanhope’s life.
The Vow
Directed by Lina Roessler
Canada / 2014 / 6
minutes
Two 7-year-old girls
go on a magical trip
in an attempt to execute a master plan.
New York Premiere
New York Premiere
Directed by
Jessica dela Merced
USA / 2015 /
11 minutes
Four kids turn their
innocence to ashes
on a hot summer day in Detroit.
Winter Light
 Fri Oct 2 • 4:30pm
East Coast Premiere
Greco Roman
Directed by
Theo Sena
USA / 2015 /
5 minutes
Two old friends take
an awkward walk into
their past.
Pick Up
New York Premiere
Directed by
Joshua Alan Rogers
Woodstock Community Center  Sat Oct 3 • 4:15pm
Orpheum Theater SAUGERTIES  Sun Oct 4 • 5:30pm
Wait ‘til the Wolves
Make Nice
LET’S TALK
New York Premiere
Directed by
Julian Higgins
USA / 2015 /
28:30 minutes
When an aging
college professor
confronts two hunters trespassing on his property, he
begins an escalating battle of wills that will test his
faith in everything he holds dear. Adapted from a short
story by acclaimed author James Lee Burke.
Jesse Ritter has
been living with a
secret. What begins
as a quiet evening driving for Pick Up (the latest
car service to share the road with Uber and Lyft),
soon finds Jesse falling for one of his passengers
and forced to confess the truth.
Spit
East Coast Premiere
Directed by
Mtume Gant
USA / 2015 /
16:15 minutes
Jeremiah “MonkOne” Sinclair, an
NYC Hip Hop artist has reached a crossroads of
trying to understand what success is. Filmed POV
style, we enter the body of Monk One, seeing
through his eyes the loss of passion, love for the
music, and city he once knew.
The Way Of Tea
(Les Fremissements
du Thé )
East Coast Premiere
Directed by
Marc Fouchard
France / 2014 /
20:39 minutes
In a French with English subtitles
A small town in northern France, Alex, a young
skinhead, enters Malik’s grocery store. As religious
tensions build, Malik makes an offer hard for Alex
to turn down, so long as he stays for tea.
Welcome
(Bienvenidos)
New York Premiere
Directed by Javier Fesser
Spain / 2014 / 27:39 minutes
subtitles
An amazing innovation reaches a tiny school lost in
the heart of the Peruvian Andes and revolutionizes the
lives of the whole community: the internet.
San Cristobal
Directed by
Omar Zuniga Hidalgo
USA / 2015 /
28:45 minutes
In Spanish with English subtitles
Lucas is visiting his sister on a remote island in
southern Chile before moving abroad. An unlikely
romance grows when he meets Antonio, a struggling
young fisherman.
shorts
quirks
By Any
Means
A-Veilable
 Sun Oct 4 • 2:00pm
France, Denmark /
2014 /
17 minutes
In French & Danish with English
subtitles
A naive but driven Danish
woman looking for an
apartment in Paris embarks on
an absurd mission fueled by her
fear of getting short changed.
New York Premiere
Directed by
Alexander Engel
USA / 2015/
7:30 minutes
After losing the
last two digits
of a girl’s number, a socially
awkward fish enthusiast tries
every combination to seek her
out.
First World
Problems
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
 Thur Oct 1 • 1:00pm
 Sat Oct 3 • 11:30am
Chimes For
Autism:
Tyler’s Story
New York Premiere
Directed by
Hanna Maylett
Finland / 2015 /
6:34 minutes
In Finnish with
English subtitles
After a trip to the grocery store,
a tired housewife loses her car
in a shopping mall parking,
which sends her whole world
tumbling down.
Hardbat
Directed by
Zack Schamberg
Directed by
Ivan Cash
New York Premiere
USA / 2014 /
6:13 minutes
A gentle portrait of
an 86-year old farmer
who is still active.
Cancer, fractured vertebrae, old hips - nothing has
stopped Howard from tending his farm.
My Paralympic
Directed by
Yeshy Namgyal
Dream
Bhutan / 2014 /
10 minutes
In Dzongkha with English
subtitles
Abandoned by his
parents and struggling with a physical disability, Pema
Tshering fights through all the odds to live the life
he wants and achieve his dream of competing in the
paralympic games.
Naneek
Directed by
Neal Steeno
New York Premiere
USA / 2015 /
35 minutes
A documentary film
that follows veteran
Tim Keenan. He’s dealt with PTSD for over four
decades. He’s finally ready to face his demons, and
return to Vietnam.
USA / 2014 /
13 minutes
New York University
Origins
An obsession
with ping-pong disrupts an
otherwise pleasant evening.
USA / 2014 /
9:30 minutes
Wavy Gravy, Ram
Dass, Jackson
Browne, Larry Brilliant and others explore the origins of the Seva Foundation and its inspiring work
in preventing blindness.
Seth
Directed by
Zach Lasry
Directed by
Will Parrinello
East Coast Premiere
USA / 2015 /
15 minutes
For Seth,
impressing his
father is his only goal. Today is
the day.
To Be Daydreamers
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
 Fri Oct 2 • 11:45am
 Sun Oct 4 • 11:30am
Directed by Alfredo
Alcantara Merentes
& Josh Chertoff
USA / 2014 /
8:17 minutes
Tyler Doi is an 8-year old with autism with an exceptional talent- he can identify individual Woodstock Chimes
from their sounds alone.
Howard’s Farm
SHORT
DOCS II
El Porvenir
Directed by
Stephen Panaggio
Directed by
Charlotte Schiøler
Digits
SHORT
DOCS I
World Premiere
Directed by
Jack Tumen
USA / 2014 /
8:21 minutes
Twin brothers Aaron
and Wyatt Mones,
Woodstock locals, reflect on their journey as a
two-man band while keeping their sights set on the
prospects of a successful musical career.
East Coast Premiere
2015 / 15 minutes
subtitles
A third-generation
cockfighter struggles to hold on to his family’s
way of life in the face of a movement to ban the
sport across Mexico.
Enjoy Your
Intermission
Directed by
Adam Carboni
& Tansy Michaud
USA / 2015 /
12:32 minutes
An intimate look at a drive-in movie theater in
its last summer of projecting 35mm film.
The House is
Innocent
Directed by
Nicholas Coles
USA / 2015 /
12:15 minutes
Tom and Barbara’s
new home has a
notorious past. It’s going to take more than a
fresh coat of paint to whitewash its macabre
history.
Lenny Bee
World Premiere
Directed by
John Huba
USA / 2015 /
12:30 minutes
People know me as
Lenny Bee...but my
real name is Leonardo Franscesco Busciligio!
Spearhunter
Directed by
Adam Roffman
& Luke Poling
New York Premiere
USA / 2014 /
13:42 minutes
Deep in the woods
of rural Alabama,
a spear-hunter proclaims himself the world’s
greatest and erects a museum dedicated to his
own obsession.
We Live This
East Coast Premiere
Directed by
James Burns
USA / 2015 /
10 minutes
The story of four
boys from the
projects who have come together to pursue their
dreams. Most New Yorkers who ride the MTA have
opinions about them, but what lies beneath
these young performers is more than what meets
the eye.
19
s ho rts
Teen FILMS
Below The Surface
New York Premiere
University High School
(Irvine, CA)
A girl reflects on the precious
moments she had with her sister as
she slowly comes to terms with her
guilt and reaches her absolution.
New york premiere
Directed by
Cal Etcheverry
Episcopal School of Dallas
A man’s endless cycle
of work takes its toll
on his relationship with daughter.
Evidence
Falling
Directed by
Maya Suchak
USA / 2014 / 10
minutes
LGBTQ
FOCUS
World Premiere
USA / 2015 /
3:56 minutes
Woodstock Day School
Famed naturalist goes on an expedition for the rarest animal of all.
USA / 2015 / 1 minute
Dinner for One.
20
Directed by
Theodore M.
Buckwald
A naive burglar is
surprised to find
that his seemingly
helpless, elderly target, whom he has
detained, is miraculously able to break
free from his restraints.
World Premiere
Directed by
Bushra Al Masri
In addition to
conversations with
leading authorities
on filmmaking,
students are also
treated to a film
screening, which is
followed by a Q&A
session with the filmmakers.
No tickets available.
Videos are viewable online only
Ethical Culture Fieldston
School (Bronx, NY)
A serio-comedy about
a NYC boy struggling
with the death of his parents.
The Silence of Nature
photopgraphy: David Rosenberg
Each year over 150 students from schools
throughout the region gather at Onteora High
School in Boiceville for Career Day, where students meet with A-list film industry professionals
in small groups, ask questions and learn about
careers in film and new media.
SHORTS:
Music Videos ONLINE
Directed by
Ethan Hoffman-Sadka
The Hunt For
Sasquatch
Directed by
Harrison O’ Clair
and Emma Pittleman
Old Tricks
Salad
Arabic with English subtitles
A 16-year-old girl recounts her
harrowing experiences from her
last days before escaping war torn
Syria
Leftovers
.
USA / 2015 / 9:45
minutes
A young boy torments his uptight
babysitter.
Directed by
Walaa Al Alawi
Jordan / 2015 /
5 minutes
Directed by
Emmet Luciano
Downtown Community
Television Center (DCTV
A year-by-year account of Alyssa’s life.
Directed by
Jack Fessenden
Youth FX (Albany, NY)
Love and the choices we have to
make for love.
The Girl Whose
Shadow Reflects
the Moon
Lifeline
Pranks
Directed by
Jonah Martindale
A casual conversation
takes an unexpected
turn.
Youth Initiative
Onteora High School: Fri Oct 2 | 8:00am - 2:00pm
Directed by
Alyssa Dyal
Directed by
Rona Ahdout
Everyday
Career Day:
Bearsville Theater
Days Gone By
Music by Burnell Pines
Directed by Heidi Sjursen and Jeffrey Abell
World Premiere
Jordan / 2015 /
3 minutes
Arabic with English
subtitles
An 18-year-old Syrian
refugee recounts her life in Syria before
the revolution tore her family apart.
www.ido-movies.com/burnellpines.html
Fingerprints
Music by Kita Klane
Directed by Nic Harcourt
https://youtu.be/OnTmZ6c9l64
Good Friend
Music by Simi Stone
Directed by Samuel Centore & Gene Fischer
This Is New York: Gary
https://youtu.be/uA-qIpO1VWM
USA / 2014 /
5:35 minutes
A short portrait on
the life of a New York
City cab driver.
Killing Machine
Music by Sarah Fimm
We All Go the Same
My Yellow Heart
Music by Sandra Kolstad
Directed by Benjamin Ades
Directed by
Morgana McKenzie
Canada / 2015 /
3:45 minutes
In the timeless world
of fairy tales, villains
and victims are visited by a vengeful fairy
who offers to shift
the balance of power.
Directed by Heyrick Chassé
www.vimeo.com/111251212
Directed by Dan Huiting
USA / 2015 / 3:24
www.vimeo.com/113948945
Sunshine’s on the Way
Music by The Soulution
Directed by Justin Henny Henderson & Tony Reames
https://youtu.be/Hutoz8F4V08
panels
SOCIAL IMPACT IN MEDIA
How do we define it? How do we measure it? Why does it matter?
Kleinert/James Center Sat Oct 3 • 10:00am
“Social Impact” is a term and a goal that many filmmakers strive to achieve. Yet it can seem overwhelming in the face of the many challenges, from getting any project funded, made and out there,
to achieving and showing the results of the “impact.” Our panelists, for whom impact is a vital part,
will lead us through personal case studies to explore and define what has worked for them. Here are
some common questions they will try to answer:

What’s behind all the buzz about impact measurement?

How do we measure impact when it’s not always clearly definable?

Is it fair to expect to require filmmakers to be held accountable for this type of work?

What are some best practices from the field?
Cynthia Kane
Dan Cogan
Andrew Catauro
Paco de Onís
Mike Webber
Todd Wider

Is the impact producer an essential hire for any project today?

When, how and why some films can be a tool for real change?
Moderator
Cynthia Kane serves as Senior Commissioning Producer for documentaries at Al
Jazeera America. Prior: ITVS (Independent Television Service), managing the
International Initiative for Funding, Sundance Channel, where she co-created
DocDay.
Panelists:
Dan Cogan is the executive director and co-founder of Impact Partners, a fund and
advisory service for investors and philanthropists who seek to promote social change
through film. Since its inception in 2007, Impact Partners has been involved in the
financing of more than 60 films, including The Cove, which won the 2010 Academy
Award® for Documentary Feature and How to Survive A Plague, which was nominated
for the Academy Award® for Documentary Feature in 2013. Cogan co-founded
Gamechanger Films, which launched in September 2013. Gamechanger Films is the
first for-profit film fund dedicated exclusively to financing narrative features directed
by women.
Andrew Catauro is the manager of JustFilms, the Ford Foundation’s social justice
documentary and digital storytelling initiative. JustFilms provides support to
filmmakers, artists and organizations who seek to drive social change by using
creative visual approaches to highlight issues of justice, rights and equity. JustFilms
works to expand networks and resources for this community of independent
filmmakers around the world, to elevate their artistry, and to maximize filmmakers’
impact of their stories. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2013, Andrew was
coordinating producer of the primetime PBS documentary showcase POV, supervising
programming and production workflows for the series.
Paco de Onís grew up in several Latin American countries during a time of
dictatorships. He is the executive director and executive producer of Skylight, a
human rights media organization dedicated to creating documentary films and
innovative media tools for long-term strategies to advance social and economic
justice. One of these long-term strategies is Skylight Labs, a program developed
to disseminate Skylight’s model for developing human rights media ecosystems
in conjunction with committed media makers, technologists and movement
organizations. The Labs have a regional focus, but with the ultimate goal of creating
a global network of practitioners.
Todd Wider (with his brother, Jedd), has produced numerous critically and
commercially successful documentary films, including Academy Award®-nominated
King’s Point, multiple primetime Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning Mea
Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Emmy Award-nominated Semper Fi:
Always Faithful, multiple Emmy Award-nominated Client 9: The Rise and Fall of
Eliot Spitzer, and Academy Award® and multiple Emmy Award-winning Taxi to the
Dark Side. He was nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Outstanding
Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures.
Mike Webber is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and producer/co-director
of The Student Body. His career began with fiction films, producing numerous
theatrical films for studios such as 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate. Applying his
storytelling skills to non-fiction filmmaking, Webber went on to direct his “passion
project,” the critically-acclaimed hit The Elephant in the Living Room.
MUSIC IN FILM
sponsored by
Kleinert/James Center Sat Oct 3 • 12:00pm
One Giant Leap 2: What About Me? explores complexities of human nature, spirit and the
universal language of music. The filmmakers traveled around the world for years collecting
spoken word wisdom and musical “jewels.” They started with pre-composed backing tracks
in a laptop and added layers of music, mixing international stars like Michael Stipe, KD Lang
and Stewart Copeland with a diverse array of world music artists that included Bedouin musicians, Chinese rappers, Gabonese Pygmies, Tuvan throat singers, Egyptian folk musicians, and
Japanese Taiko drummers. Join BMI’s Doreen Ringer Ross as she chats with composer/musician Stewart Copeland (drummer for The Police), spiritual musician Krishna Das and filmmaker/recording artist Duncan Bridgewater about their dynamic collaboration on this project.
Panelists:
Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly
accessible melodies and modern instrumentation,
Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.”
With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the
deepest chord in even the most casual listener,
Krishna Das – known to friends, family and fans
as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response
chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls,
becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling
chant artist of all time. His album Live Ananda
(released January 2012) was nominated for a
Grammy in the Best New Age album category.
Stewart Copeland has spent more than three decades
in the forefront of contemporary music as rock star,
Moderator:
Doreen Ringer-Ross is Vice
President of Film and TV Relations
at BMI. She has worked in the music industry
for over two decades and currently specializes in
outreach to the film and music communities.
acclaimed film composer and documentary filmmaker,
while concurrently moving between the disparate
worlds of opera, ballet, world and chamber music. As
the polyrhythmic drumming founder of The Police,
Stewart introduced Sting and Andy Summers to the
worlds of reggae and punk music, and with Sting’s
songs and Summers’ complex guitar harmonies, the
band became an iconic force in rock music from the
‘80s through the present day. Stewart spent twenty
years as a successful film and TV composer, working
for Francis Ford Coppola on Rumblefish , Oliver Stone
on Wall Street and on TV shows like the Equalizer.
Duncan Bridgeman has composed and produced music
for 30 years. His first break into filmmaking came
from Palm Pictures owner Chris Blackwell, making
Krishna Das
Stewart Copeland
Duncan Bridgeman
the Grammy nominated cult hit 1 Giant Leap. In
2004, Simon Fuller produced the second 1 Giant Leap
project What About Me? Bridgeman followed with
the award-winning film Hecho en Mexico (2012). He
most recently directed Mystical Journey (2013) for
The Smithsonian Institution, about the Hindu festival
Kumbh Mela, with Dominic West (The Wire, 300, The
Affair) as presenter. Bridgeman is currently in production with The Magic Plant, a documentary about the
religion Bwiti in Gabon.
21
WOMEN IN FILM AND MEDIA
Enough, Already! Changing the Status of Women in Film and Television
Kleinert/James Center Sat Oct 3 • 2:00pm
Followed by a reception sponsored
by NYWIFT, Tangerine Entertainment & UPWIFT
presented by
Moderator:
A panel of industry veterans will discuss the lack of opportunities for
women directors in film and television and some of the steps that are
being taken to address this situation, including the ACLU’s recent letter
to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other
agencies demanding an investigation of the entertainment industry for
its systematic discrimination against women directors. Other projects and
ideas for interventions will be discussed.
Alexis Alexanian, president of production at Locomotive, is an
independent producer with over 20 years experience in the motion
picture industry. Her credits include Richard Linklater’s Tape, Ethan
Hawke’s Chelsea Walls, Rebecca Miller’s Independent Spirit Awardwinner Personal Velocity, Gary Winick’s Tadpole, Peter Hedges’ Pieces
of April, and Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State. Alexis also produced
the international television series Long Way Round (BRAVO, SKY),
starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. She is currently in
production on the new feature film Look Away, starring Aidan Turner,
Chloe Sevigny and Matthew Broderick.
Leah Meyerhoff is an award-winning filmmaker
whose debut narrative feature I Believe in
Unicorns was released theatrically in 2015, after
premiering at SXSW, winning the Grand Jury
Prize at the Atlanta Film Festival and additional
awards from Woodstock Film Festival and more.
Meyerhoff’s previous work has screened in over
Leah Meyerhoff
Anne Hubbell
Rose McGowan
200 film festivals and aired on IFC, PBS, LOGO,
and MTV. Meyerhoff is also the founder of Film
Panelists:
Fatales, a female filmmaker collective based in New
York with over a dozen local chapters around the
A representative from the ACLU who will discuss
world.
their letters to two federal and one state agency
demanding an investigation of the film industry
Anne Hubbell is a 20-year industry veteran and
for their systematic discrimination against women
currently serves on the boards of New York Women in
directors
Film & Television, the New York Production Alliance,
and Rooftop Films, and is a member of the Producer’s
Guild of America. She is also Kodak’s North American
Account Manager for Motion Picture Film. As a
freelance producer and consultant, Hubbell worked on
film and TV productions and not-for-profit media and
arts events. This year via Tangerine Entertainment,
which she co-founded along with Amy Hobby, Hubbell
produced three features to be released in 2016.
After many years in front of the camera acting for
the likes of Brian DePalma, Quentin Tarantino, Wes
Craven, Robert Rodriquez, among many others,
Rose McGowan has turned her eye to directing. She
premiered her directorial debut, the short film Dawn,
at the Sundance Film Festival. It garnered not only
critical praise, but a Grand Jury Prize nomination and
qualified for the Academy Awards®. McGowan is now
preparing for her feature length debut.
ACTOR-DIRECTORS TALK
Kleinert/James Center Sun Oct 4 • 10:00am
Moderator:
Just because you are an accomplished actor, does it mean you will be a good director? Does working as an actor help prepare you for the complicated task of directing a film? Are actors more sensitive to other actors’ needs and wants in a film
production? And setting out first as a director, what skills are gained that might
make you a good actor? Many illustrious actors and directors have tried their hand
at both roles. Some have had remarkable success in the two careers; some find
they are far better at one, then the other. For the Actors and Directors panel, we
have assembled a stellar ensemble of working actor/directors, who will discuss
the intersection between the two disciplines and explore how sometimes having
worked on both sides of the fence is a plus, while other times not so much.
Martha Frankel is the author of the memoir Hats &
Eyeglasses: A Family Love Affair with Gambling, the
executive director of the Woodstock Writers Festival
and the host of the weekly show, Woodstock Writers
Radio on Radio Woodstock 100.1. Find out more at
woodstockwriters.com
PANELIST:
Mary Stuart
Masterson’s
Four-decade film,
TV and theater
career includes
roles in At Close
Range, Some Kind
of Wonderful,
Fried Green Tomatoes, Benny and Joon, and
the Broadway musical, Nine. Mary Stuart
directed the award-winning The Cake
Eaters starring Kristen Stewart, released in
2009. Mary Stuart produced the microbudget feature, Tickling Leo, written and
directed by her husband, Jeremy Davidson.
After a long hiatus to begin her family,
Mary Stuart is currently developing her
next directing project Stupid Fast, to be
shot in the Hudson Valley.
22
Michael
Cristofer’s
screenplays
include Falling
in Love, with
Meryl Streep and
Robert DeNiro,
The Witches of
Eastwick, with
Jack Nicholson,
and The Bonfire of the Vanities, directed by
Brian De Palma. His directing credits include
Gia, starring Angelina Jolie. As a stage actor
he appeared in Body of Water with Christine
Lahti, and A View from the Bridge with Liev
Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson. Film
roles include The Other Woman, with Natalie
Portman, and Chronic, with Tim Roth. He
is currently appearing in the TV series Mr.
Robot as the head of Evil Corp.
Ross
Partridge is the
writer, director
and lead actor
in the feature
film Lamb. Ross
co-produced the
Duplass Bros’
The Do-DecaPentathlon
and was also a producer of the HBO
documentary, Uncle Frank. He directed
the feature film Interstate 84, starring
Kevin Dillon and Clifton James, and most
recently directed the critically acclaimed
web-series Wedlock, with Mark Duplass,
Rob Corddry and Jennifer Lafleur. As an
actor, he has appeared on numerous TV
shows and independent films such as The
Midnight Swim, The Off Hours, The Freebie,
and Baghead.
Griffin
Dunne is an
accomplished
actor, director
and producer.
Dunne’s feature
film credits
include Dallas
Buyers Club,
starring Matthew
McConaughey and Jared Leto, Last Night,
starring Sam Worthington and Keira
Knightley, and Allen Hughes’ Broken City,
starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. At
the 2015 Woodstock Film Festival, he can be
seen in Touched By Fire with Katie Holmes.
Dunne’s feature film directorial debut
was 1997’s Addicted to Love, starring Meg
Ryan and Matthew Broderick. He followed up
with Practical Magic, starring Sandra Bullock
and Nicole Kidman.
FILM AS MEMOIR
Kleinert/James Center Sun Oct 4 • 12:00pm
We read so many memoirs in print, but what about
memoirs in film format? What is it that differentiates a film as a memoir, and what is it in its
craftsmanship, thought process and production
that turns it into a unique work of art? The Film
as Memoir panel is comprised of some of the most
influential and talented filmmakers who specialize in
films in the first person and have taken the concept
to its highest level. Find out what motivates them,
what it takes to make an impactful and successful
memoir film, and how their cohorts feel about being
on screen and exposed.
Moderator
Simon Kilmurry is the executive director of the International Documentary Association (IDA),
where he oversees all IDA programs and operations, including filmmaker services, educational
programs, the IDA Awards, and advocacy. Prior to IDA, he served for nine years as executive
producer of POV, the PBS documentary series where he received 13 Emmy Awards, more than
60 Emmy nominations, five Peabody Awards, and four Du Pont Columbia Awards. He also served
as chief executive of American Documentary (AmDoc), POV’s non-profit parent organization.
Prior, to becoming executive producer and CEO, he was AmDoc’s chief operating officer from
1999-2006.
Panelists:
Alan Berliner’s uncanny ability
to combine experimental cinema,
artistic purpose and popular appeal
in compelling film essays has made
him one of America’s most acclaimed
independent filmmakers. The New
Alan Berliner
York Times has described Berliner’s
work as “powerful, compelling and
bittersweet... full of juicy conflict and contradiction,
innovative in their cinematic technique, unpredictable in
their structures… Berliner illustrates the power of fine
art to transform life.” Berliner’s films are part of the core
curriculum for documentary filmmaking and film history
classes and are in the permanent collections of many
colleges and museums.
Doug Block is an internationally
acclaimed documentary director,
producer and cameraman. His
credits as director/producer include:
112 Weddings, The Kids Grow Up, 51
Birch Street, Home Page, and The
Doug Block
Heck With Hollywood! Producing
credits include Silverlake Life,
Jupiter’s Wife, Paternal Instinct, A Walk Into the
Sea, The Edge of Dreaming, and Resurrect Dead: The
Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Block is also the founder
and co-host of The D-Word (www.d-word.com), the
leading online community and discussion forum for
documentary professionals worldwide.
Gayle Kirschenbaum
is an Emmy-winning
filmmaker/TV producer/
blogger and personality.
Called “the Nora Ephron
of documentaries,” Gayle
Gayle Kirschenbaum
has turned the camera
on herself in her recent
feature documentary, Look At Us Now, Mother! is
about the transformation of a highly charged mother/
daughter relationship from Mommie Dearest to Dear
Mom. This is the “larger version” of her short film,
My Nose, in which we follow her mother’s relentless
campaign to get her to have a nose job. Prior,
Kirschenbaum made A Dog’s Life: A Dogamentary,
about the human/canine bond.
ANIMATION: WHAT MAKES ANIMATION SO … ANIMATED?
Kleinert/James Center Sun Oct 4 • 2:00pm
What is it about an animated story that can make us laugh, or shiver with fear, or well up with tears in a uniquely
profound way? From hand drawn animation by independent filmmaker, Academy Award-nominee Bill Plympton, to
computer animation and studio production by two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Mark Osborne, this
panel will delve into the thought process behind the artistry and the intense labor that goes into creating the final
pieces. The audience will be treated to special clips from the panelists’ works, including clips from The Little Prince,
Osborne’s upcoming, highly anticipated animated film.
Moderator: Signe Baumane
Signe Baumane was born in Latvia and received a
BA degree in philosophy at Moscow University. After
graduating she delved into several projects including
animation, film, and illustration. Then in 1995 she
decided to come to New York where she continued
in the film industry and has since produced several
animated shorts, which have been accepted into
numerous film festivals including but not limited to
Sundance, Berlin, Annecy, Venice and Tribeca. She
recently released her first feature film Rocks in My
Pocket.
Panelists:
Bill Plympton is considered the King of Indie
Animation, and is the first person to hand draw an
entire animated feature film. Bill began his career
creating cartoons for publications such as New
York Times and National Lampoon. In 1987, he was
nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short
Your Face. In 2005, Bill received another Oscar®
nomination, for his short Guard Dog. After producing
many shorts, Bill turned his talent to feature films,
making ten feature films. Seven of them, including
The Tune, Hair High, and Cheatin’, are animated.
Two-time Academy Award®-nominated director Linda
Beck is a producer and development scout with a
passion for connecting artists and executives. She
has produced content for children (Nickelodeon,
Disney) and grown ups (History Channel, A&E, PBS)
and is equally at home in both animation boutiques
and major networks. Linda is Co-President of ASIFAEast, the east coast chapter of the International
Animated Film Association. If you are an up-andcoming animator, Linda is your biggest cheerleader. If
you are looking for an up-and-coming animator, Linda
has someone for you. Linda also illustrates, sews,
builds props, makes art, writes, directs, animates,
and is a SAG-AFTRA voiceover artist.
Mark Osborne has been telling stories with
animation for more than twenty-five years. In
addition to directing the first animated feature film
adaptation of the classic French novella released
in 2015 worldwide, he was one of the directors of
the critically acclaimed animated summer 2008
blockbuster . This film broke box office records
worldwide and was nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Animated Feature. Osborne teaches and
lectures on the subject of animation worldwide and
all over the US.
23
conversations with...
Keynote Speech Josh Fox
Filmmaking, Human Rights and the Climate
Kleinert/James Center Sept 30 • 4:00pm
Activist writer/director Josh Fox opens the 2015 Woodstock Film Festival with a dialogue about the intersection between human rights and climate change, and how film can illustrate and transform our approach to
this complex political problem. His two Gasland films had a symbiotic relationship to the worldwide anti-fracking movement. What can we learn from the way these films and the movement helped spur each other
on? How can we better connect narrative, emotion, art, and reporting to the environmental and climate
movement? What do we have to do next as a movement?
Josh Fox is best known as the writer/director of Gasland Parts I and II. He is internationally recognized as a
spokesperson and leader on the issue of fracking and extreme energy development. He is currently working on
a new documentary about climate change. Gasland premiered at the Sundance film festival 2010, where it was
awarded the Special Jury Prize for Documentary. The film premiered on HBO, was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for best documentary, and Josh won the 2011 Emmy for best non-fiction director. Gasland Part II
premiered on HBO in 2013. It was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy, won the 2013 Environmental
Media Association award for Best Documentary, the Best Film at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, and was given
the Hell Yeah Prize from Cinema Eye Honors. Josh is the recipient of the 2011 Ono/Lennon Grant for Peace.
A CONVERSATION WITH
MAVERICK AWARD RECIPIENT ATOM EGOYAN
and Fiercely Independent Award recipient Guy
Maddin
Kleinert/James Center Oct 3 • 4:00pm
With fifteen feature films and related projects, Atom Egoyan has won numerous prizes at international film
festivals, including the Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival, two Academy
Award® nominations, and numerous other honors.
His body of work – which includes theatre, music, and art installations – delves into issues of memory,
displacement, and the impact of technology and media in modern life. Among his films are the groundbreaking
Exotica, the multi award-winning The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey (starring Bob Hoskins), Where the Truth Lies
(with Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth), Devil’s Knot (with Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth), and the forthcoming
Remember (starring Christopher Plummer), which makes its U.S Premiere as the Opening Night Film at the 2015
Woodstock Film Festival.
Guy Maddin is one of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers. He has directed numerous shorts and eleven featurelength movies, including The Saddest Music in the World (2003), My Winnipeg (2007), and recently, The Forbidden
Room (2015), which will be the Closing Night Film at the 2015 Woodstock Film Festival. (see page 23)
His most distinctive quality is his penchant for recreating the look and style of silent or early-sound-era films.
Maddin drew inspiration from the films of John Paizs, experimental shorts by Stephen Snyder, Luis Buñuel’s
L’Age d’or, and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. He has stated in numerous interviews that these were movies that were
primitive in many respects. They were low budget, they used nonactors or nonstars, they used atmospheres and
ideas, and were unbelievably honest, frank, and, therefore, exciting to me. They made moviemaking seem possible
to me.’ He has held to these ideals ever since.
PARADISE IS THERE - SCREENING AND TALK
Natalie Merchant & Jon Bowermaster
Woodstock Playhouse Thur Oct 1 • 9:15pm
See page 12 for details
SCREENING AND TALK WITH THE SHOWRUNNER OF THE AMERICANS
JOE WEISBERG hosted by indiewire’s eric kohn
Upstate Films Woodstock Sat Oct 3 • 2:15pm
See page 2 for details
HOT TYPE - SCREENING AND TALK with
director Barbara Kopple and
The Nation’s Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel
Bearsville Theater Woodstock Sat Oct 3 • 2:30pm
Hosted by Robin Bronk
See page10 for details
24
PERFORMANCES
A
live
pe r f o r mance
with
CARLOS VARELA AND BAND with special guest Jackson Browne
follows the screening of
WEDNESDAY September 30 
THE POET OF HAVANA
7:30pm
The Ulster Performing Arts Center
Kingston
CARLOS
VARELA
Cuban singer/songwriter
Carlos Varela started
playing music literally
‘in the dark.’ Growing up
in Havana, whenever a
power failure killed the
lights, Varela and friends
would play rock music
blowing across the sea via
a homemade radio antenna. In 1977, at a concert of Silvio Rodríguez
and Pablo Milanés -- standard-bearers for Nueva Trova, homegrown
folk music that reflected the unrest of many Cubans — Varela realized
music could be more than just a fun way to pass the time.
Although he insists poetics took precedence over politics,
Varela has struggled with the restrictions of censorship. But
while other artists might have sought refuge elsewhere, Cuba is
his inspiration and has always been home. He has recorded eight
albums and performs worldwide.
A
live
pe r f o r mance
Jackson Browne is one
of Carlos Varela's biggest
champions. "He's from a
generation that's really
impatient, that wants
something to happen,
something to change.
He's the voice of Cuban
youth.” Browne has
written and performed some of the most literate and moving
songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwriting
charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He was
honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 2004, and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2007. His debut
album came out on David Geffen's Asylum Records in 1972.
Since then, he has released fourteen studio albums and four
collections of live performances. His most recent album is
Standing in the Breach.
with
JOHNNY STEELE and WILL DURST
Thursday October 1  8:00
pm
Bearsville Theater  Woodstock
follows the screening of
3 Still Standing
JOHNNY STEELE began performing comedy in 1984
after quitting graduate school in a move his parents
named, Operation $40K Down The Drain. But Johnny
quickly got the hang of the craft and was soon performing, and drinking for free, at the nation's top clubs.
Over the next decade he went on to perform at comedy
festivals, win comedy competitions, log over 20 national
TV appearances, and did we mention drink for free?
Johnny is currently performing comedy as well as
working on a number of web, radio and TV projects, one of which
is bound to take off due to, if nothing else, pure dumb luck. He
is also working on a humorous solo show about his journey to
find peace in a WalMart America gone mad with mindless consumption, endless sprawl and bone-jarring stupidity. And really,
aren’t we all?
WILL DURST is acknowledged by peers and press alike as one
of the premier political satirists in the country, Will Durst’s
stand-up comedy is a hilarious blast of outrageous common
sense. His abiding motto is: ‘You can’t make stuff up like this.’
The New York Times calls him ‘possibly the best political comic
in the country.’ He is a five-time Emmy nominee; has been fired
by PBS three times; told jokes in 14 countries; racked up seven
nominations for Stand-Up of the Year; and his 800+ television
appearances include Letterman, HBO, Showtime, CNN, ABC, CBS,
NBC, Fox News, the BBC, and many more.
Will's hobbies range from pinball to the never-ending quest
for the perfect cheeseburger. His heroes remain the same as when he
was 12: Thomas Jefferson and Bugs Bunny. Not necessarily in that
order. Durst’s performances are made possible by the 1st Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States of America.
25
tickets
Pass & ticket holders MUST arrive
15 minutes prior to screenings or
panels to guarantee admission.
Empty seats will be made available
to standby line.
prices
PURCHASING
& PICKING UP TICKETS
Internet Orders
www.woodstockfilmfestival.
com
Box Office Location
13 Rock City Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
(Across from the
Chamber of Commerce booth)
phone 845.810.0131
Box Office Hours
September 9 to September 27
Wednesday-Sunday 12-6pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
September 28 to October 3
9am-7pm
Open everyday
October 4
9am-6pm
Please note that all events
are subject to change.
Check the website to:
 Confirm venues and times
 Find out what is SOLD OUT
 Read updated information about
screenings, events and panels
For the most up-to-date
information, please visit
 Tickets range in price from $5$100.
PLEASE NOTE: Online and phone
orders will be charged a $4.50
shipping & handling fee for all
sales handled by WFF.
 Student and senior discounts
are available with ID at the Box
Office.
 There are NO REFUNDS or
EXCHANGES on tickets without
exception.
 The best way to order tickets and
to see updated schedules, film
descriptions and other festival
information is online at
 PLEASE NOTE: Tickets ordered
online or phone prior to Sept 26,
WILL BE SHIPPED by USPS mail
to the address provided when
ordering.
 All online and telephone orders
placed after September 26 must
be picked up at the BOX OFFICE
at 13 Rock City Road in Woodstock.
Tickets for UPAC screening
available at the WFF
Box Office or online at
BARDAVON.ORG
Walk-Up Orders
VEN U ES
 Tickets for all venues will be
available for purchase at the BOX
OFFICE on September 9.
WOODSTOCK
BEARSVILLE THEATER (films)
 The Rosendale Theatre and
Upstate Films Rhinebeck may
have a select number of tickets
available for pre-sale. Please
contact them directly.
261 Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.4406
www.bearsvilletheater.com
Woodstock Artists Association
& Museum (filmmaker lounge)
28 Tinker St,
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.2940
www.woodstockart.org
Telephone Orders
 The BOX OFFICE is manned by
dedicated VOLUNTEERS who
are simultaneously filling out
Internet and walk-up sales. The
phones can get very chaotic and
they tend to be busy. If you are
calling for tickets, please leave
a message on our machine and
someone will get back to you.
 The last day for telephone and
online orders is September 26
UPSTATE FILMS WOODSTOCK (films)
132 Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.6608
www.upstatefilms.org
Woodstock Playhouse (films)
103 Mill Hill Rd,
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.69008
www.woodstockplayhouse.org
KLEINERT/JAMES ART CENTER
(panels)
Day of Event
 Tickets are available at the BOX
OFFICE until four hours prior to
the event. All unsold tickets are
then available on the STANDBY
line at the screening venue on a
CASH ONLY basis.
34 Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498
www.woodstockguild.org
Levon Helm Studios (film)
3160 Plochmann Lane,
Woodstock NY, 12498
845.679.2744
www.levonhelm.com
(shorts)
56 Rock City Rd
Woodstock, NY 12498
(845) 679-7420
www.woodstockcommunitycenter.org
full festival PASSES
 Full Festival Passes offer the
ultimate Woodstock Film Festival
experience. A limited number of
these passes are offered.
 Full Festival Passes include
guaranteed admission for the
passholder to all screenings and
panels, with priority seating up
until 15 minutes prior to the
event, entry to all parties, plus
souvenirs including a commemorative T-shirt, cap and poster.
 Full Festival Passes entitle entry
to the Filmmakers’ Lounge.
 Full Festival Passes are $750 and
can be purchased online or at the
BOX OFFICE.
 Full Festival Passes are nontransferable and include a picture ID.
 Passes must be picked up at
Festival Registration at the
Woodstock Artists Association &
Museum(WAAM). Badge pick-up
instructions will be sent after
purchase.
ONTEORA HIGH SCHOOL (career
day)
4166 Route 28 ,Boiceville, NY 12412
KINGSTON
BACKSTAGE STUDIO PRODUCTIONS
(Maverick Awards Gala)
323 Wall Street, Kingston, NY 12401
UPAC (Kickoff)
601 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401
www.bardavon.org
RHINEBECK
UPSTATE FILMS RHINEBECK (films)
6415 Montgomery Street
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
866.FILM.NUT
www.upstatefilms.org
important details
26
 A STANDBY line will form for all
shows that have tickets available.
Five minutes prior to show time,
available tickets will be sold on a
CASH ONLY basis. Standby queues
form no earlier than one hour
prior to any event.
 PLEASE leave plenty of time to
pick up pre-ordered tickets at the
BOX OFFICE order online by September 26 to receive your tickets
by mail.
 When planning your festival
schedule, please bear in mind
that the driving distances from
Woodstock to Rosendale and
Rhinebeck are 35 minutes;
Woodstock to Saugerties is 25
minutes.
ROSENDALE
Rosendale Theatre COLLECTIVE
(films)
408 Main Street
Rosendale, NY 12472
845.658.8989
www.rosendaletheatre.org
SAUGERTIES
ORPHEUM THEATER (films)
designed by
 Pass and ticket holders MUST arrive
15 minutes prior to screenings or
panels to guarantee seating. Empty
seats will be sold to those in the
standby queue.
 NOTE: Tickets ordered online or by
phone after September 26 must
be picked up at the BOX OFFICE at
13 Rock City Road in Woodstock.
These tickets will NOT be sent to
the venue.
156 Main Street
Saugerties, NY 12477
845.246-6561
215
A n n u a l
WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
Maverick Awards Ceremony
OCTOBER
4
BACKSTAGE PRODUCTIONS, KINGSTON, NY
7:00pm: Cocktail party in Gallery  8:15pm: Seating for awards begins  9:00pm: Awards Ceremony
Ma v e r i c k A w a r d
ATOM EGOYAN
With fifteen feature films and
related projects, Atom Egoyan
has won numerous prizes at
international film festivals,
including the Grand Prix and
International Critics Awards from the
Cannes Film Festival, two Academy
Award® nominations, and numerous
other honors.
awards presented
Gigantic Pictures
FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD
Films We Like
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
ULTRA INDIE AWARD
Sponsored by Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP
& Black Magic Design
world cinema AWARD
The Markertek
BEST SHORT Narrative
Fiercely Independent Award
The Markertek
Guy Maddin is one of Canada’s most
celebrated filmmakers. He has directed
numerous shorts and eleven featurelength movies, including The Saddest
Music in the World (2003), My Winnipeg
(2007), and recently, The Forbidden
Room (2015), which will be the Closing
Night Film at the 2015 Woodstock Film
Festival.
The Markertek
GUY MADDIN
BEST SHORT documentary
BEST STUDENT SHORT
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
presented by Signe Baumane
Haskell Wexler Award for
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
sponsored by Panavision
Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award for
BEST FEMALE FEATURE DIRECTOR
The James Lyons
Paul Green and
The Internet Trolls
Editing Award for doc FEATURE
sponsored by Technicolor Postworks NY
Maverick Awards Ceremony Band
The James Lyons
The legendary Paul Green and The
Internet Trolls (Michael Bernier, Jason
Bowman, David Jarrett) will be playing
music from the greatest movies ever made (and some
mediocre ones too.)
sponsored by Technicolor Postworks NY
Editing Award for NARRATIVE FEATURE
The Carpe Diem Andretta Award
Wed 9/30
Fri 10/2
Kleinert James Art Center
WOODSTOCK
4:00 Keynote Speech
with Josh Fox
UPAC KINGSTON
7:30 Poet of Havana
Followed by a performance of
CARLOS VARELA with special
guest Jackson Browne
Thur 10/1
Bearsville Theater
12:30 Reconquest of the Useless
3:00 Look At Us Now, Mother!
5:30 Left on Purpose
8:00 3 Still Standing
1:30
4:00
6:30
9:00
1:00
3:30
6:30
Bearsville Theater
11:45am Deep Run
(Preceded by All About Amy)
2:00
5:00
7:15
10:00
I Will Not Be Silenced
Shorts: Teen Films
Rendez-vous
Scout
Levon Helm Studios
WOODSTOCK
9:30 Mavis!
12:00 The Babushkas of Chernobyl
2:30 Family Matters
4:30 There Should Be Rules
7:00 Band of Robbers
9:30 Blunt Force Trauma
WOODSTOCK
Community Center
Upstate Films WOODSTOCK 12:00 Shorts: Growing Up
2:15 Shorts: Spanish Spotlight
Drawing The Tiger
4:30 Shorts: Let’s Talk
Meet Me in Venice
6:30 Shorts: Fever Dream
It Had To Be You
8:30 Shorts: Based On
The Automatic Hate
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
1
1:45
am
Short Docs II
Short Docs I
2:00 Good Ol’ Boy
I Dream Too Much
5:00 1 Giant Leap II:
Remember
What About Me?
OPENING NIGHT FILM
7:30 Oliver’s Deal
Paradise Is There, A Memoir
10:00 The Adderall Diaries
by Natalie Merchant
Bearsville Theater
11:45am Al Jazeera Presents:
Sporting Dreams and Shelter
2:30 Hot Type:
150 Years of The Nation
5:00 The Grace of Jake
7:30 The Missing Girl
10:00 Summer
10:00am
12:00
2:00
4:00
11:30am 2:00
4:15
6:30
8:45
11:00am 1:30 4:00
6:30
9:00
Kleinert James Art center
WOODSTOCK  PANELS
PANEL: Social Impact
PANEL: Music in Film
PANEL: Women in Film &
Media
PANEL: Conversation with
Atom Egoyan & Guy Maddin
Sun 10/4
Bearsville Theater
12:00 The Three Hikers
2:30 The Student Body
5:15 Buried Above Ground
7:45 Love & Taxes
Kleinert James Art center
WOODSTOCK  PANELS
10:00am PANEL: Actor-Director’s Talk
12:00 PANEL: Film as Memoir
2:00 PANEL: Animation
11:30am Bob and The Trees
2:15 A Woman Like Me
4:45 Homeless
7:15 Lamb
WOODSTOCK
Community Center
Short Docs I
Shorts: Spanish Spotlight
Shorts: No Trespassing
Shorts: Growing Up
Shorts: Quirks
WOODSTOCK
Community Center
11:30am Short Docs II
2:00 Shorts: Quirks
4:00 Shorts: Fever Dream
6:00 Shorts: Based On
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Moscow Never Sleeps
Touched With Fire
Silver Skies
The Walk
Monty Python:
The Meaning of Live
12:30
3:00
5:00
7:30
WOODSTOCK Playhouse
Waffle Street
After the Spill
Outliving Emily
The Forbidden Room
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
S ch e dul e at a Gl an ce
Sat 10/3
Orpheum Theater
SAUGERTIES
Upstate Films WOODSTOCK 12:30 Blunt Force Trauma
Orpheum Theater
3:00 Moscow Never Sleeps
ROSENDALE Theatre
12:00 Shorts: Animation
SAUGERTIES
5:30 Shorts: No Trespassing
7:30 Oliver’s Deal
2:15 The Americans
6:00 I Dream Too Much
5:15 Incorruptible
ROSENDALE Theatre
Upstate Films RHINEBECK I 8:30 Lee’s 88 Keys
7:45 She’s The Best Thing In It
12:00 Monty Python:
7:00 Touched With Fire
10:00 How He Fell In Love
ROSENDALE Theatre
The Meaning of Live
Upstate Films RHINEBECK II 1:00 3 Still Standing
2:30 Good Ol’ Boy
Orpheum Theater
3:30 Bob and The Trees
5:00 Summer
7:30 Family Matters
SAUGERTIES
6:30 Waffle Street
12:00 There Should Be Rules
Upstate Films RHINEBECK I
9:00 Missing Girl
2:30 Drawing The Tiger
12:30 The Grace of Jake
Upstate Films RHINEBECK I 5:00 The Adderall Diaries
3:00 She’s The Best Thing In It
7:30 The Automatic Hate
3:00 Homeless
5:30 Incorruptible
10:00 The Poet of Havana
6:00 How He Fell In Love
Upstate Films RHINEBECK II
9:00 It Had To Be You
ROSENDALE Theatre
1:00 Rendez-vous
Upstate Films RHINEBECK II 12:00 The Babushkas of Chernobyl 3:30 I Will Not Be Silenced
2:15 Band of Robbers
1:00 Buried Above Ground
6:00 Deep Run
5:00 1 Giant Leap II:
3:30 Love & Taxes
(Preceded by All About Amy)
What
About
Me?
6:30 Meet Me in Venice
8:00 Reconquest of the Useless
9:30 Lamb
Upstate Films RHINEBECK I
12:30 Outliving Emily
3:00 The Three Hikers
Cuba’s Carlos VarelA
6:00 Left on Purpose
8:30 Shorts: Let’s Talk
with special guest
9:15
Jackson Browne
Wednesday September 30
at UPAC Kingston
Following 7:30pm screening of
Poet of Havana
a Rare Live Performance
JOHNNY STEELE and
Will Durst
Thursday October 1
at Bearsville Theater WOODSTOCK
Following 8:00pm screening of
3 Still Standing
28
1 6 t h
A n n u a l
Maverick Awards
Ceremony
saturday October 3
at Backstage
Studio Productions
in KINGSTON
7:00pm: Cocktail party
in Gallery
8:15pm: Seating for awards
begins
9:00pm: Award Ceremony
Upstate Films RHINEBECK II
The Student Body
Scout
A Woman Like Me
Look At Us Now, Mother!
1:00
3:30
6:30
9:00
BSP KINGSTON
7:00 Maverick Awards Cocktail Party
9:00 Maverick Awards
Please note that all events are
subject to change. Check
online to find out what’s SOLD OUT
and tp read updated information
about events, screenings & panels.
WOODSTOCK FI
GOLD SPONSORS
silver SPONSOR
SUPERSTAR SPONSORS
AWARd SPONSORS
Creative & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
MEDIA SUPPORT
3rd St. R&R Production Services
Viva La Data
Canus Major Production
Naomi Graphics
Joy + Noelle
Woodstock Multimedia
Technicolor Postworks NY
I N S T I G A T I N G
P R O G R E S S
D A I L Y
EVENT SUPPORT
BACKSTAGE STUDIO
PRODUCTIONS
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
Food & Beverage SUPPORT
Blue Mountain Bistro To Go
Savonna’s Trattoria
Deisings Bakery
Smoky Mountain BBQ
Joshua’s Café
Terrapin Restaurant
Charmer Sunbelt Group
Highrocks Foundation
The Klock Foundation
Perry & Martin Granoff Family Foundation
Lox of Bagels
ILM FESTIVAL2015
STATE AND COUNTY SUPPORT
The Woodstock Film Festival is
made possible in part with public
funds from the New York State
Council on the Arts, a State Agency
This project is made possible in
part through support from the
County of Ulster’s Ulster County
Cultural Services & Promotion Fund
administered by ARTS MID-HUDSON.

Pre-Fest Program PDF

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