100+ SCREENINGS AT FILM FESTIVAL
4 world premieres, several famous guests among this year’s offerings
This year’s Woodstock Film Festival will have four world premieres among its more than 100 screenings from Oct. 11 to 15, organizers announced Tuesday.
The 18th annual festival — which also will include panel discussions, musical performances and an awards ceremony — will take place at venues in Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties and Kingston.
“Last Flying Flag,” directed by Richard Linklater, and “The Square,” directed by Ruben Östlund, will be the centerpiece films at this year’s festival. The closing-night film will be “Arthur Miller: Writer,” directed by Rebecca Miller.
“This year’s lineup is one that challenges our creative and intellectual boundaries and brings important social issues into focus, both locally and globally,” festival cofounder and Executive Director Meira Blaustein said in a prepared statement. “In today’s political climate, it is particularly important to celebrate our differences and find our commonalities. This year’s participating filmmakers have gone above and beyond in capturing diverse moments of humanity that personify fierce independence.” (“Fiercely Independent” is the festival’s motto.)
"This year’s lineup is one that challenges our creative and intellectual boundaries and brings important social issues into focus, both locally and globally." — Festival co-founder and Executive Director Meira Blaustein
Among this year’s expected well-known attendees are Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman, Shep Gordon, Giancarlo Esposito, Rory Culkin, Griffin Dunne, Michael Cristofer, Rebecca Miller, William Horberg, Peter Saraf, Lee Aronsohn, Pamela Koffler, Anne Carey, Richard Rowley, Bob Herbert, Jamie Redford, Sam Pollard, Barbara Kopple and Philippe Petit, among others.
Sarandon, Pullman and Gordon are among pre-announced award winners.
Among the festival’s themed programs:
• “Films of The Hudson Valley” will highlight local ties via locations, filmmakers and/or actors from the region, including “The Strange Ones,” directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein.
• “Spotlight on Women in Film and Media” program will feature 18 female directors who will present their works, including the world premiere of Lisa France’s “Roll With Me.”
• “LGBTQ Focus” will highlight six films, including the East Coast premiere of “Becks,” directed by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Daniel Powell.
• “World Cinema,” with a special focus on Dutch cinema, will comprise 10 international feature films, including the U.S. premiere of “Waterboys,” directed by Robert Jan Westdijk.
• “Focus on Music” is to spotlight films featuring music of diverse genres, including the New York premiere of Michael Berry’s subway musical “Stuck,” featuring performances by Giancarlo Esposito, Ashanti and others.
• “Exposure” will focus on films that explore and challenge social, political and environmental themes, such as the New York premiere Jamie Redford’s “Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution.”
The festival will open with a performance by operatic soprano Sarah Joy Miller, star of the short film “A Hand of Bridge,” followed by a screening of “Stuck,” a musical narrative about six strangers trapped together on a stalled New York City subway. This kickoff event will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Woodstock Playhouse.
This year’s festival will include films selected from more than 2,000 entries from around the globe, organizers said. Countries represented include France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. A majority of the films in the lineup will be screened with the filmmakers and cast or subjects in attendance, organizers said.
Tickets will be available starting Sept. 20 at woodstockfilmfestival.org or by calling (845) 810-0131.
The Woodstock Film Festival box office, at 13 Rock City Road in Woodstock, will be open from Sept. 20 to Oct. 8, Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m; daily Oct. 9 to 14, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The festival previously announced that this year’s Maverick Award will go to actor, producer and activist Sarandon; actor Pullman will receive the festival’s Excellence in Acting Award; and the Trailblazer Award will go to music manager and film producer Gordon. The awards will be presented Oct. 14 at BSP on Wall Street in Uptown Kingston.