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SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

Woodstock Film Festival thanks our 2015 sponsors for all of their support! 

JOIN US IN JUST 3 WEEKS!

WFF 2015 BOX OFFICE IS NOW OPEN! 

Online sales are live at www.woodstockfilmfestival.com
The WFF Box Office (13 Rock City Rd. Woodstock, NY) will be open:
Sept 9-Sept 27: Wednesday through Sunday, 12pm-6pm (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
Sept 28-Oct 3: 7 days a week, 9am-7pm
Oct 4: 9am-6pm


WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2015 OFFICIAL LINEUP

WFF is celebrating its Sweet Sixteen in style with a stellar lineup of films to be shown in the Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties, and Kingston. Kicking off Sept 30 and continuing through Oct 4, the program includes films, panels, performances, and other special events.

This year boasts a cutting edge variety of many genres, styles, and subject matter. Selected from over 2,000 entries spanning the globe, from countries including the Netherlands, UK, Mexico, Turkey, China, Germany, Israel, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Pakistan, Sweden, France, and Australia, as well as all across the United States, first-time and veteran filmmakers alike will be making their way to the Woodstock Film Festival this fall.

"As we enter our sixteenth year, I reflect upon the past years of gradual growth and am thrilled by how the festival has opened itself up into the world while maintaining the core authenticity and artistry that it was first founded on," said Woodstock Film Festival’s co-founder and executive director Meira Blaustein. “I invite everyone to come and discover the many national and international selections that make up our 2015 lineup, as each is its own unique gem and in each you will find something that will inspire and move you.”

VIEW WFF 2015 FULL LINEUP HERE.

ONLINE SALES AND PHONE SALE HAVE GONE LIVE on September 9 at www.woodstockfilmfestival.com
The WFF Box Office (13 Rock City Rd. Woodstock, NY) will be open:
Sept 9-Sept 27, Wednesday through Sunday, 12pm-6pm *closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Sept 28-Oct 3, 7 days a week, 9am-7pm
 
Oct 4, 9am-6pm


2015 FILMS IN COMPETITION

Every year, the Woodstock Film Festival dedicates itself to showcasing the best independent films for cinephiles near and far. As part of the phenomenal lineup of Official Selections for this year's festival, a number of films are in the 2015 festival competition in various categories. Our panel of top-notch jurors – consisting of filmmakers and top industry professionals from various disciplines  – have their work cut out for them as select narratives, documentaries and shorts programs vie for awards. Join us at the Maverick Awards Gala on Saturday, October 3 at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY, where the jury will announce all the winners in front of over 500 independent filmmakers, industry professionals and guests in attendance. 

CLICK HERE for a detailed list of Films in Competition!

Official Jury 2015 to include:
Feature Narrative: Stephen Lang, Thelma Adams, Joana Vincente
Feature Doc: Simon Kilmurry, Alan Berliner, Sara Bernstein
Short Narratives: Benjamin Scott, Mary Stuart Masterson, Nancy Collet
Short Docs: Hugo Perez, Cynthia Kane, Jedd Wider
Student Shorts: David F. Schwartz, Isil Bagdadi, Marjoe Aquilling
Ultra Indie: Larry Fessenden, Lori Singer, Leah Meyerhoff
Editing Narrative: Michael Berenbaum, Meg Reticker, Sabine Hoffman
Editing Doc: Sabine Hoffman, Katherine Barnier, Chad Beck
Animation: Signe Baumane, Linda Beck
World Cinema: Claude Dal Farra, Lucy Barzun Donnelly
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler


Woodstock Film Festival Announces Canadian Directors ATOM EGOYAN & GUY MADDIN as 2015 Honorary Award Recipients

EGOYAN AND MADDIN'S NEW FEATURES BOOKEND AS OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT FILMS

The Woodstock Film Festival is proud to announce visionary Canadian filmmakers ATOM EGOYAN and GUY MADDIN will receive the Honorary Maverick Award and the second annual Fiercely Independent Award, respectively. The awards will be presented to Egoyan and Maddin on Oct 3 during the annual Maverick Awards Gala at BSP Kingston, NY. Tickets are available online by CLICKING HERE.

Egoyan's newest feature REMEMBER will make its US Premiere as the festival's OPENING NIGHT FILM:  

Christopher Plummer stars in Remember (2015)

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. 

REMEMBER will screen at the Woodstock Playhouse, 10/1 @ 6:30PM. Tickets available HERE. Courtesy A24

Maddin's newest feature THE FORBIDDEN ROOM will screen as the festival's CLOSING NIGHT FILM: 

The Forbidden Room (2015)

THE FORBIDDEN ROOM is Maddin's ultimate epic phantasmagoria. Honoring classic cinema while electrifying it with energy, this Russian nesting doll of a film begins 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 and tells his tale of escaping from 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 and murder, skeleton women and vampire bananas. Playing like some glorious meeting between Italo Calvino, Sergei Eisenstein and a perverted six year-old child, THE FORBIDDEN ROOM is Maddin's grand ode to lost cinema. 

THE FORBIDDEN ROOM will screen at the Woodstock Playhouse, 10/4 @ 7:30PM. Tickets available HERE. Courtesy Kino Lorber

Tickets to these screenings are now available at the Box Office and online.

For more about this year's Maverick Award Winners and their films visit HERE.


PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

KEYNOTE CONVERSATION WITH JOSH FOX
WEDNESDAY 9/30, 4 PM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

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 with 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 in 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 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, was named 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. 

after the spill, directed by jon bowermaster
world premiere- 10/4 3pm woodstock playhouse

Known for his previous social and political call-to-action films such as DEAR GOVERNOR CUOMO and ANTARCTICA 3D ON THE EDGE, Jon brings his latest work to WFF. Join Jon for a Q&A after the film to discuss not only the issues caused by harmful oil spills, but how they can be resolved.

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.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

GALA EVENT: FILM AND LIVE PERFORMANCE: THE POET OF HAVANA WITH CUBA'S CARLOS VARELA AND BAND JOINED BY SPECIAL GUEST JACKSON BROWNE
Wednesday 9/3o, doors open 7:15PM @ the ulster performing arts center

The Poet of Havana explores the cultural, political, and social significance 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).

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.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

 

Special screenings

CENTERPIECE FILM: The Walk, directed by Robert Zemeckis
SATurday 10/3, 6:30PM @ Woodstock PLAYHOUSE

Directed by the acclaimed Robert Zemeckis, The Walk tells the story of high-wire extraordinaire Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), as he is guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), to execute his mad plan of walking the immense void between the World Trade Center Towers. 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, The Walk is genuine big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

3 Still standing - Followed by A LIVE PERFORMANCE WITH JOHNNY STEELE AND WILL DURST
THURSDAY 10/1, 8 PM @ BEARSVILLE THEATER WOODSTOCK

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.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

PARADISE IS THERE: SCREENING AND TALK FEATURING NATALIE MERCHANT AND JON BOWERMASTER
THURSDAY 10/1, 9:15 PM @ WOODSTOCK PLAYHOUSE

Twenty years after it was first released, singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant has re-recorded her 5 million-selling album TigerlilyParadise Is There, A Memoir by Natalie 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.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

THE AMERICANS EPISODE SCREENING AND TALK WITH SHOWRUNNER JOE WEISBERG
SATURDAY 10/3, 2:15 PM @ UPSTATE FILMS WOODSTOCK

Nominated for numerous awards and a two-time winner of the AFI Best TV Program of the Year, The Americans 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, starring 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. The talk will be moderated by Eric Kohn, chief film critic and senior editor at Indiewire. 

Screening of The Americans Season 3 Episode 10: Stingers (Courtesy of FX)
Philip and Elizabeth deploy a plan for the C.I.A.’s Mujahideen visitors. Tensions at the Jennings' home escalate.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

HOT TYPE: SCREENING AND TALK WITH BARBARA KOPPLE AND KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL
SATURDAY 10/3, 2:30PM @ BEARSVILLE THEATER WOODSTOCK

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, as the two-time Academy Award winning director of break-through films such 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 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 with director Barbara Kopple and The Nation’s Publisher and Editor, Katrina vanden Heuvel, joined by Robin Bronk, CEO of The Creative Coalition. 

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

 

Panels

SOCIAL IMPACT IN MEDIA– HOW DO WE DEFINE IT? HOW DO WE MEASURE IT? WHY DOES IT MATTER?
SATURDAY 10/3, 10 AM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

"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 distributed, to achieving and realizing 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?
  • Is the impact producer an essential hire for any project today? 
  • When, how, and why some films can be a tool for real change?

Panelists: Andrew Catauro, Dan Cogan, Paco de Onís, Mike Webber, and Todd Wider.
Moderator: Cynthia Kane

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

MUSIC FOR FILM - SPONSORED BY BMI
SATURDAY 10/3, 12PM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

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 "jewel." They started with pre-composed backing tracks on 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 include Bedouin musicians, Chinese rappers, Gabonese Pygmies, Tuvan throat singers, Egyptian folk musicians, and Japanese Taiko drummers. Join BMI's VP of Film & Media, Doreen Ringer-Ross, as she chats with composer/musician Stewart Copeland (drummer for The Police), spiritual musician Krishna Das, and filmmaker/recording artist Duncan Bridgeman about their dynamic collaboration on this project.

Panelists: Krishna Das, Stewart Copeland, and Duncan Bridgeman.
Moderator: Doreen Ringer-Ross

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

ENOUGH, ALREADY! CHANGING THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION
SATURDAY 10/3, 2PM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

Presented by New York Women in Film & Television
The panel will be followed by a reception hosted by New York Women in Film & Television and Tangerine Entertainment. 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 American Civil Liberties Union'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.

Panelists: a representative from the ACLU, Leah Meyerhoff, Anne Hubbell, and Rose McGowan
Moderator: Alexis Alexanian

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

Atom Egoyan & Guy Maddin- A Conversation
Saturday 10/3, 4pm @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

Atom Egoyan and Guy Maddin are two of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers. Egoyan's body of work includes theatre, music, and art installations – while delving 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). He was recently presented with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award. Egoyan is honored with a 2015 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

Maddin has directed numerous shorts and eleven feature-length films, including The Saddest Music in the WorldMy Winnipeg, and most recently, The Forbidden Room.  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 fast to these ideals ever since. 

The conversation will be hosted by Charlie Keil, Principal of Innis College, the past director of the Cinema Studies Institute, and a professor in the history department at the University of Toronto. He has written extensively about early cinema, especially the pivotal transitional era of the early 1910s, as well as on documentary, contemporary cinema, authorship, and stardom.

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

 

ACTORS / DIRECTORS
SUNDAY 10/4, 10AM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

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 help you succeed as an 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 actors/directors, who will discuss the intersection between the two disciplines and explore how sometimes having worked on both sides of the camera is a plus, while other times not so much.

Panelists: Mary Stuart Masterson, Michael Cristofer, Griffin Dunne, and Ross Partridge
Moderator: Martha Frankel

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

FILM AS MEMOIR
SUNDAY 10/4, 12 PM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

We read so many memoirs in print, but what about memoirs in film format? What 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 elevated the form 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.

Panelists: Alan Berliner, Doug Block, and Gayle Kirschenbaum
Moderator: Simon Kilmurry

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

ANIMATION: WHAT MAKES ANIMATION SO… ANIMATED?
SUNDAY 10/4, 2PM @ KLEINERT JAMES ART CENTER

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 Osborne’s upcoming, highly anticipated animated film The Little Prince.

Panelists: Bill Plympton, Linda Beck and Mark Osborne
Moderator: Signe Baumane

For more information and tickets visit HERE.

Staff Picks

RENDEZ-VOUS, Directed by Antoinette Beumer
US Premiere  

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.

Screening Fri. 10/2 at Bearsville Theater Woodstock 7:15pm and Sun. 10/4 at Upstate Films II Rhinebeck 1:00pm. Tickets available HERE.   

 

 

LOVE & TAXES, DIRECTED BY Jacob Kornbluth
East coast PREMIERE  

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, Loves & 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.

Screening Fri. 10/2 at Upstate Films II Rhinebeck 3:30pm and Sun. 10/4 at Bearsville Theater Woodstock 7:45pm. Tickets available HERE.   

 

The three hikers, DIRECTED BY Natalie Avital
EAST COAST PREMIERE  

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 hostage-taking episode and more recent student uprisings protesting rigged elections, the three were thrown into prison and charged with crimes punishable by death. 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 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. 

Screening Sat. 10/3 at Upstate Films I Rhinebeck 3:00pm and Sun. 10/4 at Bearsville Theater Woodstock 12:00pmTickets available HERE.


2015 wff box office hours

Online sales and phone calls are live at www.woodstockfilmfestival.com
The WFF Box Office (13 Rock City Rd. Woodstock, NY) will be open:
Sept 9-Sept 27: Wednesday through Sunday, 12pm-6pm (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
Sept 28-Oct 3: 7 days a week, 9am-7pm
Oct 4: 9am-6pm

The Box Office is now selling tickets for EVERYTHING

FULL FESTIVAL PASSES are available in limited quantity! Get your pass now and gain access to all the amazing screenings, panels, concerts, and parties Woodstock has to offer in 2015! CLICK HERE.


NOW STREAMING

BREAD AND BUTTER, directed by Liz Manashil
NOW ON VOD

The 2014 WFF Official Selection is now available on VOD with the following platforms: 

DIGITAL: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Xbox, Sony Playstation, Vudu

CABLE: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, RCN, Independent Systems (ie. Midcontinent, Metrocast, Clearleap), Verizon, Charter, Suddenlink, Mediacom, WOW!, Bell Canada

SATELLITE: DirecTV, Dish

Late bloomer Amelia, played by Christine Weatherup has spent the first three decades of her life alone, reading books and working as a receptionist for an eccentric Life Coach. At the urging of her boss, she starts to search for a soulmate. Daniel (Bobby Moynihan, SNL) is a kind and introverted client at the office. He and Amelia share many of the same idiosyncrasies, fears, and overall naivety. Amelia finds her second prospect from clues written in the margins of a book. Leonard (Micah Hauptman, Everest), whose originality and unpredictability immediately attract her, leads the story into a Felliniesque and humor-filled entanglement. Liz Manashil directs a cast of talented actors to make her oddball characters come alive. This quirky and endearing film will bring audiences together, like Bread and Butter, in an experience both heartwarming and distinctly human.

For more information visit HERE. 

 

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