2016 Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards

Group of people posing on stage at an event, some holding awards, with Woodstock Peace symbols in the background.

HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD

Academy Award winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu attended specifically to honor David Linde, who was executive producer on Iñárritu's Oscar-winning film, Biutiful. Iñárritu presented Linde with the Trailblazer Award for his leadership as CEO of Participant Media, bringing films of social change before audiences everywhere.

Linde is CEO of Participant Media, a global company dedicated to media that inspires social change and recently won the Best Picture Oscar® for Spotlight. The company's upcoming slate includes Peter Berg's Deepwater Horizon (Lionsgate); J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls (Focus Features); Pablo Larrain's Neruda; Derek Cianfrance's The Light Between Oceans (DreamWorks Pictures/Disney); Denial, starring Academy Award®- winner Rachel Weisz (Bleecker Street); Middle School, based on James Patterson's best-seller series (CBS Films); and Alex Gibney's Zero Days (Magnolia Pictures). In addition to narrative films and documentaries, Participant has launched more than a dozen original series for its television network Pivot, as well as creating content daily for the digital hub TakePart, which serves millions of socially conscious consumers monthly.

Two men standing together at the 2016 David Linde Honorary Maverick Award event, with a backdrop featuring logos and the word 'Woodstock.'

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Lifetime Achievement Award honoree was presented to director, producer, editor, and cinematographer Leon Gast. Gast is probably best known for his documentary When We Were Kings, about the epic heavyweight boxing match, Rumble in the Jungle, between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, which won the 1996 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. Prior to this he co-directed The Grateful Dead Movie with Jerry Garcia, and Hells Angels Forever. Other directing credits include Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa), Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa, B.B. King - Sweet 16, One Love, and Soul Power. In 2012 he won Best Director, Documentary at Sundance for Smash his Camera, about paparazzi Ron Galella, and directed a second film on boxing, Manny, in 2014, about the boxing career of Manny Pacquiao. Before he became a filmmaker, Gast was a photographer for Esquire, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

Presenter Barbara Kopple's celebrated films include Academy Award winners Harlan County USA and American Dream; Woodstock: Now and Then; Shut Up and Sing; A Conversation with Gregory Peck; My Generation; Wild Man Blues; The Untold Story of Mike Tyson; Hot Type: 150 Years of the Nation; Running from Crazy, and most recently, Miss Sharon Jones!

Photograph of Leon Gast receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, shown in two images: on the left, he is holding a trophy and on the right, he is presenting or discussing a colorful painting or poster.

HONORARY FIERCELY INDEPENDENT AWARD

A man with glasses and a shaved head speaking at a podium during an award event, with a banner that reads 'Fiercely Independent Award' and the name 'Oren Moverman' at the top, dated 2016.

Academy Award-nominated Oren Moverman, recipient of this year's Fiercely Independent Award, is a prolific writer, director and producer. The Messenger, Moverman's directorial debut, was the Woodstock Film Festival's opening night feature in 2009 and was nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Screenplay, as well as Best Screenplay and Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. As a director, his impressive lineup of films includes Rampart, Time out of Mind, and most recently, The Dinner, to be released in 2017, starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Adepero Oduye, Chloe Sevigny, and Rebecca Hall. Moverman's writing credits include Udi Aloni's Junction 48, the Brian Wilson biopic Love and Mercy, Ira Sachs' Married Life, and the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. Moverman was a producer on Joseph Cedar's upcoming Norman and Ido Fluk's The Ticket, and executive produced Junction 48, Love and Mercy and She's Lost Control.

Presenter Ben Foster, who co-starred in Oren Moverman's The Messenger and Rampart (which he also produced), is a prolific screen, stage and TV actor. He is currently starring in David Mackenzie's critical smash Hell or High Water. In the last year, Foster has appeared in The Finest Hours, and as Lance Armstrong in The Program. Other notable credits include his debut film Liberty Heights, Lone Survivor, Kill Your Darlings, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Alpha Dog, X-Men: The Last Stand, and 3:10 To Yuma. On television, he is known for Freaks & Geeks and Six Feet Under. He will be seen next opposite Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones in Ron Howard's Inferno.

GIGANTIC PICTURES FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD

SHEPHERDS AND BUTCHERS
Directed by Oliver Schmitz

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

STRONGER THAN BULLETS
Directed by Matthew Millan

Movie poster for 'Shepherds and Butchers' featuring two serious-looking characters, a man on the left and a woman on the right. The title and credits are at the bottom.

Jury:

William Horberg
Mary Stuart Masterson
Jonathan Gray

Honorable Mention:

REAL BOY
Directed by Shaleece Haas

A man with shoulder-length hair wearing a black leather jacket holding a peace sign medal.

Jury:

Roger Ross Williams
Julie Goldman
Nancy Abraham

HASKELL WEXLER AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Sponsored by Panavision, NY

SHEPHERDS AND BUTCHERS
Cinematography by Leah Striker
Directed by Oliver Schmitz

ULTRA INDIE AWARD

Sponsored by Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP and Blackmagic Design

HALFWAY
Directed by Ben Caird

Two women standing together at the Woodstock Film Festival, one holding a peace sign sculpture. The woman on the left has short red hair and glasses, wearing a dark jacket and golden necklace. The woman on the right has long blonde hair, wearing a red, white, and blue military-style jacket.

The Haskell Wexler Cinematography Award continues under the guardianship of Wexler's friend and colleague Ellen Kuras, carrying on Wexler’s legacy for years to come. "One of the most inventive and unique voices in cinema of our time, Haskell was a rebel and advocate of progressive causes who lived his politics through his work, and his work through his spirited beliefs," wrote juror Ellen Kuras, "We continue to honor Haskell and his work by recognizing filmmakers who reflect his passion."

"I judge Cinematography not just for a story well told, but for what the story is." - Haskell Wexler. Rest in Peace.

Honorable Mention:

MY FIRST KISS AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED
Directed by Luigi Campi

A man and woman standing together at an event, with the man holding an award statue. They are smiling, and a backdrop with various logos and text is visible behind them.

Jury:

Alicia Van Couverings
Joe Amodei
Janet Grillo

WORLD CINEMA AWARD

NERDUA
Directed by Pablo Larrain

CARPE DIEM ANDRETTA AWARD

A YEAR BY THE SEA
Directed by Alexander Janko

A woman with curly blonde hair wearing a black dress and red scarf standing next to a man with glasses and gray hair wearing a suit, both posing at an event with logos and banners in the background.

Jury:

Wendy Lidell
Claude dal Farra
Lori Singer

The Carpe Diem Andretta Award honors longtime area resident Vincent “Jay” Andretta III, who passed away in December 2014. The Glenford resident will be remembered as a successful businessman, a driven, avid athlete and a loving, dedicated husband, father, son and great friend to many including the Woodstock Film Festival. Jay’s favorite quote was Carpe Diem (Seize the Day). His life was a testament to the phrase. The Carpe Diem Andretta Award will be presented to a film that best exemplifies living life to the fullest through character and story development in a full length narrative or documentary film.

Presented by Lauri and Jimmy Andretta.

JAMES LYONS EDITING AWARD - FEATURE NARRATIVE

Sponsored by Technicolor PostWorks New York

PAINT IT BLACK
Edited by Paul Frank
Directed by Amber Tamblyn

JAMES LYONS EDITING AWARD - FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

Sponsored by Technicolor PostWorks New York

REAL BOY
Edited by Andrew Gersh
Directed by Shaleece Haas

A man and a woman standing together at an event, smiling for the camera, with logos and signs in the background.

Jury:

Barbara Pokras, ACE
Gary Levy, ACE
Sabine Hoffman

Three people standing together at an award event, holding an award, smiling for the photo.

Jury:

Carla Gutierrez
Mako Kamitsuna
Sabine Hoffman

TANGERINE ENTERTAINMENT JUICE AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE FEATURE DIRECTOR

PLAY THE DEVIL
Directed by Maria Govan

The Woodstock Film Festival was thrilled to announce that the 4th Annual Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award was presented by jurors Amy Hobby, Anne Hubbell to Play the Devil directed by Maria Govan.

The Tangerine Entertainment Juice Fund is a donation-based initiative focused on changing the landscape for women filmmakers. In keeping with Tangerine's commitment to outreach, the Juice Fund provides an opportunity for community involvement in directly supporting women directors and outlets for their films.

The Juice Fund is created and sustained entirely by individuals and companies wishing to help increase the number of women feature film directors and the frequency with which they work. The Juice Fund will be used to instigate concrete change in three ways; rewarding, mentoring, and building community.

Recipient received a cash prize from Tangerine Entertainment and a handcrafted trophy designed by Steve Heller.