*For Immediate Release*
WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SCREENING & FUNDRAISER EVENT FOR UKRAINE
Woodstock, NY (April 12, 2022) - The Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) announced a special fundraiser and screening of the 2021 documentary NATIONAL MUSEUM at the Rosendale Theatre on May 5th, 2022.
Proceeds from the event ticket sales will be donated to the filmmaker's charity of choice, Cash for Refugees. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, award-winning Ukrainian filmmaker Andrei Zagdansky. The evening's Q&A moderator, renowned Latvian filmmaker and animator Signe Baumane, will also screen her animated short film, THE WITCH & THE COW prior to the documentary.
NATIONAL MUSEUM SCREENING WITH DIRECTOR Q&A
Released in August of 2021. A “direct cinema” documentary, NATIONAL MUSEUM explores the art and inner workings of the major art institution in Kiev, Ukraine. Restoration specialists, curators, art handlers, designers and, of course, visitors are fascinating characters in this unhurried, poignant and occasionally funny survey of what is cherished and revered by the nation of forty five million. Curating, mounting and opening of two special exhibitions – one dedicated to the Ukrainian baroque and another one to a prominent avant-garde artist, Alexander Bogomazov –are the defining events in the narrative structure of the film.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Andrei Zagdansky is an Award-winning documentary filmmaker, member of the European Film Academy, Andrei Zagdansky was born on March 9, 1956 in Kyiv, Ukraine, back then a part of the Soviet Union. He received an MFA with distinction from Kyiv State University of Theatrical Arts.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR:
Signe Baumane was born in Latvia, educated in Moscow, and lives in Brooklyn NY. She is a director and has made 16 animated shorts and 2 feature films. Her 1991 short, THE WITCH & THE COW was made in Latvia, and is about a small witch trying to milk a huge cow with unexpected consequences.
ABOUT THE WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL:
The Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that nurtures and supports emerging and established filmmakers, sharing their creative voices through an annual festival and year-round programming to promote culture, diversity, community, educational opportunities and economic growth.
WFF provides innovative mentoring and inspired educational programs benefitting filmmakers, students and diverse audiences, while serving as a powerful cultural and economic engine for New York’s Hudson Valley and beyond. Such efforts have consistently resulted in the festival being hailed as one of the top regional film festivals worldwide.
The 23rd Annual Woodstock Film Festival will return to the Hudson Valley next fall, from Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2022. For more information about submissions and the organization’s year-round event calendar, visit woodstockfilmfestival.org.
ABOUT THE CHARITY:
Cash for Refugees was founded by refugees, for refugees. They give cash directly to people displaced by the war in Ukraine. They focus on the most vulnerable: women with children, the elderly, and the disabled. No bureaucracy, no overhead, no delays. Cash For Refugees gives them the means to buy what they need to survive their ordeal. It gives them dignity. It gives them hope.
ABOUT THE ROSENDALE THEATRE COLLECTIVE:
The historic Rosendale Theatre is a vital and diverse cultural Hudson Valley nonprofit organization. They use the power of film and live performance to entertain, educate and inspire connection.