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For Immediate Release

WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL TO PRESENT SNEAK PEEK SCREENINGS OF SEAN PENN'S FLAG DAY AND CONNIE HOCHMAN'S IN BALANCHINE'S CLASSROOM IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

Woodstock, NY (July 29, 2021) The Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) announced today that it will be presenting special sneak peek screenings of Sean Penn’s FLAG DAY on August 15 and Connie Hochman’s IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM on September 11 ahead of their annual fall film festival. Both will have in-person Q&As with the filmmakers.These two events will round up a busy summer season that included a virtual screenwriting masterclass with Oscar and Emmy nominee Ron Nyswaner, a solar-powered screening of Emma Seligman’s SHIVA BABY and a drive-in screening of Questlove’s SUMMER OF SOUL in June as well as a drive-in screening of Jeremy Workman’s LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD in July. The lineup for the 2021 Woodstock Film Festival will be announced in early September with individual tickets going on sale at the same time. Festival passes are currently available for purchase here.

FLAG DAY Sneak Peek Screening + Q&A at Upstate Films

Date: August 15

Time: Film starts at 2 p.m., doors open at 1:30 p.m.

Location: Upstate Films 6415 Montgomery Street / Rt.9 Rhinebeck, NY 12572

Tickets: Available for purchase online or at the door

On August 15th WFF will host a special screening of Sean Penn’s latest directorial endeavor FLAG DAY, presented in collaboration with Upstate Films at their theater in Rhinebeck, New York courtesy of MGM. FLAG DAY’s producer Bill Horberg (THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT) along with Jennifer Vogel, the writer whose book Flim-Flam Man: The True Story of My Father's Counterfeit Life the film is based on will be on-site for an intro and live audience Q&A.

Jennifer Vogel’s father John was larger than life. As a child, Jennifer marveled at his magnetizing energy and ability to make life feel like a grand adventure. He taught her so much about love and joy, but he also happened to be the most notorious counterfeiter in US history. Based on a true story and directed by Sean Penn, FLAG DAY stars Penn and his real-life daughter Dylan Penn in an intimate family portrait about a young woman who struggles to rise above the wreckage of her past while reconciling the inescapable bond between a daughter and her father.

FLAG DAY world premiered at Cannes earlier this July after being acquired by MGM who will release the film theatrically on August 20.

IndieWire’s Eric Kohn writes: “In her first major lead role, Dylan Penn delivers a hard-edged performance steeped in a blend of frustration and simmering rage that eventually gives way to confidence as her character grows up.”

You can watch the official trailer for FLAG DAY here.

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IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM 2 Sneak Peek Screenings + Q&A at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

Date: September 11

Time: Matinee screening at 4:00 p.m. with panel discussion at 5:30 p.m. and reception at 6:15 p.m., Evening screening at 7:00 p.m.

Location: Kaatsbaan Cultural Park 120 Broadway, Tivoli, NY 12583

Tickets: Available for purchase online or at the door

The following month on September 11 WFF will host a special screening of Connie Hochman’s documentary IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM presented in collaboration with Kaatsbaan Cultural Park at their 153-acre artist sanctuary in Tivoli, New York, courtesy of Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber Incorporated. The film's director Connie Hochman, producer Mark Hochman and former New York City Ballet Prima Ballerina Merrill Ashley will be present for a panel discussion with other guests TBA. There will also be a special installation of select books from the library of Clive Barnes, the late dance and theater critic for The New York Times, whose family generously donated the Clive Barnes Dance Library to Kaatsbaan. A reception with the filmmakers and dancers will follow the matinee screening and panel.

Zeitgeist Films will release IN BALANCHINE'S CLASSROOM theatrically on September 17 in association with Kino Lorber Incorporated.

IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM takes us back to the glory years of Balanchine’s New York City Ballet through the remembrances of his former dancers and their quest to fulfill the vision of a genius. Opening the door to his studio, Balanchine’s private laboratory, they reveal new facets of the groundbreaking choreographer: taskmaster, mad scientist, and spiritual teacher.

Today, as his former dancers teach a new generation, questions arise: what was the secret of his teaching? Can it be replicated? Filled with never-before-seen archival footage of Balanchine at work, along with interviews with many of his adored and adoring dancers and those carrying on his legacy today, this is Balanchine as you have never seen him. This film will thrill anyone interested in the intensity of the master-disciple relationship and all who love dance, music, and the creative process.

You can watch the official trailer for IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM here.

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 22nd Annual Woodstock Film Festival will be back in full force this fall, taking place Sept. 29 - Oct. 3, 2021 at various indoor venues in Woodstock, Kingston and Saugerties in New York’s Hudson Valley region and online. For more information visit woodstockfilmfestival.org.