The 2024 Woodstock Film Festival proudly highlighted the thriving spirit of independent cinema, bringing together a diverse selection of films, dynamic discussions, and empowering panels. This year's festival boasted an expansive lineup, featuring powerful documentaries, compelling narratives, and both live-action and animated shorts eligible for Academy Award consideration, all designed to captivate and challenge audiences through unique storytelling perspectives.

Enjoy this recap and don’t forget to join us for next year’s exciting festival in 2025!

Over the past 25 years, the Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) has nurtured a remarkable community that continues to grow. Each year we commissioned original artwork for our posters, by artists such as Peter Max, Milton Glazer, Bill Plympton, Mary Frank, Joan Snyder, and for 2024, Matt Dillon.

As we commemorate Black History Month, it presents a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the remarkable and diverse contributions of black individuals to our society. One of the best ways to do this is by watching movies that tell their stories. This collection of films for Black History Month offers a range of inspiring biopics, thought-provoking dramas, and other cinematic gems that will take you on a journey through history. These movies will showcase the powerful stories of the black community, offering both entertainment and education so enjoy these films created by Woodstock Film Festival Alumni!

Sundance 2024, celebrating its 40th year under the new leadership of Eugene Hernandez (co-founder of Indiewire) is now in the rearview mirror. This pivotal film festival in American independent filmmaking premiered many of today’s new and exciting talents while showcasing the works of many of its alumni, those who were first discovered at Sundance years ago and are now among the most influential and interesting filmmakers of our times. Those alumni included many Woodstock Film Festival friends, such as Richard Linklater, Mira Nair, Ondi Timoner, Mark Duplass, Sara Bernstein producer of FRIDA, and more.

After weeks of eager anticipation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has at last revealed the official roster of nominees for the 2024 Oscars this morning. Among the distinguished candidates are several films featured in the 2023 Woodstock Film Festival program and year-round special events.

The 2023 Woodstock Film Festival unfolded as a celebration of storytelling, creativity, and the art of filmmaking. The festival, wrapping up its 24th year, welcomed cinephiles and industry professionals alike to an immersive experience that transcended the boundaries of traditional cinema. While it is a treat to celebrate independent cinema as a community for five full days, we look forward to the growth the festival brings each year we operate. Enjoy a recap of this year’s fest, and don’t forget to join us for an even bigger and better event next year for our 25th Anniversary!

This year was our very first livestream of the WFF Let’s Talk Film! Podcast. We had the pleasure of hosting so many amazing filmmakers. Hosts Katy Mejia and Adam Schartoff chatted with the filmmakers, producers, and actors who attended the 24th annual festival on three separate livestreams about their filmmaking process and so much more!

On Saturday, September 30th, the Woodstock Film Festival announced their annual jury award winners in each category for this year's films in competition, along with the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

45% of the films at The Woodstock Film Festival this year are directed by women, which might be too many to be able to watch all in one weekend! To celebrate the growth of women in independent filmmaking, we have made a boiled-down list, to show some of our picks for female-directed films to catch at this year’s festival.

After its launch in 2011, Letterboxd was primarily used by film critics to track the films they reviewed. There are many reasons why fans and critics have dubbed it “the safest space for film discussion we’ve got,”  and, in addition, we’ve compiled our Top 5 reasons why you should be on Letterboxd: