Please note: This event is currently at capacity. If you have not RSVP’d, you are welcome to arrive by 6:20 PM to join the Standby Line. Admission is not guaranteed, but we will begin letting in additional guests if space becomes available.
In celebration of Upstate Art Weekend, the Woodstock Film Festival and CPW presents a special presentation of SHUT UP AND SING - a groundbreaking 2006 documentary that still resonates today—followed by a Q&A with Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple.
Nearly two decades later, this bold and resonant documentary remains as timely as ever—chronicling the Dixie Chicks’ (now The Chicks) fight for free expression after their controversial political stance in 2003. Through the lens of music, media, and backlash, Kopple crafts a fierce portrait of resilience, artistry, and speaking truth to power. WFF proudly featured this as the Closing Night Film in 2006.
Join us for an evening that sparks conversation and celebrates the enduring power of art to challenge, provoke, and inspire.
ABOUT THE FILM:
Freedom of speech is fine, as long as you don't do it in public.
Shut Up & Sing captures the fallout from Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines’ controversial 2003 remark criticizing President George W. Bush on the eve of the Iraq invasion. Directed by the iconic Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck, the film follows the band through the backlash—boycotts, media outrage, and even death threats—and their transformation from country music darlings to defiant outcasts. Rather than crafting a hagiography, the filmmakers present an intimate, fly-on-the-wall look at the Chicks’ resilience, questioning, and ultimate creative evolution. A vivid portrait of free speech under fire, motherhood on tour, and the politics of patriotism, the film resonates today as both a cultural time capsule and a timeless reflection on dissent, identity, and artistic integrity.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award-winning American documentary filmmaker, known for her work on labor issues and social justice. She is best known for HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A. (1976) and AMERICAN DREAMS (1990), both of which won her Academy Awards. Her work also includes: SHUT UP & SING, MISS SHARON JONES!, and RUNNING FROM CRAZY, to name only a few.
In 2006, the Woodstock Film Festival honored Kopple with its prestigious Honorary Maverick Award, recognizing her fearless independent spirit and her outstanding contributions to documentary filmmaking. She also proudly sits on the WFF’s Advisory Board.
ABOUT CO-DIRECTOR + PRODUCER: CECILIA PECK:
Emmy-nominated filmmaker Cecilia Peck has always been drawn to stories of individuals who stand up for their beliefs. She was Showrunner, Director, and Writer of SEDUCED: INSIDE THE NXIVM CULT (STARZ) and directed/produced the Netflix Original BRAVE MISS WORLD. She also directed/produced SHUT UP AND SING, which was shortlisted for the 2007 Oscars and won multiple festival and critics' awards. Cecilia producedA Conversation with Gregory Peck, which premiered at Cannes.