The 13th annual Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) is underway, running from October 10 to 14. Nearly 130 screenings, panels and events are scheduled for various venues in Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Newburgh, Saugerties and Kingston, including 19 world premieres, three North American premieres, six US premieres, ten East Coast premieres and 15 New York premeieres.
As usual, movies about music and movies made in the Hudson Valley get special attention. Opening night features a live concert with David Bromberg following the screening of a documentary portrait of him, and Thursday’s world premiere of Stone Ridge resident Jon Bowermaster’s anti-fracking concert documentary Dear Governor Cuomo, to be followed by a performance by Natalie Merchant, is long sold out. [See related Almanac stories for details on these two Festival highlights.]
At presstime, the winners of the 2012 WFF awards for Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature, as well as the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography, had not yet been announced. But indie/Hollywood crossover director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Stop Making Sense, Melvin and Howard, Something Wild, Rachel Getting Married) has already been named as the recipient of this year’s Maverick Award. The awards gala will be held at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, beginning at 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, with Paul Green’s Band of Monkeys and Connor Kennedy providing the musical backdrop.
Other special musical events associated with the Festival include:
Simi Stone performing at the Colony Café in Woodstock on Thursday, October 11 at 9 p.m.
Filmmakers’ Party featuring the Brandy Knights, Wine Teeth, Lindsey Webster, Ford Crull, Sylvia Degiez and Wayne Lopez at Saugerties Performing Arts Factory on Friday, October 12 at 10 p.m.
Aaron Freeman a/k/a Geen Ween performing at the Colony Café in Woodstock on Saturday, October 13 at 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Charles Bradley playing live at 9:30 p.m. following the 7 p.m. screening of Charles Bradley: Soul of America at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Saturday, October 13.
Jeremy Bernstein and Friends performing at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Sunday, October 14 at 9 p.m.
Panels scheduled for the Festival include:
“Facebook for Filmmakers and Artists” at Mountain View Studio in Woodstock on Friday, October 12 at 3 p.m.
“From Reel to Real: How Independent Film Impacts Our World,” also at Mountain View Studio, on Saturday, October 13 at 10 a.m.
“Film and Television: The New Crossover Paradigms between the Silver and the Small Screen,” also at Mountain View Studio, on Saturday, October 13 at 12 noon.
“Music in Film,” also at Mountain View Studio, on Saturday, October 13 at 2 p.m.
“Distribution Paradigms,” also at Mountain View Studio, on Saturday, October 13 at 4 p.m.
“Actors’ Dialogue” at the Woodstock Playhouse on Sunday, October 14 at 10 a.m.
“Raising Funds,” also at Mountain View Studio, on Sunday, October 14 at 12 noon.
For a full schedule of screenings and other programs at the 2012 Woodstock Film Festival, and to order tickets, visit the website at ulsterpub.staging.wpenginefilmfestival.com.
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