Woodstock Film Festival Announces Lineup for 25th Edition, October 15-20

Festival features World, U.S. and North American premieres of films by distinguished and emerging directors 

Line up includes Centerpiece film “Blitz” by Steve McQueen, “Anora” by Sean Baker, “Oh, Canada” by Paul Schrader, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” by Mohammad Rasoulof, “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” by Raoul Peck, Closing Night film “A Real Pain” by Jesse Eisenberg, “Emilia Pérez” by Jacques Audiard and Cannes-winner “All We Imagine As Light” by Payal Kapadia 

Paul Schrader to Receive the Honorary Maverick Award; Ira Deutchman to Receive the Honorary Trailblazer Award; Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís to receive the inaugural Art of Activism Award

“Blitz” Photo: Courtesy of Apple TV+

 
The festival continues to feature a robust selection of short films in the program with this year’s selections including works from Kim A. Snyder, Cynthia Wade, Nadia Hallgren, Bill Plympton and Candy Kugel.
 
Highlights from the shorts program include:
 
– Death By Numbers, by Kim A. Snyder, U.S., 2024
– Alok, by Alex Hedison, U.S., 2024
– Good Enough Ancestor, by Cynthia Wade, U.S., 2024 – East Coast Premiere
– I Am Ready, Warden, by Smriti Mundhra, U.S., 2024 – East Coast Premiere
– Dancing Palestine, by Lamees Almakkawy, Palestine, U.K., 2024 – NY Premiere
– And Still, It Remains, by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah, Algeria, U.K., 2023 – NY Premiere
– The Yellow, by Maika Monroe and Simone Faoro, U.S., 2024 – East Coast Premiere
– Duckville, by Bill Plympton, U.S., 2024 – World Premiere
– Market Of Hate, by Candy Kugel, U.S., 2024 – World Premiere
– The Brown Dog, by Nadia Hallgren, Jamie-James Medina, U.S., 2024
– Don’t Be Late, Myra, by Afia Serena Nathaniel, Pakistan, U.S., 2024 – World Premiere
– Ya Hanouni, by Sofian Chouaib and Lyna Tadount, France, 2024 – NY Premiere
– Mashed Potatoes, by Suha Araj, U.S., 2024 – World Premiere
 
The Woodstock Film Festival is committed to supporting local film production in New York’s Hudson Valley, and to nurturing and supporting emerging and established filmmakers worldwide by sharing their creative voices to promote culture, diversity, community, educational opportunities and economic growth in its community. 22 of the films in this year’s expansive program were produced or directed primarily in the region by filmmakers from the Hudson Valley burgeoning creative community.

The Woodstock Film Festival is proud to participate once again in a cultural collaboration with the Leiden International Film Festival in the Netherlands. The program entails a reciprocal exchange of films, enhancing cultural awareness and international exposure for both Dutch and American independent cinema. This year the festival brings us Jippie No More by Margien Rogaar, Hardcore Never Dies by Jim Taihuttu and Torch Song by Jeroen Houben, which is in association with KLM Airlines.

The festival will feature stimulating panels with distinguished filmmakers and industry mavericks including:

– THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY
Sponsored by Netflix
 
With Sandi DuBowski, Yance Ford, Benjamin Ree, and Barbara Kopple moderated by Jessica Edwards.
 
Amidst the softest distribution market in decades, at the peak of its popularity, documentary filmmaking has reached an inflection point. In this wide-ranging conversation with some of the most prolific filmmakers in the industry, we take a “bird's-eye” view of the challenges and opportunities. Addressing audience engagement and career sustainability while contextualizing our current climate in broader documentary history, the panel discusses how docs will survive and thrive into the future.
 
– STATE OF THE INDUSTRY AND HOW TO BREAK INTO IT
Co-presented by Chronogram
 
With William Horberg, Blair Breard and Gill Holland moderated by Chronogram’s editorial director Brian Mahoney.
 
Join a group of accomplished veteran filmmakers as they discuss the state of the film industry today, and the projects they are currently working on. Some of the in-depth conversation will focus on the why and how their recent projects were getting done – from concept and funding, to production, post production and distribution. The conversation will also focus on the humble beginnings of the panelists' careers, with an eye toward advising aspiring filmmakers how to get into the film and media industry in today’s ecosystem.
 
– THE WOMEN IN THE DRIVER SEAT
Co-presented by NYWIFT (New York Women in Film & Television)
 
With Yvonne Russo, Christine La Monte, Heidi Ewing, Rebecca Miller and Ondi Timoner moderated by NYWIFT’s executive director Cynthia Lopez.
 
Today’s women filmmakers are calling the shots, whether with a movie camera on their shoulder, a pen in their hand, an idea in their head, or a computer and a desk at their feet. In this conversation co-presented by New York Women in Film & Television, meet some of today’s most inspiring filmmakers, all current participating filmmakers or alumni of the Woodstock Film Festival, as they discuss the trajectory of their careers.
 
– AI AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Produced by Janet Grillo
 
With Runway AI Creative Team member Nicolas Neubert, Philip Shane, Kris Lefcoe, and Eunice Lau moderated by Filmmaker Magazine Co-Founder / Editor in Chief Scott Macauley.
 
Artificial Intelligence is quickly infiltrating many aspects of society, including the creative arts. To channel wildly imaginative ideas at next to no cost; a dream come true for a DIY indie filmmaker. While the Hollywood industry is already promising to cut costs – meaning jobs, livelihoods and entire careers – by replacing crafts and labor with technology. This lively, candid panel will include the founder of Runway AI, artists who are already using AI to realize their visions, as well as those who forswear it.
 
– ACTORS DIALOGUE: A CONVERSATION WITH AMANDA SEYFRIED AND JENNIFER CARPENTER
 
With Amanda Seyfried and Jennifer Carpenter.
 
A frank and in-depth conversation with actors Amanda Seyfried and Jennifer Carpenter, focusing on their storied careers and their acting craftsmanship. As successful actors who work separately, but also together (A Mouthful Of Air), the two will discuss teamwork (actors with actors, actors with directors), and share anecdotes from some of their more well-known films. A not-to-be-missed glimpse into the behind the scenes of the career trajectory of award-winning actors.
 
– TRANS STORYTELLING
 
With Alex Hedison, Noah Schamus and others TBA
 
Trans Storytelling will feature exciting voices in queer cinema whose authentic visions are shaping the perception of trans communities.
 
INDEPENDENTS DAYS
 
As the Woodstock Film Festival commemorates 25 years of fierce independence, we are marking our next generation by celebrating the link between today’s trailblazing filmmakers and the pioneers whose passion, ingenuity, and pure love of filmmaking inspired them. Independents Days is a unique series of talks woven throughout the festival, aimed at shining a light on the process of creating brave, distinctive art. The series pairs a new generation of filmmakers with their predecessors, with in-depth conversations between those filmmakers.
 
– CONVERSATION WITH HONOREE PAUL SCHRADER AND RAMIN BAHRANI | Independents Days
 
– CONVERSATION WITH SHEILA NEVINS AND SMRITI MUNDHRA | Independents Days
 
– CONVERSATION WITH CARLA GUTIÉRREZ AND ROGER ROSS WILLIAMS | Independents Days
Sponsored by Amazon MGM Studios
 
The festival will feature numerous world premieres and special events including:
 
– The world premiere of Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell's Swimsuit Issue followed by a Q&A with Director Jill Campbell, and supermodels Tyra Banks, Carol Alt and Stacey Williams.  Following the Q&A, the audience is invited to a reception at Woodstock Playhouse with the film team.
 
– The world premiere of A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story co-presented by BMI followed by Q&A featuring director Jonathan McHugh, producer and Ray Conniff’s daughter Tamara, and Woodstock-based composer David Kitay, moderated by BMI’s Vice President, Creative, Film, TV & Visual Media, Tracy Mcknight. Following the Q&A, the audience will be treated to live orchestral and DJ sets of Ray Conniff’s discography.
 
– Gun Violence & Youth Trauma in America: A special screening of Death By Numbers by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder followed by a conversation with Snyder,  Death by Numbers collaborator and school shooting survivor Sam Fuentes, Sam’s teacher Ivy Schamis, and Sandy Hook shooting survivors Emma Ehrens and Abbey Clements, now  the co-founder of Teachers Unite Against Gun Violence.
 
– Following the screening of Left Behind, a conversation on the emotional impact of dyslexia within families and the global issue of the school-to -prison pipeline moderated by Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline.”
 
– Girls Really Listen To Me, a one woman play, written and performed by Eleanor Greene, directed by Alex Prescot Living on the Upper East Side, 16-year-old Madeline is convinced that her actions have no consequences. But when her new friend goes off-grid after a party, she’s forced to look in a harsher light at the bubble she’s grown up in.
 
Other festival highlights include the annual awards ceremony on October 19, where honors will be presented for accomplishments in multiple categories including Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Ultra Indie and Best Short Documentary.

https://woodstockfilmfestival.org