
Jeff Roda’s 18 TO PARTY, which will have its World Premiere at Woodstock Film Festival in early October is described as a spot-on love letter to Gen X, awkward teenagers, and the transcendent power of friendship.

Jeff Roda’s 18 TO PARTY, which will have its World Premiere at Woodstock Film Festival in early October is described as a spot-on love letter to Gen X, awkward teenagers, and the transcendent power of friendship.

Timely and vital, the documentary Parkland Rising directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Cheryl Horner McDonough, follows the high-school students and families who became fierce leaders of the national movement for gun reform after the February 2018 shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. The documentary film, executive produced by Katie Couric and will.i.am, will World Premiere at the upcoming 20th anniversary Woodstock Film Festival, taking place October 2 to 6, 2019.

The Woodstock Film Festival, widely known for its popular commemorative posters, unveiled its Official Commemorative Poster for its special 20th Anniversary edition taking place October 2 to 6, 2019, in Woodstock, Saugerties, Kingston, Rosendale and Rhinebeck, NY.
After opening remarks from Roger Ross Williams, the first African American director to win an Academy Award, the 19th Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards Ceremony was held on Saturday, October 13. Awards were presented to exceptional films and honorees in numerous categories with the Feature Narrative Award going to Paul Starkman for WHEELS, and the Best Documentary Feature was presented to Assia Boundaoui director for THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED.
Tony®, Emmy® and Grammy®-winning, and Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Julie Taymor received the Honorary Maverick Award; and Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman received the Filmmaker Award of Distinction. for his debut feature narrative, A PRIVATE WAR.
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
The Gigantic Pictures’ Feature Narrative Award went to Paul Starkman for WHEELS.
“We chose Wheels because it beautifully explores the powerfully precarious choices that brothers make that impact their lives and all of their relationships forever. Stunningly told and poignantly acted with depth and candor wheels stood out in a thrilling year of Woodstock film selections. It explores the fine line between constructive and instantly destructive decisions and their impact on our lives- in an instant everything changes.”
Honorable Mention went to Brendan Walter for SPELL.
A Special Award for ensemble cast went to John Stimpson for GHOST LIGHT.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Best Documentary Feature, sponsored by Films We Like, was presented to Assia Boundaoui director for THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED.
Honorable Mention to director Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez for PERSONAL STATEMENT.
Best Narrative Short sponsored by Gigantic Pictures, went to director Leonora Lonsdale for BEAST.
Honorable Mention went to Alexis Gambis for MI HERMANO.
Best Student Short sponsored by Gigantic Pictures, went to director Jisun Jamie Kim for A YEAR.
The Woodstock Film Festival Ultra Indie Award, sponsored by Gray, Krauss, Stratford, Sandler, Des Rochers, LLP and Blackmagic Design, was presented to Alex Moratto for SOCRATES.
Best Animated Short was presented to Mark C. Smith for TWO BALLOONS.
Best Short Documentary, sponsored by Markertek.com, went to Skye Fitzgerald for LIFEBOAT. Honorable mention to Lynne Sachs for CAROLEE, BARBARA & GUNVOR.
“We based our decision on what stories we felt most needed to be told, and what stories we hadn’t seen before. We put special emphasis on films that show underrepresented people (like the older women in Carolee, Barbara & Gunvor). We wanted to cite a local filmmaker for an honorable mention as a nod to the importance of our growing creative community upstate.”
The Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography, sponsored by Panavision, went to Eric Bader for SPELL.
“Choosing a single film in this category was not easy. There’s been an explosion of great cinematography this year, and all of the films considered for the cinematography award stood out.
But the cinematography in this particular film is resonant, drawn with a deft touch. It is consistent and well crafted. The color palette and the choice of shots and lenses allow us a proximity to the characters, which aptly draws us into the drama and plays on our expectations, our emotions as viewers.”
The James Lyons Editing Award For Narrative Feature, sponsored by Technicolor Postworks NY, was presented to Kristina Davies editor for UNLOVABLE.
The James Lyons Editing Award For Documentary Feature, sponsored by Technicolor Postworks NY, was presented to Rabab Haj Yahya editor for THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED. Special mention: WRESTLE.
The World Cinema Award, was presented to Laurie Colbert and Dominique Cardona for KEELY & DU. A special mention to director Roxy Toporowych for JULIA BLUE.
The Carpe Diem Andretta Award, sponsored by The Vincent J. Andretta Memorial Fund and presented to the film that best represents living life to the fullest, was awarded to director William Fichtner for COLD BROOK.
ReRun, a new feature film directed by Alyssa Rallo Bennett and written by Gary O. Bennett of Stonestreet Studios, will world premiere on October 15th at the Woodstock Film Festival.
In a modern day twist on ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, George Benson, played by Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) is haunted by tragedy, the loss of Violet, the ‘wayward girl’ who he had a soft heart for, due to an accident he may have been able to prevent. Humoring what he thinks is the youthful imagination of his grandson, George stumbles into an invisible portal hiding in his closet. Falling ‘to the other side’ into his younger body, he is able to face his conflicts and troubles with new light along with a temptation to try to change the past or possibly re-envision it.
ReRUN, marks the Bennetts third feature film collaboration. The Pack , which they co-wrote and was directed by Alyssa, was accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival and a dozen other film festivals, winning multiple awards, it was released theatrically in NY & LA and distributed by FilmRise. The Bennetts first collaboration, Rain Without Thunder, and has become a cult classic. The film stars Jeff Daniels, Linda Hunt, Betty Buckley, Frederick Forrest, Graham Greene, Ming Na Wen, Austin Pendleton, and Steve Zahn. Rain was theatrically released and distributed by Orion Classics, featured in over a dozen major international film festivals from the Berlin Film Festival to the Toronto International Film Festival and now available on Amazon Prime.
As a writer/director team, the Bennetts just completed a new pilot Leading Story and are in development with the new pilot DOT, an anthology series about women’s rights in 50 states that Danny Ramirez (Assassination Nation, Top Gun: Maverick) & Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth) will star in. Many of their shorts have been been featured in festivals and distributed by HG Distribution and ShortsHD.
Karl Berger of Karl Berger – Music Mind[/caption]
The fiercely independent 19th Annual Woodstock Film Festival will showcase more than 100 films and open with a live performance by the Karl Berger Band following the screening of the feature documentary Karl Berger – Music Mind, which offers “an inside look into the creative process and unique approach toward music that makes Karl Berger”. Matthew Heineman’s feature narrative debut A Private War, starring Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan and Stanley Tucci will close the film festival on the evening of Sunday, October 14th.
There will be a panel discussion after the film screening of Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane, featuring the filmmakers, as well as panelists from the documentary Newtown. In the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that took the lives of twenty first-graders and their teachers, local clergyman Father Bob Weiss receives a letter from a fellow priest in Dunblane, Scotland, whose community suffered an eerily similar fate in 1996. From across the Atlantic, the two priests forge a poignant bond through the shared experience of trauma and healing. Never before seen film clips of the filmmakers’ upcoming documentary about the mass shooting in Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, will be shown during the panel.
Roger Ross Williams is the first African American director to win an Academy Award with his short film Music By Prudence. Williams has directed a wide variety of acclaimed films including God Loves Uganda, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and Life, Animated, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017. Williams is on the Board of Governors for the Academy of motion pictures, Arts and Sciences, representing the Documentary branch, as well as being on the Diversity Committee for the Academy. This year Williams is our Special Guest Programmer whose selection spotlights some of his favorite contemporary works by filmmakers of color. Williams said, “I am thrilled to be a guest programmer at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival. The three films I have chosen demonstrate the scope, depth and creativity that is possible when we, as black filmmakers, tell our own stories.” These films include Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Shakedown, and Mr. SOUL!.
Younger Days, directed by Paula van der Oest
WRESTLE, directed by Lauren Belfer and Suzannah Herbert
1-0, directed by Nada ElAzhary; 59 Seconds, directed by Mauro Carraro; After Her, directed by Aly Migliori; Antouni (Homeless), directed by Alik Tamar; Are You Still Singing?, directed by Gillian Barnes; A Year, directed by Jisun Jamie Lee; Beast, directed by Leonora Lonsdale; Beautiful Things, directed by Dina Waxman; Black Spirit, directed by Chakib Taleb-Bendiab; Boy Boy Girl Girl, directed by Ross Kauffman; Carolee, Barbara & Gunvor, directed by Lynne Sachs; The Christmas Rabbit, directed by Christophe Lopez-Huici; The Crying Room, directed by Shalom Auslander; Del Rio, directed by Raj Trivedi; Dinner, directed by Anna Gilmore; Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me), directed by Joseph Wallace; Ego, directed by Mario Addis; The English Teecher, directed by Andy and Carolyn London; Even Ants Strive for Survival, directed by Ren Xia; Funeral, directed by Leah Shore; Gamble, directed by Chayadol Lomtong; Goose in High Heels, directed by John R. Dilworth; He’s Watching, directed by Arthur Metcalf; Homing In, directed by Parker Hill; Jo, directed by Justine Williams; One Small Step, directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas; Last Requests, directed by Courtenay Johnson; The Last Seance, directed by Laura Kulik; Lifeboat, directed by Skye Fitzgerald; Lucy, directed by Ruben Gutiérrez; The Magical Mystery of Musigny, directed by Emmett Goodman and John Meyer; Martin, directed by Sholto Crow; Melt Down, directed by Amy Jingyi Xu; Mirror Mirror, directed by Jacob Internicola; Mother, directed by Amanda Palmer; Moved to Tiers, directed by Avery Herzog; The Movie House on Main Street, directed by Teresa Torchiano; My Brother (Mi Hermano), directed by Alexis Gambis; Pour 585, directed by Patrick Smith; Rooster and The Queen, directed by Aaron Weisblatt; Salam, directed by Claire Fowler; Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane, directed by Kim A. Snyder; Shiva Baby, directed by Emma Seligman; Sorceress, directed by Max Blustin; Trump Bites, directed by Bill Plympton; Two Balloons, directed by Mark C. Smith; Unnatural, directed by Amy Wang; The Velvet Underground Played at My High School, directed by Tony Jannelli and Robert Pietri; Vicarious Resilience, directed by Eva Tenuto; Voice, directed by Takeshi Kushida; Welcome to the New World, directed by Jerry Suen & Anni Sultany; The Winds of Downhill, directed by Jedd and Todd Wider; Your Face Global Jam, directed by Ken Mora
Solicitous– Music by Drekoty
A PRIVATE WAR[/caption]
Matthew Heineman will receive the Filmmaker Award of Distinction at this year’s 19th Woodstock Film Festival, and the festival will close with his feature narrative debut, A PRIVATE WAR, starring Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan and Stanley Tucci. In addition, filmmaker, Julie Taymor will receive the honorary Maverick Award, and Taymor’s globally renowned ACROSS THE UNIVERSE will have a special tribute screening.
The 19th annual Woodstock Film Festival takes place from October 10-14, 2018.
The Woodstock Film Festival unveiled the official poster created by illustrator John Cuneo for the upcoming 2018 festival scheduled to take place from October 10 to 14, 2018, in Woodstock and other locations in the Mid-Hudson valley.
John Cuneo is a humorous illustrator whose work appears in many national publications including The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and Esquire Magazine.
“I tried to put together an image that spoke to the collaborative effort of filmmaking and alluded to the Catskills and the eclectic whimsy of the Woodstock creative community. Also, I really wanted to draw dancing bears.” -artist, John Cuneo
On Saturday, the 18th Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards Ceremony took place at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY, with INFINITY BABY winning award for Best Narrative Feature, and Best Documentary Feature for SHINGAL, WHERE ARE YOU?
Celebrated producer, talent manager, and film agent Shep Gordon was presented with the Trailblazer Award for his visionary approach to the arts.
Actor Bill Pullman received the Excellence in Acting Award. Earlier in the day, following the East Coast premiere of THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN, the actor discussed his role as the title character.
Bill Pullman (THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN)[/caption]
Actor Bill Pullman will receive the 2017 Excellence in Acting Award at the Woodstock Film Festival on Saturday October 14. Director Jared Moshe (The Ballad of Lefty Brown) will present Bill Pullman with the award
In addition to receiving the award, the Woodstock Film Festival will screen The Ballad of Lefty Brown in which Bill Pullman gives a tour de force performance as the title character. Festival attendees will also have the opportunity to interact with Pullman, at the annual Actor’s Dialogue on Sunday, October 15.
Bill Pullman commented that he was “Honored to be receiving the Excellence in Acting Award at this year’s Woodstock film festival. I am particularly looking forward to screening The Ballad of Lefty Brown at the Woodstock Film Festival in October – audiences there are ready for an unusually intimate Western that is the coming of age story of a sixty-something sidekick. It was shot in the fall in Montana, so we can see how it stacks up against the foliage colors in Woodstock – both so spectacular.”
Bill Pullman’s versatile acting spans from dramatic roles to comedic roles. Pullman’s acting career also led him into the role of Clyde in Andrew and Alex Smith’s Walking Out, which recently screened as part of the Woodstock Film Festival’s summer screening series.
“Bill Pullman is one of the finest and most versatile actors today,” said Woodstock Film Festival executive director Meira Blaustein. “His performance in The Ballad of Lefty Brown is absolutely outstanding. It is a privilege to recognize his diverse body of work at this year’s festival and we look forward to having him here with us this fall”.