SUPERMENSCH: The Legend of Shep Gordon

  • Woodstock Film Festival Unveils 2017 Film Lineup, will Open with East Coast Premiere of STUCK

    [caption id="attachment_24630" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Stuck Stuck[/caption] The 18th Woodstock Film Festival, will open with the East Coast premiere of Stuck, a musical narrative about a group of six strangers trapped together on a stalled New York City subway car. The characters confront their assumptions of one another under the scrutinizing eye of a mysterious homeless man played by Giancarlo Esposito. This kickoff event will begin at 7PM October 11 at the Woodstock Playhouse. The Festival will present an outstanding lineup of films to be shown in Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties, and Kingston. “This year’s lineup is one that challenges our creative and intellectual boundaries and brings important social issues into focus, both locally and globally” said Woodstock Film Festival’s co-founder and executive director Meira Blaustein. “In today’s political climate it is particularly important to celebrate our differences and find our commonalities. This year’s participating filmmakers have gone above and beyond in capturing diverse moments of humanity that personify fierce independence.”

    NARRATIVE FEATURES

    The Bachelors, directed by Kurt Voelker The Ballad of Lefty Brown, directed by Jared Moshe Beauty Mark, directed by Harris Doran Becks, directed by Dan Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh Cold November, directed by Karl Jacob Crash Pad, directed by Kevin Tent Don’t Come Back From the Moon, directed by Bruce Thierry Cheung Girl in Flight, directed by Sandra Vannucchi Holden On, directed by Tamlin Hall Infinity Baby, directed by Bob Byington Last Flag Flying, directed by Richard Linklater The Light of the Moon, directed by Jessica M. Thompson A Real Vermeer, directed by Rudolf van den Berg Revengeance, directed by Bill Plympton and Jim Lujan The Song of Sway Lake, directed by Ari Gold The Sounding, directed by Catherine Eaton The Square, directed by Ruben Östlund The Strange Ones, directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein Stuck, directed by Michael Berry Submission, directed by Richard Levine They, directed by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh Time Trap, directed by Mark Dennis and Ben Foster The Traveller, directed by Hadi Ghandour Us And Them, directed by Joe Martin Waterboys, directed by Robert Jan Westdijk What Children Do, directed by Dean Peterson

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

    32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide, directed by Hope Litoff 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie,directed by Lee Aronsohn Against All Odds – The Fight for a Black Middle Class with Bob Herbert, directed by Bob Herbert Arthur Miller: Writer, directed by Rebecca Miller Bean, directed by Emilie Bunnell Becoming Who I was, directed by Moon Chang-Yong and Jeon Jin Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, directed by Alexandra Dean The Chocolate Case, directed by Benthe Forrer The Cycle (America Divided), directed by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read and Richard Rowley Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution, directed by Jamie Redford Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, directed by Griffin Dunne La Chana, directed by Lucija Stojevic The Last Pig, directed by Allison Argo Mary Janes: The Women of Weed, directed by Windy Borman My Name is Pedro, directed by Lillian LaSalle Nat Bates for Mayor, directed by Bradley Berman and Eric Weiss The Organizer, directed by Nick Taylor The Rape of Recy Taylor, directed by Nancy Buirski Roll With Me, directed by Lisa France Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me, directed by Sam Pollard Shingal, Where Are You?, directed by Angelos Rallis Supermensch, directed by Mike Myers, Beth Aala A Symphony of Hope, directed by Brian Weidling Thank You For Coming, directed by Sara Lamm This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous, directed by Barbara Kopple To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v. Windsor, directed by Donna Zaccaro To the Edge of the Sky, directed by Jedd Wider and Todd Wider

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  • Shep Gordon to Receive Woodstock Film Festival’s 2017 Trailblazer Award

    Shep Gordon Legendary music manager, film producer and culinary arts visionary, Shep Gordon, will be fêted as the 2017 Trailblazer of the Woodstock Film Festival.  Gordon, who is the subject of the 2013 hit documentary film SUPERMENSCH: The Legend of Shep Gordon, directed by Mike Myers, was chosen as the 2017 Trailblazer for his steadfast career launching one of the first independent film companies and film distributors, Alive Pictures/Island Alive, as well as managing musicians such as Alice Cooper, Teddy Pendergrass, and Luther Vandross; and for sparking the celebrity chef phenomenon by being the first to represent the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Daniel Boulud. The Woodstock Film Festival’s Trailblazer award is given to a leader in the film and media arts industry who has carved innovative paths in the business, established an independent vision, affected social change, and created a strong and widespread appreciation of quality, substantive change in the arts. The Trailblazer Award will be presented to Gordon on Saturday, October 14, at the Woodstock Film Festival’s Maverick Awards Ceremony at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY. Shep Gordon is known in the entertainment industry as having an eye for talent and an innate understanding of what people find entertaining. After graduating from SUNY Buffalo, Shep moved to Los Angeles, and in 1969 he created one of the first independent film production companies along with the first independent film distribution companies in the U.S., Island Alive, and distributed such films as Stop Making Sense, Koyaanisqatsi, The Whales of August and Ridley Scott’s first film The Duelist winning the Cannes Film Festival. Over the years, Gordon has been responsible for managing the careers of Alice Cooper, Groucho Marx, Raquel Welch, Luther Vandross, Kenny Loggins, and countless others. He’s also credited as creating the celebrity chef, which revolutionized the food industry and turned the culinary arts into the multi-billion-dollar industry it is today. His clients include culinary legends, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Nobu, Daniel Boulud and many more. In addition to the impact he’s had on the music, film and food industries, he’s also highly regarded for his philanthropic endeavors and sits on the board of the Tibet Fund for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Shep was named one of the 100 most influential people in Rolling Stone magazine. Gordon has 23 films to his credit as Producer or Executive Producer including Kiss of the Spider Woman, A Time of Destiny, Prince of Darkness, People Under the Stairs and Shocker. “It’s a privilege to present our 2017 honorary Trailblazer Award to Shep Gordon,” said Meira Blaustein, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Woodstock Film Festival. “His visionary approach to music, film, artistic and culinary endeavors, coupled by his generous spirit which has inspired and empowered countless artists, is truly admirable, making him the epitome of a Trailblazer.” “Woodstock has always been a community that encourages new ideas and champions the notion of being truly independent,” said Gordon. “I’m honored to be chosen as a representative of that at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival.” The Trailblazer Award has previously been bestowed upon such film industry principals as David Linde (Chief Content Officer, Participant Media), Ted Sarandos (Chief Content Officer, Netflix), James Schamus (former President of Focus Features), Bob Berney (Head of Marketing & Distribution, Amazon Studios), Jonathan Sehring (President, Sundance Selects and IFC Films), John Sloss (Founder, Cinetic Media), and Robin Bronk (CEO, The Creative Coalition). Gordon’s background spans film production, music management and production, culinary management, entrepreneurialism across all fields and book writing. He has built many careers from the ground up. Most recently, Gordon published the autobiography, They Call Me Supermensch, about his extraordinary life in the rock-n-roll business and beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd0VOkPOrV0

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