Each year film and music lovers from around the world gather at the Woodstock Film Festival for an innovative variety of films, first-class concerts, workshops, celebrity-led panels, an awards ceremony, and fantastic parties.
Esteemed members of the film world who have participated include Kevin Bacon, Elmer Bernstein, Bob Berney, Les Blank, Benjamin Bratt, Steve Buscemi, Matt Dillon, Griffin Dunne, Olympia Dukakis, Larry Fessenden, Peter Gabriel, Leon Gast, Marcia Gay Harden, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Dan Hedaya, Ted Hope, Timothy Hutton, Barbara Kopple, Ellen Kuras, Melissa Leo, Daniel Day-Lewis, Laura Linney, Albert Maysles, Ismail Merchant, Rebecca Miller, Mira Nair, Tim Blake Nelson, Ron Nyswaner, Rosie Perez, D.A. Pennebaker, Parker Posey, Aidan Quinn, Bingham Ray, Peter Riegert, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, Peter Saraf, James Schamus, Liev Schreiber, David Schwimmer, Annabella Sciorra, Zachary Sklar, John Sloss, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, Lili Taylor, Stanley Tucci, Christine Vachon, and Haskell Wexler.
At the Woodstock Film Festival, participants and visitors find themselves in a friendly, casual environment, one that is conducive to creativity, networking and a good time, surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. In addition to drawing sold-out audiences from the 20 million people who live within a two-hour drive, the festival has attracted visitors from all parts of the country and the world.
Festival mainstays include industry executives, television anchors, network and cable executives, magazine and newspaper editors, record label executives, writers, painters, models, entertainment lawyers, producers, critics, and publishers.
Narrative feature film highlights have included Infamous, Days of Glory, After the Wedding, The Woodsman, Stephanie Daley, Dear Frankie, The Chorists, Down to the Bone, Speak, Pieces of April, Shattered Glass, Personal Velocity, Far From Heaven, Pinero, Casa De Los Babys, Chelsea Walls, The Barbarian Invasions, Swimming, Purgatory House, Piggie, Wendigo, Gerry, The Grey Zone, and many more.
Feature documentary highlights have included Shut Up & Sing, Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, Parallel Lines, Double Dare, I Like Killing Flies, The Agronomist, A Boy’s Life, Bus 174, Down From the Mountain, Amandla, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Go Further, A Voice from Heaven, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, My Generation, Spellbound, Girlhood, Horns & Halos, and many more.
A long list of musical participants includes The Sad Little Stars, Dub Trio, Outernational, The Rosewood Thieves, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Bernie Worrell, Will Calhoun, Doug Wimbish, Duncan Sheik, Mike Gordon and Trey Anastasio of Phish, Gov’t Mule, Kate Pierson of the B-52’s, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Rowan, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham of Luna, Graham Parker, Levon Helm, Marshall Crenshaw, and many more.
The Woodstock Film Festival advisory board is made up of top industry representatives including Judy Arthur, Eamonn Bowles, Ellen Chenoweth, Griffin Dunne, Martha Frankel, Leon Gast, Ethan Hawke, Stephen Hays, Sabine Hoffman, Gill Holland, Michael Lang, Jeremiah Newton, Annie Nocenti, Ron Nyswaner, Sarah Plant, Bill Plympton, Aidan Quinn, Bingham Ray, Peter Saraf, Steve Savage, Zachary Sklar, John Sloss, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, and Lemore Syvan.
Major press coverage has included Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Daily News, Time Out, New York Magazine, Esquire, Playboy, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Moviemaker Magazine, indiewire, Associated Press, NPR, Bloomberg Radio, CNN, WNBC-TV, WCBS-TV, and more.
Events, productions, sponsors and filmmakers are also promoted through the monthly e-newsletters, which has become a staple in the independent film industry, noted in the Wall Street Journal’s Desktop Traveler. Year-round work maintains the festival’s local presence and takes us to New York City and as far as L.A. Events include special screenings of films like The Painted Veil, Little Miss Sunshine, The Ballad of Jack & Rose, The Illusionist, Sherrybaby, concerts and parties.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission, working under the auspices of the festival, has consistently developed sustainable economic initiatives in the Hudson Valley/Catskill region by attracting, supporting and promoting regional film, video, and media production including feature films, television shoots, print media, short films, and TV ads. To facilitate local production, the commission provides and constantly updates its online location info and free production services directory to service the film, fashion and media industries.
Recent films that have been shot locally include Taking Woodstock, Fighting Fish, Splinterheads, The Cake Eaters, Stephanie Daley, Racing Daylight, War of the Worlds, The Northern Kingdom, The Thing About My Folks (starring Paul Reiser and Peter Falk), Down to the Bone (2004 Sundance Award Winner, 2004 Woodstock Film Festival Winner), Patch (starring Melissa Leo and Deborah Harry), Personal Velocity (2002 Sundance Award winner), Wendigo, Pagans, and many more.