From Oct. 15 through Oct. 19, the 26th annual Woodstock Film Festival is being held, bringing in people from all over to the Hudson Valley for a celebration of film. Taking place throughout theaters in Woodstock, Kingston, Rosendale and Saugerties, the festival leaves its footprint throughout the Hudson Valley, screening works from A-list directors to student filmmakers hoping to forge their own path in the industry.
Built out of the ethos of Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969 and the spirit that surrounds the town of Woodstock, the festival has become a staple of the community since its start in 2000.
Amanda Naseem, head shorts programmer for the Woodstock Film Festival, talks about the welcoming environment of Woodstock and how it has become a place of freedom and creativity for filmmakers and festival attendees.
“The magic of Woodstock is that people let their guard down because it’s a small town and they feel more relaxed in this beautiful nature setting,” said Naseem.
In the serenity of Woodstock, artistry is put on full display and the festival dedicates itself to being a space where innovation, dialogue and activism thrive.
“There’s no rope and stanchion like at higher level festivals like Sundance, for example, and so people are really in a place of trying to have critical conversations, they want to meet new people, they’re ready to have fun too, so it’s truly a place that supports the art and the artist,” said Naseem.
One of the areas the Woodstock Film Festival emphasizes is student short films, which are showcased as part of the film school shorts series. Giving opportunities to teen filmmakers and students in film school, the festival provides a platform to up-and-coming talent within the industry.
Naseem talks about how inviting aspiring filmmakers to the festival and allowing them to immerse themselves in a festival environment is beneficial to their growth as filmmakers and allows them to get ahead of the curve within the industry.
“So much about being in the film industry is about developing your personal network. There’s no track to follow, so it’s so much about starting to talk to people and being willing to put yourself out there, going to events, figuring out how to pitch yourself or pitch your projects or how to just personally start to connect with people,” said Naseem.
Unlike other higher-level, more prominent film festivals, Woodstock provides a more level playing field for student filmmakers, providing them with a domain where they connect with people on a more intimate level and engage with their work in a critical way.
“I would say that the Woodstock Film Fest is one of the top regional festivals in the United States, but also really serves the New England, New York and tristate area, and we are like a bridge from the New York City filmmaking community which is a big hub, of course,” said Naseem.
The Woodstock Film Festival exists at the threshold of the more tense, prestigious New York City film festival scene, serving as a formative stepping-stone experience for filmmakers to catapult their careers.
One of the filmmakers whose work is being screened at the festival is Hudson Price, a recent graduate from New York University’s undergraduate film program. Having grown up in Woodstock, Price provides an interesting perspective on rural gentrification happening in the Hudson Valley in his short film, “Hotspot.”