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(Photo by Alan Carey)
Film lovers and indie industry people swarmed into town for the 2012 Woodstock Film Festival, which ran from October 10 to 14. Visitors and residents attended almost 130 events, including film screenings, concerts, panels, parties, and the wind-up award ceremonies, which honored director Jonathan Demme and director/actor/writer Tim Blake Nelson, along with winners of this year’s competitions.
Recipient of the juried Maverick Award for best feature narrative was California Solo, directed by Marshall Lewy, about a failed rock musician facing his demons. The Audience Choice award for this category, chosen by exit votes, was Any Day Now, director Travis Fine’s story about a gay couple trying to adopt an abused 14-year-old with Down syndrome.
For best documentary, Maverick Award jurors, all industry professionals, chose Treva Wurmfeld’s Shepard & Dark, about playwright Sam Shepard and his long-time best friend Johnny Dark. Audiences picked Once in a Lullaby: The PS 22 Chorus Documentary by Jonathan Kalafer.
Maverick Award honorable mentions went to Exit Elena and First Winter (feature narratives) and Virgin Tales (documentary).
Other juried awards were given to Junkyard for best animation, Curfew for best short narrative, Past Due for best student short film, El Ultimo Hielero (The Last Ice Merchant) for best short documentary, Nor’Easter for best cinematography.
Although the festival centered in Woodstock, film showings and other events were held at venues in Rhinebeck, Kingston, Rosendale, and Saugerties. Each screening was preceded by a 90-second trailer, a takeoff on the theme of the Olympic torch. Winners of previous festival awards carry their trophies, on the run, through each of the participating towns, observed by audience members and a little girl, who meets actress Melissa Leo at the end. They walk into Woodstock’s Upstate Films theater, representing the aspiring filmmaker’s induction into the world of film.
The trailer was meant to showcase the different towns while exemplifying the spirit of the event, said festival executive director and co-founder Meira Blaustein. She observed, “The festival forms an intimate and nurturing environment conducive to networking, career opportunities, and especially a good time.”
Over 225 volunteers in snappy yellow festival t-shirts helped with ticket-taking and other tasks, and organizers estimated that more than 150 actors and filmmakers attended.
Woodstock restaurants were busy all weekend, and some shops got a boost in sales. “There was a lot of shopping,” said David Saxman of The White Gryphon boutique. “These sorts of events are always very positive for merchants.”
Film-goers were apparently too distracted to buy books, said Nan Tepper at The Golden Notebook, despite the antique film cameras in the window, but she called the festival “totally fun. We’re happy to have it here.”
