It was with great sadness that we recently marked the passing of Elmer Bernstein,

the legendary Academy Award-winning composer and great friend and mentor to the Woodstock Film Festival.

Elmer was a longtime Woodstocker whose artistry, integrity, and personal kindness will forever live on in

the magnificent scores he composed over a career that spanned more than half a century. Known as one

of the titans of Hollywood’s golden age, Bernstein was nominated fourteen times for an Oscar, having

written the scores for more than 200 films including The Ten Commandments, The Man with the Golden Arm,

The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, True Grit, The Great Escape, Animal House, and The Age of

Innocence. Elmer remained on the cutting edge of his profession into his eighties. In 2002, he was nom-

inated for an Oscar for his brilliant score for Far from Heaven.

We join the world in celebrating the man and his music

and are thankful to have known him.

“For over a hundred years, Woodstock has been a place of dreams

and magic. It was a place of dreams for visual art, for crafts, for

music, for popular music, for theater, for political philosophy, for

alternative lifestyles, and it is entirely fitting that Woodstock

should become a place of dreams and magic for films at this

time.” (ELMER BERNSTEIN, COMPOSER, WFF HONORARY CHAIR,

FRIEND, MENTOR)

Dedicated to Elmer Bernstein(1922-2004)

Catskill MOuntain Foundation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5

Contact info

Woodstock Film Festival, Inc.PO Box 1406, Woodstock, NY. 12498e. info@woodstockfilmfestival.comw. www.woodstockfilmfestival.com

Box Office Location:Woodstock Film Festival103 Mill Hill Road, (Routes 212 & 375 in Woodstock)Woodstock, NY. 12498t. 845 679-6997 (box office)t. 845 679-4265 (administration)e. info@woodstockfilmfestival.comTickets and up to date schedule info are available online atwww.woodstockfilmfestival.com

**ALL INFORMATION IN THE PRE-FESTIVAL PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Join us for our Fiercely Independent

25 Narrative Features

47 Documentary Features

62 Animated Films

65 Shorts

80 Youth Initiative

81 Special Events

82 Music

84 Panels

87 Schedule

7 Introduction

8 Woodstock, Hunter & Rhinebeck

10 Acknowledgments

12 Sponsors & Contributors List

13 Thank You

14 About Woodstock Film Festival

16 Sponsors

18 Advisory Board

21 Letters

23 Maverick Awards

44 Woodstock, Hunter & Rhinebeck

86 Ticket Information

95 Hospitality Sponsors

96 Print Source Contacts

92 Local Support

94 Listings

99 Souvenirs

100 How to Get Their

101 Maps

FILMS & EVENTS

INFORMATION

The Woodstock Film Festival is a not-for-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization with a mission to present an annu-al program and year-round schedule of film, music, and art-related activities that promote artists, culture,inspired learning, and diversity. The Woodstock Film Commission promotes sustainable economic develop-ment by attracting and supporting film, video, and media production.

Just five years ago two independent filmmakers, following their dreams and encour-

aged by community and filmmaker support, launched a grass roots film festival in

the beautiful arts colony of Woodstock, New York. Magic seemed to fill the air as

make-shift screening venues sprung up at galleries and community centers and lines of people waited

to see great indie films they couldn’t see elsewhere. The Woodstock Film Festival was born.

As the years went on, the festival grew and matured, doubling and tripling in size, establishing itself as

an important arena for emerging filmmakers. It provided just the right mix of industry know how, A-

list participants and high quality filmmaking, in a friendly, casual setting, conducive to creativity, excit-

ing opportunities and a good time!

As the Woodstock Film Festival reaches its 5th Anniversary, we are thrilled and astonished by the accom-

plishments of the festival itself and by those of the filmmakers around us.

The art of filmmaking continues to grow and reshape itself, breaking new grounds, reaching new heights.

As we look around us, awed by the success indie documentaries and narrative are having all over the

world, we are humbled now, more than ever, to be able to offer a platform for these brave new voices of

the filmmakers of today and of tomorrow.

INTRODUCTION

7

During these next few exciting days you will have the oppor-tunity to meet, talk, watch and listen to some of the bestvoices of today’s independent filmmaking. We urge you totake full advantage of the outstanding program, and to celebrate the beauty, the thought, thebravery and artistry that is weaved within the works presented here. These filmmakers are tryingto make a difference. So lets all empower and encourage them to do just that. Because a goodwork of art, be it film, music, painting, dance or a book, can and should change our perceptions,our habits, our beliefs, our world.

To all the tremendous volunteers, staff members, board members, hosts, sponsors, industry, audi-ences and community supporters – a huge, heartfelt thank you!

Without you the Woodstock Film Festival could not have continued to flourish!

To the wonderful towns of Woodstock, Rhinebeck and Hunter – thank you for being gracious hoststo the festival and its participants.

To everyone, during your stay with us, do visit the fabulous shops, the many galleries, restaurantsand stunning natural beauty that for more than a century has made the Hudson Valley Catskillsa true visitors haven.

See you at the movies!

Meira Blaustein

Laurent Rejto

8

WOODSTOCK, HUNTER & RHINEBECK

WOODSTOCK Just two hours from New York City,

Woodstock is the cornerstone of the reemer-gence of the Hudson Valley Catskills as a cen-ter for the arts, culture, alternative lifestyles,eclectic shopping, and great restaurants. Thetown has always been known for its illustri-ous inhabitants—writers, musicians, artists,filmmakers, and other creative folk—and firstgained notoriety in the early 1900s when res-idents were “greeted” by the arrival of free-thinking bohemians and city dwellers.

The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, founded atthe turn of the century by artisan philoso-phers who settled on the mountainside aboveWoodstock to create a Utopian society basedon arts and crafts, continues as an active,working artists colony with a year-round pres-ence of music, theater, writing workshops,martial arts, sculpture, painting, and potteryclasses.

Music has always been a popular part ofthe town’s mystique, and in the late sixties,resident musicians such as Bob Dylan, TheBand, and Jimi Hendrix (who recorded inwhat is now the Tinker Street Cinema) placedWoodstock on the rock n’ roll map. The leg-endary 1969 Woodstock Music and ArtsFestival remains etched in pop history, defin-ing a generation and Woodstock’s counter-cultural nature.

From this wellspring of creativity, theWoodstock Film Festival bloomed in the newmillennium as a natural outgrowth of thetown’s innovative spirit. The WFF carries onthe tradition, bringing together filmmakers,musicians, writers, and artists to share in thecelebration of Woodstock’s cultural heritage.

HUNTER Only thirty minutes from Woodstock,Hunter is a scenic area steeped in Americanhistory and folklore. Including two incor-porated villages, Hunter and Tannersville,and the hamlets of Haines Falls, Elka Park,and Lanesville, this spectacular area was amecca for tourism in the late 19th century,when three railroads brought in hundredsof visitors and Hudson River Schoolpainters translated onto canvas the sublimebeauty of the area.

Today, Hunter is home to a world-classski area, Hunter Mountain, and a culturalarts organization, the Catskill MountainFoundation, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit. TheCMF offers a variety of programs year-round, including live performances ofmusic, theater, and dance; gallery exhibitsof fine arts and crafts; a two-screen movietheater; a bookstore, the annual MountainCulture Festival; Elderhostel programs; stu-dio arts education programs; a workingnatural agriculture farm and educationalfacility; and a farm market featuring region-al produce and specialty foods. Located innearby Maplecrest, Sugar Maples Center forArts and Education is a school for studentsof all levels, offering an extensive fine artsand crafts curriculum within state-of-the-art facilities.

Hunter also boasts many fine lodgingestablishments, from lovingly restoredB&Bs to fine resorts and hotels. Diningoptions range from old-fashioned dinersand delis to funky eateries and fine restau-rants.

RHINEBECKRhinebeck, ninety miles north of NYCin Dutchess County, is often the focus offeatures in the New York Times and New YorkMagazine. An idyllic community, it is situat-ed on the Hudson River, is easily reachableby car or public transportation, and offersrelaxed yet sophisticated country living.With its myriad of shops, antique stores,restaurants, and cultural venues—includingUpstate Films, historic Rhinebeck becomesincreasingly more attractive each year tothose seeking a second home or a weekendgetaway.

Historically speaking, Rhinebeck owesits culturally diverse background to theSepasco Indians, Dutch settlers, theUnderground Railroad, and Chief Justice ofNew York and Chancellor Robert Livingston(contributor to the Declaration ofIndependence), among many others. TheHudson River National Historic LandmarkDistrict, in which Rhinebeck is located, hasbeen home to scions of business and indus-try, presidents, and statesman who builttheir mansions along the Hudson River.Many of these estates are today open to vis-itors, just across the majestic Hudson River,Rhinebeck’s close proximity to Woodstockenables visitors to easily visit both locationsduring a short stay and both Rhinebeck andWoodstock reward their visitors with amemorable and magical experience.

Printing Services

Full Service: Post CardsRack CardsBrochuresPlaybillsPostersFlyersBusiness CardsEnvelopesLetterhead

PRE-PRESSPRESS DEPARTMENTBINDERY

Catskill Region Contact: Steve Friedman(518) 263-4908 x230

New York City Contact: Ellie Cashman(212) 593-6430

EXECUTIVE STAFFExecutive Director/Cofounder Meira BlausteinDirector of Development/Cofounder Laurent RejtoOffice Manager Amy WitkusOffice Staff Emma McCarthy

Kirstin Steffen,Nathaniel Edelman(intern)

Executive Director Assistant Amber Plaut

FESTIVAL PROGRAMMINGFeatures Ryan Werner (Head Programmer)

Tom Quinn (Co-Programmer)Meira Blaustein

Shorts Laurent Rejto

Animation Signe BaumaneBill Plympton

Youth Initiative Dana Dorrity, David Epstein, Marjorie Leopold

Screeners Meira Blaustein, Anne Canzonetti, Jeff Economy,Nathaniel Edelman, Nikki Goldbeck, Joan Mack,Emma McCarthy, Barbara Pokras, Barbara Sicuranza

FESTIVAL OPERATIONSOperations Producer Pamela CederquistOperations Manager Arnold SitrukAssistant Manager Shelly TumenPersonnel Coordinator Anne CanzonettiTechnical Development Diana CassidyHospitality/Food Services Paula Gillen

Mason Dunbar

SPECIAL EVENTSEvents Coordinator Lauri AndrettaOpening/Closing Events Victoria LanglingFundraiser Lisa Protter

FESTIVAL SERVICESGuest Relations-Industry Nikki Goldbeck, Joan MackGuest Relations-Filmmaker Gail Nussbaum, Barbara SilverHospitality Paula GillenRegistration Tracy Cohen-KamienTransportation Gary BielskiSecurity Armondo Bilancione, George DeWitt

MARKETINGGraphic Design (programs, brochures, ads) Naomi SchmidtPublications Laurent Rejto, Kirstin Steffen, Chris CavanaghPublication Editing Barbara Ross,Tom Cherwin Poster Design Ford CrullDatabase & Internet Development Diana Cassady (Viva La Data)Website Laurent Rejto

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENTTechnical/Equipment Jeff Kantor Lead Projectionist(video) Jim DodgeCommunications/Radio/Walkie-Gods Greg Carttar, Char HarnerPipe and Drape Phillip LevinePrint Trafficker Jeff EconomySet Design Josef TreggorAssistant Set Designer Drew North

MEDIA RELATIONSMedia Relations Director Ilene MarderMedia Relations Deputy Chris CavanaghMedia Relations Assistant Claudia AlemanNational PR Firm Dan Klores CommunicationsPhotography Ben Caswell (lead), Mizuyo Aburano, Gregor TriesteVideo Ian Ellerby, Dutchess Community College crewLogo Trailer Jayson DeBellis and Orion

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMeira Blaustein, Laurent Rejto, Joan Mack, Eva MarieGraham, Nicholas Adler, Cyrus & Nancy Adler, DonCarmody,Tony Conza, Stuart Hammerman, Rose Koplovitz,Ilene Marder

FESTIVAL STAFF

10

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

11

Michael andTamara Lang

Margery and IrwinGaffin ofAmeriBag

Alexander ShinglerAllure Aveda Anaconda Sports Annabella SciorraBarry Cherwin, Auctioneer Ben Caswell (photos)Bobby Carnavale Colony Liquors The Emerson Inn & Spa Gadaletos Seafood, New

Paltz Geoff Harden & friends

(music)James & Joan QuigleyJoan MackLauren & Michael

RosenthalMason Dunbar Moet & Chandon Molson Beer

Oliver Kita Fine Catering Paula GillenSarah Chodoff (music)Schieffelin and Co.Stuart Jay RothkopfRichard J. Merck, CPARuffino Wines Tanqueray VodkaTerry YasonTony and Yvonne ConzaWestwood Metes &

BoundsWilliam B. HigginsonWoodstock Percussion

Lauri AndrettaMeira BlausteinSara CarmodyNikki GoldbeckRose KoplovitzGail NussbaumDonna ParisiLisa Protter

42nd StreetAidan QuinnAllure AvedaAndrea Barrist SternAnnabella SciorraAnnie NocentiBarbara Tischler HastieBarry FeinsteinBlue Man GroupBob BermanBreathe FitnessCabin Fever OutfittersCeres PressChris SteinThe Coen BrothersColony LiquorsCriterion VideoDana B. JewelryDavid Baldwin of HBODavid BlaineDavid & Nikki GoldbeckDocuramaDreamweaversEarth, Glaze & Fire

Eilise PittelmanEllen ChenowethEllen LewisElliott LandyEmerson Inn & SpaExhale - Mind Body SpaForged and Fired GalleryGary WardThe Golden NotebookHarriet IlesHillside ManorHoliday Inn in KingstonHunter Mountain Ski

ResortHurley Ridge Wine &

SpiritsIXL Health & FitnessJoe PesciJosh NussbaumJoyce AronsJulia Santos-SolomonK.L McKennaKathy RuttenbergKen Regan, Camera 5Laura Levine

Lenny KislinMartha FrankelMartin ScorseseMary Anne EricksonMoet & ChandonMolson BeerMovement CenterNew VideoNY KnicksNY NetsPeter DeckerP.J. McGlynn’s SteakhousePlanet Noise RecordsPortia MunsonRaissa BumpRandall RissmanThe Red OnionRekha DasThe Richard B. Fisher

Center for thePerforming Arts atBard College

Richard and SherryGottschalk

Robert DeNiro

Robert Tonner Doll Co.Roz BalkinRuffino WinesSanchia PlayfairSantos SolomonSphinx ProductionsSteve BuscemiSteve Heller’s Fabulous

FurnitureSunflower Natural Foods

MarketTerrapin Restaurant Total TennisUlster Performing Arts

Center Uma ThurmanWalt Disney WorldWDST - 100.1 FMWillow Mixed MediaWiltwyck Golf ClubWoodstock CopperworksWoodstock Framing

GalleryWoodstock Golf ClubWoodstock Tennis Club

Auction DonorsPlease help us show our appreciation to auction donors by supporting their work and their establishments.Visit our auc-tion donors online at http://woodstockfilmfestival.com/auction.htm

Fundraiser Thank You’s FundraiserCommittee

K.L McKenna

Barry Feinstein

Tonner Dolls

Elliott Landy

Mary Anne Erickson

12

VOLUNTEERS

Nancy AbramsFrenchy AdamiVanessa AhernClaudia AlemanJosh AlkoffEd AllynEvelyn AlvarezAnthony AmicoPandora ApuzzoBetsy ArlanticoKelly AshcroftSusan AveryChrisso BabcockMichele BakerJosie BaucomRoss BeckmanDeeber BerkLu Ann BielawaNathan BielskiAlicia BockAmanda BonavitaAnnie BorgenichtGlenn BrownStephan BurlingameAmanda BurtonBrian David CangeAlan CareyEileen CaronPatricia CarucciDeborah CatalanoKris CatalanoXueDi ChenBarry CherwinChimi ChodenLarry ChristopherLinda ClarkEve CohenTracy Cohen-KamienKate CorkeryJoe CosgroveMarilyn CostelloEvan CraneLisa CuttenSerena da ConceicaoMegan DalyMelissa DavisShelley DavisDenise DeBellisTim DeeryLorraine Della PennaNathan DembinAllison DemorestLynn DennisonGeorgia Dent

Jean-Michael DesjardinsGeorge DeWittJim DodgeJoy A. Dryer, Ph.D.Kathy DudaKara DuffusBarbara EllmanJacky ElmoRenee EnglanderThomas EvansElissa FederoffJoe FeldmanAlejita Jacobs FelicianoTed FinkleBarbara FoxK FrancisDenise A. FurlongCarol GalioneChristopher GalloClark GarnierMichael GaworskiBob GlassmanIris GlassmanSusan GoldmanBilly GoldsteinMatt GoodellJames GorceskyScott GorenGerrit GrahamShelley GrahamAlan GraysonJudy GraysonPaula GreenKristi HabedanckRichard HaffarLee HairstonDavid HanzlNicole HeidbrederHannah HeinrichEdwina HendersonLeslie HillMyrna S. HiltonJulie HoughJamie HullHilary H. HuntingtonJulie IntellisanoAllison IrwinDianne JabbourKate JacobsonLouis JargowKaty JordanRisa KamienLaura KandelLauren Kassirer

Darlene KelleyRichard KellyKate KentTris KorolChloe KramerCynthia KudrenJacalyn KukleJane LaikenJustin LangSusan LathamShirley LevyCraig LinetPat LoggiaJulia LukacherHeather MacLeanChristine M. MaggioJanielle MahanPatty ManfratesCaitlin MarkesDebra MarkesHeather MarrinAnastasia McCarthyAshleigh McCordJim McElroyMark McKennaDeborah McMenemyLauren McTagueDeborah MedenbachJessica MedenbachJack MilgramBarry MillerMadeleine MolyneauxPatrick MoralesEllen NaneyVicky NatlandOliver NobleJason NovakKeith PaleseSteven ParisiClaudia ParkerHillary PartridgeKathy PaukerLaurence PaverdLaura PepitoneLisa PerezChase PiersonStephanie PincarMichael PlatskyBarbara PokrasPamela PowerMarv PritchardGeorge RadelDeborah RamsdenDanielle Reisigl

Carly RepkoVanessa RobertsLiz RocheSuzanne RotondoTara RyanAmanda SchaperSiobhan SchneidmanJudy SchultzAngelique SchusterLaurie SchwartzBecky SellingerYvonne Sewall-RuskinGreg SilverBill StittJosh SmithTaima SmithBeth SnodgrassJasper SpeierJudith SteinfeldBill StittTheresa SullivanErica TaylorNoah TelsonSarah ThomasJuan M. TorresJohanna TrimboliRachel TroyWill UlmerBecky VanderloopJudith Velosky-MartellBetty VeraMarie VillavecchiaJesse VinicorGypsy (Rosanne) VinicoreHeather VomeroGlenn WarnockMissy WeeksPamela WeisbergIlana WeissCarol WernerMichael WernerMichael WhiteDonna White-DavisElly WiningerMyrah WizeWilliam (Bill) WurstLeah WyszomirskiKathy YanasLydia ZammMerrie ZaretskyLisa ZarowitzGail Zwiebel

VOLUNTEERS (AS OF 8/30)

THANK YOU

13

Mark Braunstein

Adam, Daniel and Julian

Amy Gossels

Annie Nocenti

Anthony Katagas

Bill Plympton

Carol Ricken

Clark Strand

David D’Arcy

David Dinerstein

David Fenkel

David Gingras

David Kwok

Diana Cassidy

Doreen Ringer Ross

Eamonn Bowles

Ellen Barry

Ellen Chenoweth

Elma Cremin

Ford Crull

Gill Holland

Grover Crisp

Haskell Wexler

Ira Schreck

James Schamus

Jason Makowski

Jeffrey Abramson

Joan Quigley

John S. Lyons

John Sloss

Judy Arthur

Julie Fontaine

Kate Pierson

Katharine McKenna

Katherine Meyer

Keith Weckstein

Ken Regan

Kevin A. Cahill

Kevin Hartman

Lauri Andretta

Lemore Syvan

Leon Gast

Linda Livingston

Lisa Gossels

Liz Garbus

Lydia Dean Pilcher

Mara Medoff

Mark Urman

Martha Frankel

Marvin Seligman

Mary Ann Hult

Maurice Hinchey

Melisse Seleck

Michael Lang

Michelle Byrd

Mike Stock

Mitch Pollack

Pamela Yates

Pat Lieske

Paul Hoffman

Perdita Finn

Peter Finn

Rie Norregaard

Robert Peacock

Ron Nyswaner

Ron Suman

Sabine Hoffman

Sara Finmann

Sherry & Rick Gottschalk

Signe Baumane

Stephen Hays

Steven Beer

Stuart Jay Rothkopf

Susana Meyer

Tamara Lang

Ted Wright

Thelma Adams

Town of Hunter

Town of Rhinebeck

Town of Woodstock

Victoria Langling

Ward Todd

Wayne Walrath

William B Higginson

Woodstock Guild

Woodstock Playhouse

Woodstock Police

Yvonne Conza

Special Thanks

Amy Menell

Avis & Greg Gebhart

Bar Scott and PeterSchoenberger

Brynn Kelsey

Carla Smith and the WoodstockGuild

Carol Ricken

Debi DiPeso

Deborah Ramsden

Dennis & Abby Bressack

Diane Collelo

Dick & Susan Goldman

Don Wright & Ronnie Shushan

Doreen Mar

Elaine Jaffe

Elise and Steve Pittelman

Ellen & Allen Zerkin

Ellen Bitterman and RichardCaggiano

Ellen Shapiro

Eve & Art Cohen

Evelyne Pouget/Blue Pearl GuestCottage

Gabrielle Kleinman

Genny Abbot

Grace Bowne

Gypsy Vinicor/Cottages atRockcut Ledge

Habib Gardee/Bearsville Inn

Holli & Ed Gersh

Holly Beye

Holly Coe

Jacalyn Kukle

Jack Baran & Linda Leeds

Jane Laiken & Billy Goldstein

Janet Nelson

Johanna Tirmboli

Joy & Bob Hausman

Joy Dryer and Sol Moro

Joyce Beymer

Judy Dahl/Black Bear Cottages

Judy Steinfeld

Kate Pierson/Lazy Meadows

Lauri & Jay Andretta

Laurie Schwartz and NathanBrenowitz

Linda & Bruce Bodner

Lori Ylvisker

Maria Brown

Marita Lopez-Mena

Mark Braunstein & KatherineMcKenna

Marlyn Parks

Martin Torres & Joe DiThomas

Matt Rudikoff & Lola Cohen

Mitchell Milner

Nancy Caigan

Neil & Ilene Rubinstein

Patti Kurtz/Woodstock Inn onthe Millstream

Peter Cantine & EricMann/Bearsville Suites

Randy & Barbara Rissman

Steve & Elise Pittleman (checkthat they aren't on

Barbara's list-- once is enuf )

Suzanne Rotondo and KristiHabedanck

Tom & Elly Jackson

Village Green B & B

Woodstock Lodge

Hospitality Thank Yous

If we forgot to thank you, please forgive our oversight and know that your help and support is very much appreciated.

14

As a not-for-profit, 501 (C) (3) organization, our mission is to present an annual program andyear-round schedule of film, music, and art-related activities that promote artists, culture,inspired learning, and diversity. The Woodstock Film Commission promotes sustainable eco-nomic development by attracting and supporting film, video, and media production.

Every fall, film and music lovers from around the world gather here for an exhilarating vari-ety of films, concerts, celebrity-led seminars, workshops, a closing-night awards ceremony, andsuperlative parties. Visitors find themselves in a relaxed, receptive atmosphere surrounded bysome of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.

Over one hundred feature films, documentaries, and shorts, including premieres from theU.S. and abroad, will be screened, with many filmmakers present for Q & As. Specific programsinclude the Feature Showcase, In Competition Narratives and Documentaries, Shorts, YouthInitiative, Focus on Music, Exposure, and more.

The festival has drawn rave reviewsnationwide from filmmakers, industrymembers, film lovers, and the media. Inits yearly “Top Ten Film FestivalGetaways,” Film Festival Reporter wrote,“Sure, you’ve heard about the historicrock shows, but film is the reason tocome to Woodstock.” The festival is alsoproud to be listed in the travel guide1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

The Woodstock Film Festival

celebrates new and establi-

shed voices in independent

film with screenings,

seminars, workshops, and

concerts, throughout the mid-

Hudson Valley.

Founded by filmmakers Meira

Blaustein and Laurent Rejto,

the festival is centered in the

historic colony of Woodstock,

New York, with additional

events and screenings taking

place in the nearby towns of

Rhinebeck and Hunter.

“In an ideal world (and Woodstock’s denizensspecialize in Utopian visions), these all-too-common celluloid celebrations shouldn’t just giveout-of-towners a chance to schmooze; theyshould reflect and enhance the communities thatspawn them. And in that respect, as it nears thefive-year mark, Woodstock is becoming one ofthe most distinctive festivals on thecircuit.”(Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York)

In addition to providing classes, internships,and career opportunities for local schoolsthroughout the year, the WFF presents A Dayat the Roundtables at the annual festival. Thiscareer day style event allows middle and highschool students from the region to learn aboutfilmmaking in one-on-one openexchanges with leading industrymembers.

Past participants haveincluded United Artists presi-dent, producer Bingham Ray;Academy Award winners cine-matographer Haskell Wexler(One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest),composer Elmer Bernstein (ToKill a Mockingbird), documentaryfilmmaker Leon Gast (When WeWere Kings), screenwriterZachary Sklar (JFK); and RonNyswaner (Philadelphia); andother representatives from diverse fields including casting, edit-ing, producing, and more. This is an outstanding opportunityfor students interested in film and media.

Films by high school students are also presented as part ofthe festival’s Youth Initiative.

Educational events include the Youth Initiative“Career Day,” workshops, outreach, classroomcurricula, internships, and work opportunities.“Career Day” guest have featured six Oscar win-ners including the late legendary composer ElmerBernstein, and documentary filmmaker Leon Gast(When We Were Kings).

Youth Initiative

Continuing anextraordinarylineup ofprovocativeprogramming, the

Woodstock Film Festival presentsExposure, featuring films from aroundthe world with an emphasis on social,political, and environmental matters.

Exposure

EDUCATION

ABOUT WFF

15

ABOUT WFF

Films with local ties are a significantpart of the WFF. The HudsonValley/Catskills is a hotbed of cre-ative energy and home to manyestablished and emerging filmmak-ers. Film production in the HudsonValley/Catskills also attracts film-

makers from around the world. The Woodstock Film Commission, under the

auspices of the Woodstock Film Festival, promoteseconomic development by highlighting local talentand attracting outside film, video, and media produc-tion to the region.

Since its inception, the WoodstockFilm Commission has acted as a con-duit for preproduction, production,and postproduction for filmmaking inthe Hudson Valley/Catskill region.

In conjunction with the film festi-val, the commission attracts filmmak-ers from all over the region and pro-vides support throughout the year tofeatures, independent features, print, media, short films, and TV ads.

Recent films that have been shot locallyinclude the recent Ghost Dance, The ThingAbout My Folks (starring Paul Reiser andPeter Falk), Down to the Bone (2004Sundance Award Winner), Patch (starringMelissa Leo and Deborah Harry), PersonalVelocity (2002 Sundance Award winner),Wendigo, Pagans, and many more.

WOODSTOCK FILM COMMISSION

To honor its musical heritage, the WFF has made music an integral part ofits programming. WFF’s Focus on Music showcases films about music andmusicians while actively exploring its role in film. Many of the films empha-size music as a powerful tool for expression and conflict resolution.

Through workshops, seminars, and live concerts featuring musicianswith links to films in the festival, the WFF emphasizes filmscoring.

Each year, the festival also produces a special complimentary CD featuringmusic from festival films.

Focus on Music

Film of the HudsonValley/Catskills

Join us October 13-17,then come back to visit or to shoot your film in thebeautiful HudsonValley/Catskills.

For more info, visit www.woodstockfilmcommission.com

As part of its dedication to year-

round programming, the

Woodstock Film Festival pres-

ents monthly screenings and

scheduled workshops, includ-

ing the “Can Film Festival,”

which features free screenings

where canned or boxed food is the price of admission, to

benefit local food pantries. Featured films have included The

Weather Underground, Farmingville, and Off the Charts.The festival also tours all year long, with films and other

programming in five counties, including “Independent Filmon the Air,” a copresentation with WAMC–Northeast PublicRadio in Albany. Featured events included the Garbage,Gangster & Greed Youth Forum; Medium Cool with HaskellWexler and Pamela Yates; and “Alternative Explorations forFilms That Matter.”

Beginning this December, the WFF will present bi-monthly screenings in Manhattan at The Two Boots PioneerTheater 155 East 3rd Street in NYC.

Pamela Yates and Haskell Wexler (2004)

YEAR ROUND PROGRAMMING

on

16

SPONSORS

PRESENTING SPONSOR

MAJOR SPONSORS

KEY SPONSOR

SUPERSTAR SPONSOR

17

SPONSORS

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

COMPLIMENTARY CD SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSORS

EVENT SPONSORS

TRANSPORT SPONSORS

EVENT SUPPORT

AIVF

Center for Photography atWoodstock

Gigi Trattoria

Mediarights.org

NYWIFT

FOUNDATION SUPPORT

The Dyson Foundation

Experimental Television Center

The Perry and Martin GranoffFoundation

EQUIPMENT/TECHNICAL SPONSORS

3rd Street R&D Production Svcs.

Canus Major Productions

Viva La Data

STATE AND LOCAL SUPPORT

Ulster County Legislature

Ulster County Chamber ofCommerce

Woodstock Chamber of Commerce

The Woodstock FilmFestival event is madepossible with publicfunds from the NewYork State Council onthe Arts, a StateAgency

AWARD SPONSORSDiscmakers

Docurama

Kodak

Lowel Light

Showbiz Software

OFFICIAL WATER SPONSOR

Yasgur Farms Bottled H20

HOSPITALITY SPONSORSAdriano Limousine (music)Black Bear DeliBread AloneBrices Discount BeveragesBurts Electronics (music)Catskill Mountain Organic CoffeeCibo FoodsCountry Heritage Farms

HOSPITALITY SPONSORS con’d

Deising’s Bakery

Gadaletto’s Seafood

Hickory BBQ

Lachmans Bakery

Lox of BagelsMother Earth

Mirsa Smoked Salmon

Old Chatham SheepherdingCompany

Oregon Orchard Hazelnuts

Price Chopper Supermarkets

St. Claire’s Organic Sweets

Stone Pony Deli

Stonyfield Farm

Sunfrost Market (pumpkins)

98.1

18

ADVISORY BOARD

Elmer Bernsteinfeature film composer(HONORARY CHAIR)2004 would have been ElmerBernstein’s 53rd anniversary as a featurefilm composer. His name will always besynonymous with creativity, versatilityand longevity. He wrote music for over200 major film and television scores andwas nominated fourteen times for anAcademy Award for such films as FarFrom Heaven, The Age of Innocence, To KillA Mockingbird, and The MagnificentSeven, among others. He was awardedthe Oscar for best film score forThoroughly Modern Millie.

Judy Arthur Public Relations consultantJudy Arthur directs public relations andmarketing campaigns for the entertain-ment industry and cultural, interna-tional, and public affairs. She hasbeen a public relations executive atPolyGram Films, Orion Pictures, andHBO, directing campaigns for numer-ous Academy Award winning films.

Eamonn BowlesPresident, Magnolia PicturesEamonn Bowles is president ofMagnolia Pictures, Guerrilla:The Takingof Patty Hearst, A League of OrdinaryGentlemen, Ong Bak, Capturing theFriedmans, Read my Lips, Late Marriage,and Control Room. Prior to Magnolia hewas president of Shooting GalleryPictures, Croupier, A Time For DrunkenHorses, Last Resort, The Day I Became AWoman, Eureka, among numerous oth-ers. He has also served as senior vicepresident of acquisitions and marketingwith Miramax and as head of distribu-tion at The Samuel Goldwyn Company.

Ellen Chenoweth - Casting DirectorSelect credits include Mona Lisa Smile,Intolerable Cruelty, Confessions of aDangerous Mind, Analyze This, Bandits,The Man Who Wasn’t There, Meet theParents, O Brother, Where Art Thou?Diner, Avalon, Broadcast News, ArlingtonRoad, Liberty Heights, The HorseWhisperer, Affliction, Lolita, Wag the Dog,Bridges of Madison County, Nobody’s Fool,Disclosure, Six Degrees of Separation, ABronx Tale, Terms of Endearment ...

Griffin DunneDirector, Producer, ActorGriffin Dunne is a director, (Addicted toLove, Practical Magic, Lisa Picard isFamous) producer, (Chilly Scenes ofWinter, Baby it’s You, Running on Empty,After Hours) and actor (Marie and Bruce,American Werewolf in London, AfterHours). As a screen writer he co-wrotewith Adam Brooks the Academy Awardnominated short, Duke of Groove andSpin for Dreamworks.

Martha FrankelEntertainment JournalistMartha Frankel is an entertainmentjournalist who has interviewed everyonefrom Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn andElizabeth Taylor to Lee Attwater andMike Tyson for magazines as diverse asThe New Yorker, Fashions of the NewYork Times, Cosmopolitan, the originalDetails, as well as many other interna-tional magazines. She is a past winnerof a NYFFA Award in creative nonfic-tion, was the 1997 Philip Morris Fellowat The MacDowell Colony, and the2003 Artist-in-Residence at SUNYUlster.

Leon Gast - FilmmakerLeon Gast - FilmmakerProducer, director, editor and writer ofWhen We Were Kings, the AcademyAward winning documentary of the1974 heavyweight championship boutin Zaire between champion GeorgeForeman and underdog challengerMuhammad Ali. Other film creditsinclude Hell’s Angels Forever, TheGrateful Dead Movie, Celia Cruz:Quantanamera, and Only Love.

Stephen Hays - Executive ProducerStephen Hays is partner and co-founderof Seneca Capital, a New York-basedhedge fund, and has eighteen yearsexperience on Wall Street. Over the lastdecade, he has invested in numerousfilm projects and recent credits includethe following: Co-Producer They AreAmong Us (Allison Eastwood, BruceBoxleitner); Co-Executive ProducerDrop Dead Sexy (Crispin Glover, JasonLee, Pruitt Taylor Vince); ExecutiveProducer Loggerhead (Kip Pardue,Melinda Dillon, Bonnie Hunt) andExecutive Producer Confess.com (EugeneByrd, Melissa Leo, Ali Larter) . Stephenis presently involved in a half-

dozen other projects at various stages ofdevelopment. In addition, he hasrecently partnered with UK-basedParadigm Hyde Films (www.phfilm.com),a gap lender/financier to independentfilms worldwide, as a strategic investor.

Ethan HawkeActor, director, AuthorAs Director, Chelsea Walls — As Actor,Training Day (nominated for Best-Supporting Actor Oscar) Snow Falling onCedars, Hamlet, Joe the King, GreatExpectations, The Newton Boys, TheVelocity of Gary, Gattaca, Search andDestroy, Reality Bites, White Fang II,Floundering, Quiz Show, Alive, Rich inLove, Waterland, White Fang, MidnightClear, Mystery Date, Dead Poets Society,Dad, Explorers, Before Sunset, TakingLives, and most recently Before Sunrise.

Sabine Hoffman - EditorSabine Hoffman’s credits as film editorinclude Rebecca Miller’s new film TheBallad of Jack and Rose (to be releasedby IFC in Spring 2005) She also editedMrs Miller’s Personal Velocity, winner ofthe 2003 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance,the Award for Best Cinematography andthe John Cassavettes Award. Othercredits include Morgan J. Freeman’sDesert Blue and Hurricane Streets (winnerof Audience, Best Director and BestCinematography Award at the 1997Sundance Film Festival), Alex Sichels AllOver Me (a Teddy Award Winner at theBerlin Film Festival), Katja Essons FerryTales (nominated for an Academy Awardin 2004), Bill Jennings Harlem Aria(Audience Award winner at UrbanworldNew York, Chicago and Los Angeles)and Rodney Evans’ upcoming Brother toBrother (Special Jury Prize winner atSundance 2004 and the ShowtimeAward ). Sabine also serves on theAdvisory boards of WERISE and theFusion Film Festival.

Gill Holland - Producer and Partner,LaSalle HollandNominated for Spirit Award for Producerof the Year 1998, Gill Holland producedSundance winning Hurricane Streets, theFOX sit-com Greg the Bunny, “SpringForward,” and Emmy-nominated DearJesse, among others. He produced threevolumes of cineBLAST!, the short filmvideo compilations.

Half-Norwegian, half North Carolinianreformed lawyer and former adjunctprofessor at NYU Graduate Film School,Gill worked at the French Film Office.He was on the jury for shorts atSundance and selection committee forthe Academy Awards, Student Division.His music label sonaBLAST! Records’first release, Mark Geary’s “331⁄3 GrandStreet” hit top 40 in Ireland.

Michael Lang - Producer, PromoterProducer, Promoter updatedAs the founder of Woodstock Ventures,Michael is best known as the producerand promoter of the Woodstock Music& Arts Festival (1969, 1994 & 1999).In addition to his core business ofevent production and music manage-ment he is currently working on theproduction of a film based on thenovel The Master and Margurita byMikeal Bulgakov. Other film creditsinclude Bottle Rocket, the debut film ofdirector Wes Anderson and actors LukeWilson and Owen Wilson.

Stephen Nemeth - Rhino FilmsStephen Nemeth formed and heads upthe film division of iconoclast recordlabel Rhino Records. Nemeth producedFear and Loathing in Las Vegas, directedby Terry Gilliam (Universal Pictures),Why Do Fools Fall in Love, directed byGregory Nava (Warner Bros.) andothers. The Hollywood ReporterIndependent Producers & DistributorsIssue, named him one of the top tenmost prolific producers in Hollywood.Prior to joining Rhino in 1993, Nemethworked as an independent producerand as an agent at the William MorrisAgency.

Jeremiah NewtonNYU Industry LiaisonAs Film and Television Industry Liaisonfor the largest film school in America,NYU’s Maurice Kanbar Institute of Filmand Television, Mr. Newton created TheDirectors Series that takes place twice aweek involving the latest Hollywood,independent, documentary and foreignfeature films. Mr. Newton also adminis-trates the Mentor Program, which findsindustry mentors for film and TV stu-dents. His writing credits include workon I Shot Andy Warhol.

19

ADVISORY BOARD

Annie Nocenti - Screenwriter, EditorAnnie Nocenti is a screenwriter, filmjournalist, and was the editor of bothHigh Times magazine and Scenario, ascreenwriting magazine.

Ron Nyswaner - Screenwriter, Director Ron Nyswaner wrote the screenplay for,and co-produced, Soldier’s Girl, directedby Frank Pierson, which premiered atthe 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Hewrote the screenplay for Philadelphia,the first major studio film to confrontAIDS and homophobia, for which hewas nominated for the Golden Globe,Writers’ Guild, BAFTA and AcademyAwards.

Currently, Nyswaner is writing ATrial By Jury for director Sam Raimi, andThe Leni Riefenstahl Story for JodieFoster. He has just finished his firstbook, Blue Days, Black Nights: A Memoirof Love and Loss.

Sarah Plant - Composer .Sarah Plant was Associate MusicDirector, arranger, and flutist for AngLee’s Oscar-nominated Eat Drink ManWoman. Feature and documentary cred-its include Shoot George, Juliette of theHerbs (PBS), Entwined, Spotted Puppets(Canal+), Brothers and Others: TheImpact of 9/11 on Arabs and Muslims inAmerica (CBC, Hallmark, Swiss TV),Guillermo Gomez-Peña, (PBS), and GoingOrganic (PBS) and Bravo Profiles: JulieTaymor (Bravo). Scores includeAmerican Museum of Natural Historybiodiversity films, museum art installa-tions and a commission for Bill T. JonesDance Company. Her work has beenperformed at the Kennedy Center, BAM,Carnegie Recital Hall, and the SpoletoFestival.

Bill Plympton - AnimatorBill Plympton’s animated films includehis latest feature Hair High, which wonthe Gold Jury Prize at the Fant-Asia fes-tival in Montreal, and the short filmGuard Dog, which won the Best ShortPrize at Anima Mundi and a specialprize at the Hiroshima AnimationFestival. Past projects include MutantAliens, I Married a Strange Person, andThe Tune. His short films have been seenwidely around the country, high lightingmany animation festivals, and on DVDin the Plymptoons and MondoPlympton collections.

Aidan Quinn – Actor, ProducerAidan Quinn’s most recent film isCavedweller. Other recent projectsinclude Song for a Raggy Boy (WFF2003), Plainsong, and Evelyn. He hasappeared in over 35 independent andstudio features including DesperatelySeeking Susan, An Early Frost, Avalon, AtPlay in the Fields of the Lord, Benny andJoon, Legends of the Fall, and MichaelCollins.

Bingham Ray - ProducerBingham Ray is the former presi-dent of United Artists (Bowling forColumbine, Assassination Tango, NicholasNickleby, City of Ghosts). As co-founderof October Films, he distributedindependent films such as Secrets &Lies, Breaking The Waves, and TheApostle.

Peter Saraf - ProducerPeter is currently producing LievSchreiber’s Everything Is Illuminated. Hewas executive producer of Spike Jonze’scritically acclaimed Adaptation starringNicholas Cage. As producer, his creditsinclude The Truth About Charlie,Mandela, Ulee’s Gold, Courage and Pain,Into the Rope and Storefront Hitchcock.

Steve Savage - President, NewVideoSteve is president and co-founder ofNew Video, a New York based DVDcompany. New Video has released acatalog of over 1,500 titles under TheHistory Channel, A&E, NBC and IFCimprints. Since 1999, New Video hasdistributed a catalog of over 100 inde-pendent and classic documentariesunder their Docurama label. Forpreschoolers the company offers aseries of classic children’s books onDVD under the Scholastic brand.www.docurama.comwww.newvideo.com

Liev Schrieber - ActorLiev Schrieber has quickly establishedhimself as one of the most versatileactors of his generation through his abil-ity to effortlessly play roles ranging fromclassical Shakespearean to contempo-rary film. Among his film credits are,moist recently, The Manchurian candi-date, The Sum of All Fears, Kate &Leopold, Spring Forward, The Hurricane,and A Walk on the Moon. He is currentlydirecting Everything is Illuminated.

Zachary Sklar – ScreenwriterZachary Sklar is a screenwriter, journal-ist, author, and editor. He is best knownas co-author (with Oliver Stone) of theAcademy Award-nominated screenplayfor the film JFK. He is currently workingon several screenplays.

John Slossloss Law Office & CineticJohn Sloss has acted as ExecutiveProducer for over thirty feature filmsincluding, most recently, Pizza, Land ofPlenty, A Home at the End of the World,November and Far fromHeaven (WFF2002). Other credits include JohnSayles’ City of Hope, Passion Fish, TheSecret of Roan Inish, Lone Star, and MenWith Guns; Richard Linklater’s BeforeSunrise, SubUrbia ,The NewtonBoys,Waking Life and Before Sunrise;Whit Stillman’s The Last Days of Disco;Errol Morris’ Mr. Death; BradAnderson’s Happy Accidents and Session9; and Kimberly Pierce’s Boys Don’t Cry.As an attorney, John Sloss representsclients in all aspects of motion picturefinancing, production and distribution,including motion picture producers,directors, writers and broadcast net-works, as well as professional sportsteams.

Fisher StevensActor, Producer, DirectorFisher Stevens is an accomplished actor,director and producer. In addition toperforming both on the stage and innumerous television series, Stevens hasstarred in a wide range of feature films,such as Reversal of Fortune, The FlamingoKid, Short Circuit, Only You, and mostrecently, Miramax’s Undisputed. In1996, Stevens co-founded GreeneStreetFilms, a New York-based independentproduction company, with John Penotti.Since then, the company has producedand financed a number of criticallyacclaimed films, such as In the Bedroom,Pinero, Swimfan, The Chateau, and LisaPicard is Famous. Stevens made his fea-ture film directorial debut withGreeneStreet’s Just a Kiss.

David Strathairn - ActorDavid is an accomplished film and stageactor. He has appeared in many inde-pendent and studio films including Mapof the World, LA Confidential, SimonBirch, Dolores Claiborne, The River Wild,Silkwood, and many more films. He isbest known for his work with directorJohn Sayles, including Limbo, PassionFish, Eight Men Out, Matewan, BrotherFrom Another Planet. and Return of theSecaucus Seven.

Lemore Syvan, ProducerLemore’s most recent films includeKing of the Corner, directed by PeterRiegert and Rebecca Millers The Balladof Jack and Rose starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Catherine Keener. In postproduction is Duane Hopwood, direct-ed by Matt Mulhern starring DavidSchwimmer and Jeanine Gerofalo andShall Not Want directed by LaurieCollyer starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.Previous films include John Sayles Casade Los Babys,Rebecca Miller’s Personal Velocity (grandprize winner at 2002 Sundance FilmFestival). She heads the productioncompany Elevation Filmworks.

20

LETTERS

21

22

The fiercely independentWoodstock Film Festivaltook the name for itsaward – The Maverick –from the original

Woodstock arts colony of the early 1900s,where the first of many Maverick Festivalstook place each summer. These festivals cele-brated independence, social responsibility,and good times, all in honor of the creativespirit. The Woodstock Film Festival is proudto carry on this tradition of celebrating andhonoring the work, dedication, spirit, energy,and inspiration of those who make feelingsvisible and thoughts concrete, who makesense out of sensations, who shine light intodarkness, and who nuance the obvious.

The Honorary Maverick Award is pre-sented to an individual whose life and workis the very definition of the word “maverick.”Past recipients include Woody Harrelson,Tim Robbins, D. A. Pennebaker, and ChrisHegedus, and Les Blank. This year’s honoreewill be announced in September.

Handcrafted trophies and prizes areawarded for Best Feature Narrative, BestFeature Documentary, Best ShortDocumentary, Best Short, and Best StudentFilm. Other awards are presented for cine-

matography, and animation – and, for thevery first time this year, editing.

Past recipients include the featuresAssisted Living, Wendigo, Recoil, TheDreamcatcher, and Interview with the Assassin,and the documentaries A Boy’s Life, Spellbound,Passages, and Freestyle. In Competition finalists,all first-time feature filmmakers, are selectedby a committee headed by Ryan Werner,head of theatrical distribution at Wellspring. The WFF Maverick Award for BestAnimated Film is presented by BillPlympton (How to Kiss, 25 Ways to QuitSmoking, Mutant Aliens, The Tune, Hair High).Plympton is recognized as one of America’sforemost illustrators, cartoonists, and anima-tors. His highly successful short films havewon countless prizes and have appeared withfrenzied frequency at film festivals, on televi-sion, and online.

The Haskell Wexler Award for BestCinematography is judged by HaskellWexler, A.S.C. (Bound for Glory, One FlewOver the Cuckoo’s Nest, Coming Home, Who’sAfraid of Virginia Woolf, The Secret of RoanInish). Wexler is a five-time Academy Awardnominee and a recipient of a star onHollywood’s Walk of Fame.

The 2004 Maverick Awardsceremony will by Emceed byMikhail Horowitz & Gilles Malkine.Horowitz and Malkine have been delightingaudiences for years. Their original, zany,and imaginative verbal acrobatics and mal-adaptations of old tunes with new lyricshave left onlookers laughing until they’regasping for breath. Their satirical takes onworld currents consistently hit the mark, asdo their rap versions of such literary clas-

sics as Moby Dick, Homer’s Odyssey, Alice’sAdventures In Wonderland, and Waiting forGodot. They perform songs on subjects asdiverse as the lack of affordable health care,the blues origins of Macbeth and Hamlet,political unreality and surreality, the scantlikelihood of sex after death, and the legacyof orthodox Jewish cowboys. Or, you may betreated to the granddaddy of all disaster-motif songs, or a faded and frayed remem-brance of a fiery night in the 60s, or a rendi-tion of Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees” as itmight be recited by Blackbeard the Pirate.

mav·er·ick adj. 1. Beingindependent in thought andaction or exhibiting suchindependence. 2. One who

refuses to abideby the dictatesof a group.

New Award - Excellence inEditing!For the first time ever the Woodstock FilmFestival will recognize the art of film edit-ing. The WFF Maverick Award forExcellence in Editing will be presented inthe categories of Feature Narative andDocumentary. On the jury are Sarah Flack(Lost in Translation, The Limey), SabineHoffman (Personal Velocity, Brother toBrother, The Ballad of Jack and Rose) andDoug Abel (Fog of War, Metallica: SomeKind of Monster, The Awful Truth).

MAVERICK AWARDS

FEATURES:Thelma Adams (Film critic, US Weekly)

Fisher Stevens (actor/director/producer, Just a Kiss,Famous”,“Pinero, Swimfan, Uptown Girls)

Ira Deutchman (Producer, Brothel, Interstate 60, Ball in theHouse, Center of the World, Way Past Cool)

DOCUMENTARIESLiz Garbus (Academy Award nominated filmmaker.The Farm, Angola USA, The Nazi Officer’sWife, The Execution of Wanda Jean,Girlhood)

Brett Morgen (Academy Award nominated filmmaker,On the Ropes, The Kids Stay in the Picture)

Jackie Glover (Director of Documentary Programming,HBO)

SHORTS:Gill Holland (producer, Hurricane, Desert Blue, SpringForward, Snow Days, Martin & Orloff, TheFittest, Loggerheads)

Larry Fessenden (filmmaker, No Telling, Habit, Wendigo)

Rachel Sheedy (franchised agent, Don Buckwald Agencywith emphasis on New York independentfilm, building the careers of many of theindie film world’s stalwarts.

STUDENT SHORTS:Jeremiah Newton (industry liaison, New York University)

Gill Holland (producer, Hurricane, Desert Blue, SpringForward, Snow Days, Martin & Orloff, TheFittest, Loggerheads)

CINEMATOGRAPHY:Haskell Wexler, A.S.C.

J U R Y

23

MAVERICK AWARDS

The Maverick Awards are handcrafted bySteve Heller, a self-taught artist who works inwood, found metal, and Cadillacs from the1950s. He shows at his gallery, FabulousFurniture, in Boiceville, NY.

The 2004 Woodstock Film Festival5th Anniversary HonoraryMaverick Award will be presented to theillustrious director, writer, producer Mira Nair,a fearless explorer of the human heart.

“The Maverick has long been a symbol ofthe Woodstock arts colony, representing anindividual whose life and work is based onindependent vision and social activism,” saidWFF director and co-founder MeiraBlaustein. “We are so proud to honor thework of Mira Nair, who fearlessly combinesindependence and risk-taking with social con-sciousness and continues the tradition ofthose who make feelings visible, who makesense out of sensations, who shine light intodarkness.”

“To be a maverick, to be recognized forbeing fiercely independent is a great honor.Freedom to express myself my way is animperative for my work. It is the only way Iknow,” said Ms. Nair.

Born in India, Nair began her artisticcareer as an actor before turning her attentionto directing, producing and screenwriting.She found success as a documentary filmmak-er, winning prestigious awards for So FarFrom India, India Cabaret and TheLaughing Club of India. Nair’s feature filmcredits include the critically acclaimedSalaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala,Hysterical Blindness, Kama Sutra: A Taleof Love, The Perez Family, MonsoonWedding, and the newly released VanityFair. Her films have won accolades and mul-tiple awards at major film festivals all over the

world.

ANIMATION:Bill Plympton (Academy Award Nominated filmmaker /animator, Hair Hight, Eat, Mutant Aliens,The Tune, Plymptoons)

Signe Baumane (filmmaker / animator, Five F*ckingFables)

Debra Solomon(animator, Lizzie McGuire, the Movie)

SHORT DOCS:Lee Hirsch (filmmaker, Amandla! A Revolution in FourPar Harmony)

Leon Gast (Academy Award winner, When We WereKings, One Love, Hell’s Angels Forever, TheGrateful Dead Movie, B.B. King: Live inAfrica)

Rebecca Cammisa (filmmaker, Sister Helen)

EDITING:Sabine Hoffmann (editor, The Ballad of Jack and Rose,Personal Velocity, Brother to Brother, FerryTales)

Sarah Flack (editor, Lost in Translation, Swimfan, FullFrontal, The Limey)

Doug Abel (editor, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from theLife of Robert McNamara, Pootie Tang)

MAVERICK AWARD SPONSORS

25

26 p.s.

27 THE MACHINIST

28 THE WOODSMAN

29 DEAR FRANKIE

30 ADMISSIONS

31 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

31 BLACKBALLED:THE BOBBY DUKES STORY

32 CAVEDWELLER

33 CHAIN

34 CHORISTS (LES CHORISTES)

35 COSMOPOLITAN

36 THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY

37 DOWN TO THE BONE

38 ELEPHANT SHOES

38 THE FITTEST

39 JAILBAIT

40 KING OF THE CORNER

40 KONTROLL

41 ONG BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR

42 OUR MUSIC (Notre Musique)

43 PIZZA

44 SECRET HONOR

45 SPEAK

46 UNDERTOW

46 UNKNOWN SOLDIER

All information is Subject to change.Please visit www.woodstockfilmfestival.com for the most up to date informationincluding SCHEDULES, added screenings, and OTHER EVENTS.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

26

W O O D S T O C K

Louise Harrington (LauraLinney), a divorced, thirty-somethingadmissions officer at ColumbiaUniversity’s School of Fine Arts, is intelli-gent, pretty, successful, and… unfulfilled.That is, until a graduate school applicationcrosses her desk and she arranges to inter-view the young painter who sent it in. WhenScott Feinstadt (Topher Grace) appears, hebears an uncanny resemblance to Louise’shigh school boyfriend and one true love, anartist who died in a car accident twenty yearsearlier. Within hours of the interview, Louiseand Scott have embarked on a passionatelyuninhibited older woman/younger man affair.But is Scott merely a reminder of Louise’s lostlove? And is he just trying to wheedle his wayinto the Ivy League?

Adding to the romantic intrigue areLouise’s best friend from high school, Missy(Marcia Gay Harden), who shows up to claimthe affections of the boy; Louise’s codepen-dent ex-husband, Peter (Gabriel Byrne); hercynical mother (Lois Smith); and her fresh-out-of-rehab brother (Paul Rudd).

Torrid and tender, serious and sexy, p.s.features a career performance from LauraLinney (Mystic River, You Can Count on Me)and a breakthrough leading-man turn forTopher Grace (Traffic, That 70’s Show).

p.s., based on Helen Schulman’s novel ofthe same name and shot entirely in New YorkCity, is a romantic fable about getting a sec-ond chance at first love.

Dylan Kidd’s first film,Roger Dodger, won the

Lion of the Future Award at the 2002 VeniceInternational Film Festival, Best Feature Filmat the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival, BestFirst Feature from the National Board ofReview and the New York Film Critics Circleand several Independent Spirit and IFPGotham Award nominations. For his indeliblework as Roger Swanson in that film,Campbell Scott received the Best Actor Awardfrom the National Board of Review.

“When I read the novel, I realized thatLouise Harrington was as fascinating a puzzleas Roger Swanson in Roger Dodger,” saysKidd, drawing out some surprising affinitiesbetween the two works. “These two filmsform a sort of ‘cinema of arrested develop-ment.’ They involve characters with all thetrappings of adult life the wardrobe, job suc-cess who gradually reveal themselves to belocked in place emotionally.”

BIO

O P E N I N GN I G H T F I L M S

NARRATIVE FEATURES

p.s.

Courtesy of Newmarket Films

Directed by Dylan KiddUSA / 2004 / 97 minutes

Tinker Street • 10/14 • 7:30pm & 9:30pm

Main Credits:Director Dylan Kidd

Producers Robert KesselJohn N. HartJeffrey SharpAnne Chaisson

Executive Producer Michael Hogan

Screenwriters Helen SchulmanDylan Kidd

Cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay

Editor Kate Sanford

Music Craig Wedren

Principal Cast Laura LinneyTopher GraceLois SmithGabriel ByrneMarcia Gay HardenPaul Rudd

R H I N E B E C K .

Trevor Reznik has not sleptfor a year. His every waking minute hasbecome an unremitting nightmare ofconfusion, paranoia, guilt, anxiety, andterror, each of which provides part of theescalating series of clues that will lead to thesource of his mysterious affliction in thisinventive psychological thriller by BradAnderson (Happy Accidents, Session).

The Darian Gap, BradAnderson’s first feature

film, screened in competition at the 1996Sundance Film Festival. Because of that film,he was honored by Variety in 1997 as one ofthe “Ten Leading New Independent Directorsto Watch”. In 1998, his film Next StopWonderland, featuring Hope Davis andPhilip Seymour Hoffman, was picked up atSundance by Miramax. It won the Grand Prixand Audience Award at the Deauville FilmFestival and the Excellence in FilmmakingAward from the National Board of Review.

In 2001, Anderson had the unusualexperience of having two of his films simulta-neously hit theaters, both to overwhelmingcritical praise: the romantic comedy HappyAccidents (IFC Films) and the psychologicalthriller Session 9 (USA Films).

His television direction includesepisodes of Homicide, HBO’s The Wire,and the FX hit The Shield.

BIO

O P E N I N GN I G H T F I L M S

THE MACHINIST

Courtesy of Paramount Classics

Directed by Brad Anderson

USA / 2004 / 98 minutes

Upstate Films 1 • 10/14 • 7:00pm

Main Credits:Director Brad Anderson

Executive Producers Carlos FernandezAntonia Nava

Screenwriter(s) Steven Fechler

Nicole Kassell

Producer Julio Fernandez

Screenwriter Scott Alan Kosar

Cinematographer Xavi Giménez

Editor Luis de la Madrid

Music Roque Banos

Principal Cast Christian BaleJennifer Jason LeighAitana Sanchez-GijonJohn SharianMichael IronsideLarry Gilliard

CMF 1 • 10/16 • 8:00pm

NARRATIVE FEATURES

“Trevor Reznik has a truly epic

case of insomnia. And if the

decline of his physical and men-

tal health weren’t bad enough,

he’s also lost the respect of his

coworkers, who shun him after

his maladies lead to a horrific

industrial accident. In the days

that follow, Trevor is convinced

they want him fired ... or worse.

As the increasingly distraught

Trevor, Christian Bale is a study

in nightmarish paranoia in Brad

Anderson’s gritty psychological

28

W O O D S T O C K

Kevin Bacon, an indispensablefixture of American cinema for the pasttwenty years, delivers one of his finest per-formances in The Woodsman, a harrowing andmoving tale of one man’s attempt to reentersociety.

After twelve years in prison, Waltermoves into a small apartment across thestreet from an elementary school, gets a job ata lumberyard, and mostly keeps to himself.He finds unexpected solace in Vicki (KyraSedgwick), a tough-talking woman whopromises not to judge him by his history. ButWalter cannot escape his past. A convictedsex offender, he is shunned by his sister, livesin fear of being discovered at work, and ishounded by a suspicious police detective(Mos Def). And, after befriending a young girlin a neighborhood park, Walter must alsograpple with the terrible prospect of his ownreawakened demons.

The Woodsman is an unnerving, ultimate-ly hopeful portrait of compulsion and hard-won redemption, based on a play of the samename.

Nicole Kassell makes herfeature directing debut

with The Woodsman. Kassell is a recent gradu-ate of the NYU Graduate Film Program,where she wrote, produced, and directedthree short films. Jaime won the 1999 DGABest Female Student Filmmaker Award, andher thesis film, The Green Hour, was honoredwith the Warner Bros. Pictures FilmProduction Award and was an official selec-tion of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Herscreenplay for The Woodsman took first prizein the 2001 Slamdance screenplaycompetition.

BIO

C L O S I N GN I G H T F I L M

THE WOODSMAN

Courtesy of Newmarket Films

Directed by Nicole KassellUSA / 2004 / 85 minutes

Tinker Street • 10/17 • 5:30pm & 7:45pm

Main Credits:Director/Screenwriter Nicole Kassell

Producers Lee DanielsDamon DashKevin BaconBrook LenfestDawn Lenfest

Cinematographer Xavier Pérez Grobet

Editor Brian A. KatesLisa Fruchtman

Music Nathan Larson

Principal Cast Kevin BaconKyra SedgwickBenjamin BrattMos DefEveMichael ShannonDavid Alan Grier

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Dear Frankie is a heartwarming andoften humorous tale of nine-year-oldFrankie and his mom, Lizzie, who havebeen on the move ever since he can remem-ber. To protect her son from the truth, Lizziehas invented a story to satisfy Frankie’s curios-ity. She regularly writes Frankie a letter fromhis make-believe father who works aboard aship traveling to exotic lands. However, Lizziesoon finds out his ‘father’s’ ship will be arriv-ing in a few days. Now, Lizzie must choosebetween telling Frankie the truth and hatchinga desperate plan to find the perfect stranger toplay the perfect father.

Directed by Shona Auerbach, DearFrankie stars Emily Mortimer (Young Adam,Lovely and Amazing, Bright Young Things),Gerard Butler (Tomb Raider 2, Timeline, theforthcoming Phantom of the Opera), and JackMcelhone (Young Adam) as Frankie. SharonSmall (About a Boy, Glasgow Kiss), MaryRiggans, Jayd Johnson and Sean Brown co-star.

Shona Auerbach began hercareer as a stills photographer but,

aware of the creative limitations, decidedthat she wanted to work with movingimages. She studied film at ManchesterUniversity, and cinematography at Leedscompleting her MA at the Polish NationalFilm School in Lodz. It was during this peri-od that she made her 35mm directing debutwith the short film Seven. This was namedBest Short Film at the British Short FilmFestival in 1996.

She has directed a number of successfulcommercials before making her feature direct-ing debut with Dear Frankie. Unusually, aswell as directing, she also acted as her ownDirector of Photography.

BIO

centerpiecescreening

DEAR FRANKIE

Courtesy of Miramax Films

Directed by Shona AuerbachUK / 2004 / 104 minutes

Tinker Street10/16 • 8:00pm

Upstate Films 2 10/17 • 6:15pm

Main Credits:Director Shona Auerbach

Producer Caroline Wood

Screenwriter Andrea Gibb

Cinematographer Shona Auerbach

Editor Oral Nottie Ottey

Original music Alex Heffes Principal

Principal Cast Emily MortimerGerard ButlerSharon SmallJack McelhoneMary RiggansJayd JohnsonSean Brown

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Evie (Lauren Ambrose) –seventeen, brilliant, disarm-ingly direct, and with a fish-out-of-water sense of humor –may or may not be on her wayout the door of her childhoodhome and on her way to col-lege. Emily, her older sister, hassavant syndrome and is severely mentallyimpaired. The two sisters have an odd bond.Neither girl sees the world through everydayeyes, and Evie cannot quite wrench free fromthe perpetual childhood her sister inhabits.Her mother (Amy Madigan) is always too busi-ly mothering one to notice the other. James,the gorgeous next-door neighbor, may or maynot succeed in his pursuit of Evie.

Admissions is the story of a girl who justwants to be a “good person” – a refreshinganachronism in today’s teenage—culture,and who messes up brilliantly in her attemptsat it. It is about how the worst troubles canbe caused by the best intentions, how onefamily’s secrets are finally revealed as theresult of a white lie, and ultimately, how thereconciliation between a mother and daugh-ter lets a girl grow up.

With Admissions, Melissa Painter returnsto Woodstock with a follow-up to her 2000feature film, Wildflowers.

Melissa Painterattended New York

University’s Graduate FilmProgram, where she received ateaching assistantship in writ-ing, directing actors, andadvanced editing.

Her 35mm short, Jump,premiered at the New York Film Festival in1996, and went on to Sundance, Bilbao,Edinburgh, and many other festivals.Wildflowers, a film about children of childrenof the 60s, which was developed at theSundance Institute Filmmakers /Screenwriters Lab with Daryl Hannah andClea DuVall, was her first feature. The filmscreened at numerous film festivals and tookthe Best Narrative price at South bySouthwest. It enjoyed a limited theatricalrelease in Los Angeles, New York, and SanFrancisco, and was released on video byMonarch Video, and was purchased for cableby the Rainbow Network. Admissions, withLauren Ambrose, Amy Madigan, andChristopher Lloyd, is her second feature. Shejust completed principal photography onlocation in Montana for her third feature,which she wrote and directed: Steal Me, thestory of a young kleptomaniac who has amother fixation.

BIO

30

NARRATIVE FEATURES

ADMISSIONSEAST COAST PREMIERE

In Competition

Directed by Melissa PainterUSA / 2004 / 92 minutes

Tinker Street 10/16 • 3:00pm

CMF 110/17 •3:30pm

Main Credits:Director Melissa Painter

Producer Annette Vait

Screenwriter Dawn O’Leary

Cinematographer Paul Ryan

Editor Robert Frazen

Music Martin Tillman

Principal Cast Lauren Ambrose Scott Adsit Christopher LloydAmy Madigan Taylor RobertsJohn Savage

Banned from the world of paintball forten years, Bobby Dukes, the formerHudson Valley champ, has returned toreclaim his title. Faced with rejection by his

former teammates, Bobby joins forces withan unlikely ally, assembles a band of misfits,and attempts to erase the figures of his taint-ed past..

Blackballed features Rob Corddry asBobby Dukes. Rob currently serves as a cor-respondent for Comedy Central’s EmmyAward-winning The Daily Show with JonStewart.

Filmed in Liberty, New York.

Brant first achieved critical successwith his documentary Release, which

premiered before a sold-out audience at the1999 New York Underground Film Festival.Acquired for worldwide distribution byVictory Records, Release debuted at no. 28 on

the Billboard Top 100 Videos chart andremained there for eight weeks. Shortly after-ward, Brant was commissioned to direct thedocumentary Sick of It All: The Story So Far.While involved in these projects, he directedtwo music videos for DJ Ming & FS, both ofwhich received heavy rotation on MTV’s AMP.

BlackBalled marks Brant’s narrative fea-ture film debut. The film, shot predominant-ly in a cinema verité style, is largely impro-vised and showcases the comedic timing ofits accomplished ensemble cast.

BIO

BLACKBALLED: THE BOBBY

DUKES STORY

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

Courtesy ofSony Pictures Entertainment

NARRATIVE FEATURES

31

Martin Scorsese directs thisstunning adaptation of EdithWharton’s novel about time-less love and aching loss.Interwoven with passion, sacri-fice, and intrigue, The Age ofInnocence tells the story of a mancaught between two women andtwo worlds. Daniel Day-Lewisand Michelle Pfeiffer star as theillicit lovers. This five-timeAcademy Award—nominatedfilm also features Winona Ryder.

Elmer Bernstein received on ofhis fourteen Academy Awardnominations for this score,which features several memo-rable original waltzes.

Directed by Martin ScorseseOriginal Score by Elmer Bernstein

USA / 1993 / 139 minutes

Tinker Street 10/15• 2:30pm

Directed by Brant SersenUSA / 2004 / 91 minutes

Bearsville Theater 10/16 • 2:45pm

CMF 210/17 • 5:30pm

Main Credits:Director Brant Sersen

Producer Darren Goldberg

Screenwriters Brant Sersen Brian Steinberg

Cinematographer Johnathan Goldsmith

Editor Chris Lechler

Music Bob WarnerPablo Rieppi

In honor of Elmer Bernstein

The Showtime original pictureCavedweller tells the story of a passion-ate woman whose chaotic present and dis-turbing past collide when she returns to hernative Georgia to win back the love of thetwo little girls she left behind. The film starsKyra Sedgwick, Aidan Quinn, Sherilyn Fenn,Jill Scott, Regan Arnold, Vanessa Zima, andKevin Bacon.

Kyra Sedgwick plays Delia, who escapedher abusive marriage and abandoned her twoyoung daughters by joining a rock group thatwas touring through her hometown. As asinger/songwriter with the group, Delia makesa new life for herself and has a third daughter,Cissy, with lead singer Randall Pritchard.

After Randall’s death in a car accident,Delia decides to take the angry, grieving Cissywith her to Georgia. Delia’s hope is toregain custody of the children she leftbehind, now in their teens, so that she canmake a better home for them all. But to dothis, Delia must confront the demons fromher first marriage, the hostility of her ex-hus-band’s family, and her own doubts about herpast decisions. She also has to win back the

trust and love of her two older daughterswithout damaging her already tense relation-ship with Cissy.

The film is directed by Lisa Cholodenko,who wrote and directed the criticallyacclaimed High Art and Laurel Canyon. Thescreenplay for Cavedweller is by AnneMeredith and is based upon the novel by Dorothy Allison.

Lisa Cholodenko started working infilm as an assistant editor on studio

features such as Boyz N the Hood and To DieFor. Drawn to New York’s independent filmscene, she attended Columbia University’sgraduate film program where she made twohighly regarded short films, Souvenir andDinner Party. Her first feature, High Art, wonthe 1998 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Prize atthe Sundance Film Festival. In 2002, her sec-ond feature, Laurel Canyon, was screened inthe Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, theSundance and Toronto film festivals, and gar-nered IFP Spirit Award nominations for itslead performances. Cholodenko has alsodirected episodes of Six Feet Under andHomicide: Life on the Street.

BIO

CAVEDWELLER

Courtesy of Showtime Independent Films

Main Credits:Director Lisa Cholodenko

Executive Producers Orly Andelson Kyra Sedgwick David YudainRobert Halmi, Jr.

Producer Michael Levine

Screenwriter Anne Meredith

Cinematographer:Editor Amy E. Duddleston

Principal Cast Kyra SedgwickAidan QuinnSherilyn FennJill ScottVanessa ZimaKevin Bacon

32

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Directed by Lisa CholodenkoUSA / 2004 / 120 minutes

Tinker Street 10/15 • 7:00pm

Upstate Films 110/16 • 5:30pm

As regional character disappears andcorporate culture homogenizes our sur-roundings, it’s increasingly hard to tellwhere you are. In Chain, malls, theme parks,hotels, and corporate centers worldwide arejoined into a monolithic “superlandscape”that shapes and circumscribes the lives oftwo women. One is a businesswoman study-ing the international theme-park industry;the other is a young drifter, living and work-ing illegally on the fringes of a shoppingmall.

New York filmmakerJem Cohen’s work

includes Benjamin Smoke (2000),Lost Book Found (1996), Instrument, with theband Fugazi - 1999, Amber City (1999), andBuried in Light (1995). Both Chain andBenjamin Smoke premiered in the Berlin FilmFestival’s Forum section. Cohen’s work is inthe collections of the Museum of Modern Artand the Whitney Museum of American Art,and has been featured on PBS, the SundanceChannel, the BBC, and ARTE. Cohen hasworked extensively with musicians, includingVic Chesnutt, R.E.M., Godspeed You! BlackEmperor, and Sparklehorse, among others.

BIO CHAIN

Courtesy of Antidote Films

NARRATIVE FEATURES

33

Directed by Jem CohenUSA / 2004 / 99 minutes

Bearsville Theater10/15 •7:00pm

Upstate II10/16 • 7:00pm

Main Credits:Director Jem Cohen

Producers Mary Jane Skalski,Jem Cohen

Cinematographer Jem Cohen

Editors Jem Cohen David Frankel

Features Miho Nikaido Mira Billotte

“This experimental feature/doc succeeds in being both mesmeriz-ing and thought-provoking as it explores geographical and emo-tional displacement.”

(Jeff Economy)

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A good bit of the film was shot in upstate New York!

Clement Mathieu, an unemployedmusic teacher, is hired as a supervisor ata boarding school for troubled youth.Immediately upon his arrival, he witnesseshow the boys constantly act up and torturewould-be teachers. Rachin, the school direc-tor, resorts to harsh punishments and a strongfist in an attempt to keep the pupils in line.Optimistic and positive-minded, Mathieuchooses alternate methods of punishment for

the rowdy children so that they don’t have toface Rachin’s whip. Gradually he earns thestudents’ trust, and he decides to start aschool chorus to introduce the students to hismusical passion. His class takes to the exper-iment, the musical structure begets disciplineamong the students, and the overall life atschool improves. Rachin, jealous of Mathieu’ssuccess, quickly disbands it, but word aboutthe chorus gets out to the school’s board, whorequest a concert. However, without Rachin’spermission to rehearse, many obstacles standin Mathieu’s way. Will he and his chorus beable to pull off the concert that the school’sfuture hinges on?

Chorists was recently chosen as the french

entry for the 2005 Academy Award.

Christophe Barratier is a classicalguitarist, a graduate of the Ecole

Normale de Musique in Paris, and winner ofseveral international music competitions.

In 1991, he was hired by Jacques Perrinof Galatée Films., where he acted as associateproducer on Childrenof Lumiere, Les Enfantsde Lumière,Microcosmos, Himalayaand Winged Migration.

In 2001, hedirected his first film,a short subject basedon Maupassant’s storyLes Tombales and star-ring Lambert Wilsonand Carole Weiss.Broadcast on Canal+and FR3, it was aselection at theClermont-Ferrand Festival.

Produced by Galatée Films and cowrit-ten with Philippe Lopes-Curval, Chorists isBarratier’s first feature film.

BIOCHORISTS

(LES CHORISTES)

Courtesy of Miramax Films

Directed by Christophe BarratierFrench / 2004 / 95 minutes

In French with English subtitles

Tinker Street 10/14 • 5:30pm

Upstate Films 1 10/16 • 6:30pm

Main Credits:Director Christophe Barratier

Producers Arthur CohnJacques Perrin

Screenwriters Christophe BarratierPhilippe Lopes-Curval

Cinematographers Carlo Varini (AFC)Dominique Gentil(AFC)

Editor Yves Deschamps

Music Bruno Coulais

Principal Cast Gerard JugnotFrançois Berleand Jean-Baptiste MaunierJacques PerrinKad MeradMarie BuñelPhilippe du JanerandJean-Paul BonnaireMaxence PerrinDidier Flamand

34

NARRATIVE FEATURES

EAST COAST PREMIERE

Nisha Ganatra returns to Woodstockwith Cosmopolitan, in which a suddenly-single bachelor, an attractive neighbor, anda popular women’s magazine are the ingredi-ents of a delicious romance that pays homageto classic Bollywood cinema while spinning amodern love story that is uniquely its own.From the director of Chutney Popcorn and thewriter of Monsoon Wedding,

Nisha Ganatra’s first feature film,Chutney Popcorn, received much

acclaim, garnering Best Feature Film awardsat the Outfest Los Angeles and San Franciscofilm festivals and Audience Awards at theBerlin International Film Festival, NewportFilm Festival, Paris International Film Festival,and Madrid International Film Festival. In addition to Cosmopolitan, Nisha recentlycompleted production on Cake, a romanticcomedy starring Heather Graham. Her pastwork includes Fast Food High for SusanCavan (Stealing Harvard, Superstar,Brain Candy) and Real World New Yorkfor MTV and the Road Rules/Real WorldChallenge. Nisha is in development for fea-ture films with Jane Startz Productions (EllaEnchanted, Tuck Everlasting, The BabySitter’s Club, The Mighty).

BIOCOSMOPOLITANDirected by Nisha Ganatra

USA / 2004 / 53 minutes English and Hindi subtitles

Town Hall 10/16 • 4:45pm

Preceded by Sangam

Main Credits:Director Nisha Ganatra

Producers Brian DevineJason OransJen Small

Cinematographer Matt Clark

Screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan(based on a story byAkhil Sharma)

Music Andrew Lockington(songs by Chris Rael

Principal Cast Roshan SethCarol KaneMaghur JaffreyPurva Bedi

NARRATIVE FEATURES

35

“Cosmopolitan mixes the bittersweet comedy of reallife with the intoxicating magic of rediscovered

love.”

They say America is the land of opportu-nity, but it’s also the land of elusivedreams. The Definition of Insanity is anintimate character study of Robert (RobertMargolis), an actor moving past his primewho is still chasing that one great role. His lifebegins to unravel as he struggles to survive ina competitive and often-brutal environment,without realizing how his obsession affectsthe people close to him. Like many artists liv-ing on the fringe, Robert faces the existentialquestions: How much of his life does he wantto sacrifice to art? And at what point is it timeto move on? When he meets legendary filmdirector Peter Bogdanovich (playing himself),that question is answered in an unexpectedway.

The Definition of Insanity is a tragicomicfilm about big dreams and everyday rituals,humiliating defeats and little triumphs, andthe inexplicable optimism—some might callit delusion—that keeps us going.

Robert Margolis is an actor, direc-tor, and playwright born in New York

City. He has also worked as a psychoanalyst,a groundskeeper, and a building superintend-ent. As an actor, Robert has had leading rolesin numerous independent feature films. Hehas also been the recipient of a FulbrightFellowship for study abroad and is a memberof the Screen Actors Guild. He is the father offour-year-old Dylan Margolis, who makes hisacting debut in The Definition of Insanity.

Frank Matter was born in Basel, Switzerlandin 1964. After school, he worked as a journal-ist and magazine staff writer. In 1991, heresearched and cowrote the concept for thewidely discussed Swiss TV documentaryUnzucht; he was also the assistant director onthat film. In 1993, he moved to New York,where he began to work as a writer and soundengineer and then to write and direct his ownfilms. His works have been shown at festivalsin Locarno (Switzerland), New York,Montreal, Ankara, and Calcutta, to name justa few, as well as in museums and theatersthroughout the world.

BIOTHE DEFINITIONOF INSANITY

36

NARRATIVE FEATURES

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIEREDirected by

Robert Margolis and Frank MatterUSA / 2004 / 85 minutes

Tinker Street 10/16 • 1:00pm

Upstate Films 210/17 •1:00pm

Main Credits:Directors/Producers/Screenwriters/Editors:

Robert MargolisFrank Matter

Cinematographer Frank Matter

Music Paula AthertonAmy Fairchild

Principal Cast Dawn Marie Anderson,Kelli K. Barnett, Peter Bogdanovich,Kathryn Fallon, Jimmy Lee Gary Jr., Tom Gill,John Greiner, Hristo Hristov, Gerry Janssen,Derek Johnson, Jake Josefson, Amanda Kay,Frank Krias, Bruce Levy, David Maquiling,Dylan Margolis, Robert Margolis,David McMahon, Jonas Mekas, Suzan Perry

In upstate New York, Irene (VeraFarmiga) struggles to raise two sons,keep her stale marriage together, andmanage a secret cocaine habit.

Isolated in a dead-end job at a strip mallon the edge of town, Irene isn’t sure when shewent from high school partying to skimmingoff the grocery money to supply her growinghabit.

Desperate to alter her life, she puts her-self in rehab, hoping she can reshape theworld she has made with her husband, Steve(Clint Jordan). But once she’s back home, thedistance between them seems to widen, andIrene ends up falling into an affair with Bob(Hugh Dillon), a nurse and former addict shemet in rehab.

Bob’s attention and affection revives herpushed-aside life, but all too soon she realizesthey have more in common than she bar-gained for.

Debra Granik studied at theMassachusetts College of Art,

Brandeis University, and EdinburghUniversity before attending the Graduate FilmProgram at New York University, Tisch Schoolof the Arts. Snake Feed, her first short film atNYU, won Best Short at Sundance (1998),and she was later invited to attend theSundance Institute Filmmakers/ScreenwritersLab to develop the script for Down to the Bone.While in development on Bone, Granik com-pleted her second short film, Side by Side, andwas the director of photography and codirec-tor on Thunder in Guyana, a feature documen-tary currently on the festival circuit. Down tothe Bone is her first feature film. Granik cur-rently has several projects in development,including two documentaries.

BIODOWN TO THE BONE

NARRATIVE FEATURES

37

Directed by Debra GranikUSA / 2004 / 101 minutes

Tinker Street 10/14 • 2:45pm

Upstate films 2 10/16 • 4:00pm

Main Credits:Director Debra Granik

Producers Susan LeberAnne Rosellini

Screenwriters Debra GranikRichard Lieske

Cinematographer Michael McDonough

Editor Malcolm Jamieson

Music East River Pipe, JOMF,Low, Tortoise and Slug

Principal Cast Vera FarmigaHugh DillonClint JordanCaridad “La Bruja”de la LuzJasper Moon DanielsTaylor Foxhall

In Competition

Sunday, October 17, 11 am at The Center for Photography at

Woodstock, New York Women In Film and TV presents acase history study of Debra Granik’s Down to the Bone, a dig-ital film shot entirely in Woodstock and surrounding UlsterCounty areas. The story concerns a young mother’s hiddencocaine habit, and her quest to come clean and create a bet-ter life for herself and family. This feature is a rare hybrid ofreality and fiction. It developed from Granik’s SundanceAward winning short, Snake Feed, which starred the real—life person the story is based on Down to the Bone uses pro-fessional actors in the leading roles and nonprofessionals inthe supporting roles. (see panels for more info)

Since mankind has evolved out ofthe caves and into tract homes, whathas survival of the fittest come tomean? This question is hilariouslyand disturbingly examined in TheFittest, a darkly comic tale of survival insuburbia. Freddy Grant desperatelywants to have a child but his defectivesperm keeps him from getting his wife,Grace, pregnant. As his infertility putsincreasing strain on their marriage, Freddystrikes up an affair with his co-worker Jill,who is involved in an on-again, off-again rela-tionship with Freddy’s sadistic boss, Al.Insecurity and a biological imperative lead tosome bad choices and Freddy’s world beginsto unravel.

Writer-director team Joshua andJeffrey Crook (their real last name)

grew up in Brooklyn, NY, the sons of novelistHoward Crook. Together they have writtenand directed two feature films, Sucker Punchand The Fittest. In an August 2002 review,Variety wrote that Sucker Punch will be properlyappreciated as a subversive variant on the gangs-ta movie by that genre’s target audience. Anauspiciously wry roll in the gutter is had by all.Sucker Punch also screened at the IndievisionFilm Festival, where it won Best Actor for thefilm’s star, Paris Campbell.

In addition to their feature films, theCrooks have produced almost a dozen com-mercials (several of which they also directed)and two television pilots. The Crook brothersare currently in development on their thirdfeature film. They reside in New York City.

Alexis and Manny are a “twelve-hour”couple whose turbulent love affair istold over the course of a half-day. Theirromance begins with a chance meeting on thestreet, then is fast-forwarded to Manny’sapartment, where they share an unforgettableone-night stand that feels like a lifetime.

Elephant Shoes was produced byOne Man Band Films, an independ-

ent film production company founded byaward-winning filmmaker Christos Sourligas.Sourligas´s short films include Vomit Boy, TheLast Supper, and Park Ex., which was awardedthe Canadian Multicultural Award by theAcademy of Canadian Cinema and Television.Sourligas has recently optioned another fea-ture-length comedy script, slated for produc-tion in 2005, to a Montreal-based film com-pany.

BIO

ELEPHANT SHOES

THE FITTEST

38

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Directed by Christos SourligasCanada / 2004 / 79 minutes

WCC 10/16 • 7:30pm

Upstate 10/17 • 3:00pm

Main Credits:Director/Producer Christos Sourligas

Screenwriter Christos Sourligas

Cinematographer Luc Montpellier, CSC

Editor Joseph Bohbot

Principal Cast Stacie Morgain Lewis,Greg Shamie

U.S. PREMIERE

Directed by The Crook BrothersUSA / 2004 / 88 minutes

Upstate Films 210/16 • 9:30pm

Town Hall 10/17 • 5:15pm

Main Credits:Producer(s) Angela Grant

Co—producer(s) Andy Baez, WendyCouteau

Director(s) Joshua & Jeffrey Crook

Screenwriter(s) Joshua & Jeffrey Crook

Cinematography: John Barrett Ashmore

Principal Cast Jason MaderaAngela GrantChristina CaparoulaChris Ferry, JoshCrook, Peter Blitzer,Wendy Couteau

In CompetitionWORLD PREMIERE

“The Crook Brothers give Darwin a new spin inthis dark comic tale of suburban lust. Infertilityturns to infidelity when office drone Freddy,wounded by his wife’s rejection when she learnshe can’t conceive, turns in solace to an illicitaffair — with his boss’ mistress. Freddy’s badchoices pile up until he has to learn to eat, or beeaten. Fans of the Farrelly Brothers will appreciatethis wickedly funny story that’ll have you laughing

BIO

JAILBAIT

NARRATIVE FEATURES

39

The United States correctional systemhas been the inspiration for manynotable films over the years, from thechain gangs of Cool Hand Luke to classicprison–break films like Escape from Alcatraz,but rarely has prison life been illustrated withthe candor and emotional realism ofwriter/director Brett C. Leonard’s Jailbait. Thefilm craftily uses the confinement of a prisoncell to intensify the emotional stakes betweenprisoners Jake (Stephen Adly-Guirgis) andRandy (Michael Pitt), as they confront notonly ugly truths about each other, but aboutthemselves. Leonard’s deft touch and careful

pacing never falter, and Pitt and Adly-Guirgisallow the relationship between Randy andJake to grow organically and with greatnuance. Jailbait is a major achievement, anintimate film that feels larger than life.

Jailbait winner of the Grand JuryPrize for Best Narrative Feature at the

Lake Placid Film Festival in 2004) marksBrett C. Leonard’s filmmaking debut. Hisstage works include: Guinea Pig Solo, NewYork’s Public Theater and Labyrinth TheaterCompany; Scotch and Water, New York’sParkside Lounge and London’s NewCompany; The Memory of Love’s Refrain, NewYork’s Interart; and Roger and Vanessa,London’s Latchmere Theatre and RoyalAcademy of Dramatic Art.

Directed by Brett C. Leonard

USA / 2004 / 89 minutes

Upstate Films 2 10/15 • 7:30pm

Town Hall 10/16 • 9:30pm

Main Credits:Director/Screenwriter Brett C. Leonard

Producers Dan O’MearaLinda MoranRene BastianCorbin DayBrett C. Leonard

Cinematographer John J. Campbell

Editor Ron Len

Music Ed Tomney

Principal Cast Michael PittStephen Adly-GuirgisLaila RobinsDavid Zayas

In Competition

“A haunting opening score sets the tone, pulling us deep into the bowelsof a maximum security prison in this gripping psycho—sexual tug-of-warwhere Jake, a “lifer” asserts his dominance over Randy, an ethereal youngman facing twenty-five years. Brilliant performances and artful angles lead

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BIO

A social comedy about the dangers ofnavigating life without a compass, King ofthe Corner paints a portrait of Leo (PeterRiegert), his family, and his world. His father(Eli Wallach) is dying, his daughter is growingup, his protégé is after his job, his wife (Isabella

Rossellini) is running out of patience, and hisjudgment is becoming blurred. Leo has metthe enemy and it is himself, but through a twistof fate and the wisdom of his rabbi (EricBogosian), he achieves self-redemption and isallowed a second chance.

Featuring music by rock n’ roll legend AlKooper, Peter Riegert’s directorial debut is ahumorous, honest, and multi-faceted look athow one man turns his midlife crisis into amidlife opportunity. King of the Corner was

co–written with Gerald Shapiro based onShapiro’s collection of short stories, Bad Jewsand Other Stories.

Peter Reigert has appeared inmore than thirty films, including

Animal House, Local Hero, Crossing Delancey,The Mask, and Traffic. Television credits includeThe Sopranos, Barbarians at the Gate, and thefinal episode of Seinfeld. His short film ByCourier was nominated for an AcademyAward in 2000.

BIO

KING OF THE CORNER

KONTROLL

Courtesy of THINKfilms

40

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Bulcsu is an undercover officer whochecks tickets in the Budapest Metro–notthe most popular job on the planet!

He and his rag tag crew deal with outra-geous excuses from the public, inventivepranks from their nemesis, after-hours antics,and a possible serial killer.

At the same time, Bulcsu’s personal lifeis in turmoil, and his only solace comes froma kindly driver and her sexy bear-costume-clad daughter.

Nimrod Antal started his film studiesat the Film Workshop of Pasadena

Art Center in 1991. After moving to Hungaryhe studied at the Hungarian Academy ofDrama and Film, from which he graduated asa film director in 1995. Kontroll is his first full-length feature film.

BIO

Directed by Nimrod AntalUSA-Hungary / 2003 / 107 minutes

Hungarian with English subtitles

Tinker Street10/15 • 3:00pm

Upstate Films 2 10/17 • 5:00pm

Main Credits:Director Nimrod Antal

Producers Tamas HutlassaNimrod Antal

Screenwriters Jim AdlerNimrod Antal

CinematographerEditor Istvan Kiraly

Music Neo

Principal Cast Sandor CsanyiCsaba PindrochZoltan MusciSandor BadarZsolt NagyEszter BallaLajos Kovacs

New York Premiere

“Shot at night in the stations and tunnels ofthe Budapest Metro, Nimrod Antal’shyperkinetic Kontrol exploits every fear ofthe underground, with its live tracks, rat-tling carriages, narrow platforms andnighttime population of wackos, weirdosand the simply strange.”

(Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter)

Directed by Peter ReigertUSA / 2004 / 93 minutes

Tinker Street 10/15 • 7:30pm

Upstate Films 2 10/17 • 4:15m

Main Credits:Director Peter Reigert

Producer Lemore Syvan

Screenwriters Peter RiegertGerald Shapiro

Cinematographer Maurico Rubinstein

Editor Mario Ontal

Music Al Kooper

Featuring Peter Reigert, IsabellaRossellini, Eli WallachRita Moreno, BeverlyD’Angelo, EricBogosian, DominicChianese, JakeHoffman

NEW YORK PREMIERE

A seasoned cast, clever dialogue and dark humor infuse the story of LeoSpivack, a middle aged man on the verge of losing everything. Color isused to good effect in the cold. blue boardroom where Leo fights for hislife, and a funeral scene is memorable for its off the wall humor, gentle

One dark night, a former native of a rural Thaivillage has his men steal the head of thetown’s Ong Bak (Buddha statue) to win favorwith ruthless Bangkok crime boss KhomTuan. The locals regard the theft as a catastro-phe, and seek a champion to retrieve theirlost treasure. They find their man in Ting(Tony Jaa), an orphaned youngster raised atthe local temple and schooled by Pra Kru, akindly monk, in the ancient system of MuayThai: Nine Body Weapons.

Ting travels to the mean streets ofBangkok, where he’s forced to compete inillegal street fights, taking on both local andforeign opponents to win the head of Ong Bakfrom the pitiless underworld kingpin.

Born in 1962, Prachya Pinkaewgraduated in 1985 from Technology

Nakornratsima College, where he majored inarchitecture. He began his career in 1990,working at Pack Shot Entertainment, first asart director and later as creative director. In1992, he became director for music videosand since won several Best Music VideoAwards at the Golden Television awards inThailand. In 1992, Prachya had the opportu-nity to direct his first feature film, The MagicShoes, which was followed in 1994 by his sec-ond, Romantic Blues.

Since 1998, he has been focusing onproducing. He is the head of an independentproduction house, Baa-Ram-Ewe, which hasa distribution deal with Thai Major Studio,Sahamongkolfim International CompanyLimited. Prachya has produced many popularThai films, including the vampire movie BodyJumper (2001); the action comedy Heaven 7(2002); the horror movie 999-9999 (2002);(Official Competition in the Puchon FantasticFilm Festival 2003); and the musicalHoedown Showdown (2002). This year, he pro-duced the art house comedy Sayew, the hor-ror drama The Unborn, and the artistic dramaFake. Prachya has just been promoted to bethe director of the Thai Film Association.

BIOONG BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR

Courtesy ofMagnolia Pictures

Directed by Prachya PinkaewThailand / 2003 / 105 minutes

Tinker Street10/15 • 9:45pm

CMF 110/17 • 5:30pm

Main Credits:Director Prachya Pinkaew

Executive Producer SomsakTecharatanaprasert

Producers Prachya PinkaewSukanya Vongsthapat

Screenwriter Suphachai Sithiamphan

Cinematographer Natawut Kittikun

Editor Thanat Sunsin

Music Atomix Clubbing

Principal Cast Tony JaaPetchthai WongkamlaoPumwaree YodkamolRungrawee BorrijindakulChetwut WacharakunWannakit Siriput

U.S. Premiere

“In a small peaceful Thai village of Nong Pradu, the sacred festival of Ong-Bak is held butonce every 24 years. When an unscrupulous businessman steals the head of the ceremoni-al Buddha, young Ting ventures into the seamy Bangkok underworld to track down the thiefand reclaim the town’s treasure. Along the way, the warrior-in-training uses his tradition-al Muay Thai fighting skills to overcome his adversaries and dish out divine retribution.Extraordinary feats of Thai martial arts and Jackie Chan-style stunts are showcased in this

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Shot and Reverse ShotImaginary: CertaintyReality: UncertaintyThe Principle of Cinema:Go Towards the Light and Shine iton Our NightOur MusicPart poetry, part journalism, partphilosophy, Jean-Luc Godard’s Notre Musiqueis a timeless meditation on war as seenthrough the prisms of cinema, text andimage.

Largely set at a literary conference inSarajevo, the film draws on the conflagrationof the Bosnian war, but also draws on theIsraeli/Palestinian conflict, the brutal treat-ment of Native Americans, and the legacy ofthe Nazis.

Notre Musique is structured into threeDantean Kingdoms: “Hell,” “Purgatory” and“Heaven.”

In the film, real-life literary figures(including Arab poet Mahmoud Darwich andSpanish writer Juan Goytisolo) interminglewith actors; and documentary meshes withfiction.

Notre Musique also follows the parallelstories of two Israeli Jewish women, JudithLerner (Sarah Adler) and Olga Brodsky (NadeDieu); one drawn to the light and one drawntowards darkness.

Through evocative language and images,Godard explores a series of conflicting forces:

death; life dark, light;good; badnegative, positive;real; imaginary;activists; storytellersvanquished; victor;criminals; victims;suicidal; hopefulshot, reverse shot.These opposing movements are eternal.

They are the two faces of truth.

For five decades, Jean-Luc Godard hasexplored the frontiers of film, constantly

reinventing and reinvigorating himself. Since mak-ing his debut in 1954, he has made ninety shortand feature films.

In 1960, he made his feature debut withBreathless, his tribute to the American gangstermovie, shot without a script in a freewheeling style,with an innovative use of the jump cut. Breathlesselectrified audiences and helped establish whatcame to be called the French New Wave. His nextfilm, Le Petit Soldat (1960), was the first of eightmovies he directed which starred his wife, AnnaKarina. His subsequent films, including A Woman

is a Woman (1961), Vivre sa Vie (1962)Les Carabiniers (1963), Contempt(1963), Band of Outsiders (1964),Alphaville (1965) and Pierrot Le Fou(1965), brought him internationalfame. At this time, Godard was themost discussed director in the world,provoking extreme responses, both

positive and negative.From 1966 to 1968, his films increasingly

showed the influence of ‘60s radical politics and thecurrents which exploded in the May ‘68 riots:Masculine-Feminine (1966), Two or Three Things IKnow About Her (1966), La Chinoise (1967, starringhis second wife, Anne Wiazemsky), Weekend(1967) and Le Gai Savoir (1968).

His subsequent films include Numéro Deux(1975), Ici et ailleurs (1976) and Every Man forHimself (1979, starring Isabelle Huppert). In 1982,he began working on his trilogy of the sublime-Passion(1982), First Name: Carmen (1983, where he starsas himself), (1985), and his controversial Hail Mary(1985) -all concerned with feminine beauty andnature. After his neo noir Detective (1985), Godardand Miéville produced Soft and Hard (1986), the TVfilm Grandeur et Décadence d’un Petit Commerce deCinema (1986), Soigne ta Droite (1986) and KingLear (1986).

He followed with Nouvelle Vague (1990),Germany 90 Nine Zero (1991), Hélas pour moi(1993), Forever Mozart (1996), and his highlyregarded eight-hour series Histoires du cinéma (1997-98).

Godard’s next project is an omnibus film,Paris, je t’aime, in which he joins a number of inter-national directors-including the Coen Brothers,Mike Figgis, Walter Salles, Mira Nair, Tom Tykwer,Michel Gondry and Anne-Marie Miéville-in makinga short film about a Paris arrondissement.

While Godard’s reputation as a reclu-sive figure is well known, he has displayed ahumorous self-awareness both outside andinside his films.

BIO

OUR MUSIC (Notre Musique)

Courtesy of Wellspring Media

42

Directed by Jean Luc GodardFrance / 2004 / 79 minutes

In French, English and Spanish with subtitles

Upstate 110/16 • 8:30pm

Main Credits:Director, Screenwriter Jean-Luc Godard

Producer Jean-Paul BattaggiaZyba Galijasevic

Cinematographer Julien HirschJean-ChristopheBeauvallet

Principal Cast: Sarah Adler, NadeDieu, Rony Kramer, Georges Aguilar,Leticia Gutierrez, Ferlyn Brass, Simone Eine,Jean-Christophe Bpuvet, Elma Dzanic,Juan Goytisolo, Mahmoud Darwich,Jean-Paul Curnier, Pierre Bergounioux,Gilles Pecoueux

NARRATIVE FEATURES

NARRATIVE FEATURES

On the eve of her 18th birthday, friend-less Cara-Ethyl is ‘burning to live.’ Whenhandsome off-beat pizza man Matt shows up,

he takes pity on her andinvites her along for anight of oddball pizzastops, dancing, bluntconversation, and thekind of humiliations only teenagers can inflict.By night’s end, neither will be the same.

Mark Christopher’s award-win-ning short films have screened at all

major international film festivals, includingSundance, Toronto, New York and Berlin.Alkali, Iowa, starring Mary Beth Hurt, wonthe Golden Teddy for best short at Berlin aswell as top prize at the USA Film Festival,short-listing it for the Oscars. The DeadBoys' Club also received several best shortawards in international film fests.

Christopher’s shorts were theatrically distrib-uted by Strand Releasing and Frameline. Hisdebut feature film, 54, produced by Miramax,starred Mike Myers, Ryan Phillippe and SalmaHayek. In addition to writing and directing,Christopher produced the film’s soundtrack,along with the number one single Read MyMind. Pizza is a return to Christopher'sindie filmmaking roots. In addition to writingfor the screen, Christopher has written sever-al one hour television pilots for CBS.Originally from Fort Dodge, Iowa,Christopher received his MFA from ColumbiaUniversity after living in Lisbon, Portugal and

BIO

PIZZADirected by Mark Christopher

USA / 2004 / 93 minutes

Bearsville Theater 10/15 • 2:30pm

Upstate Films 2 10/17 • 11am

Main Credits:Director Mark Christopher

Producer(s) Jake AbrahamHolly BeckerCaroline KaplanCeleste Peterka

Executive Producer(s) Howard Gertler Tim PerellJohn SlossGary Winick

Screenwriter: Mark Christopher

Editor(s) Michelle BotticelliBrian A. Kates

Principal Cast: Ethan EmbryKylie SparksJulie HagertyJudah Friedlander

44

NARRATIVE FEATURES

This funny, offbeat movie is a mythicalportrayal of former President RichardNixon’s struggle to cope with the death ofhis political career after Watergate.

Robert Altman’s adaptation of the one-man stage play about former presidentRichard M. Nixon features a high-poweredperformance by Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia)as the unraveling president. The dramatic dia-logue takes place in Nixon’s personal officeshortly after his resignation—brought aboutby the Watergate scandal—where the fallenleader, in a drunken frenzy of self-justificationand resentment, comments acerbically on thevarious personalities and situations heencountered and bemoans his fate. His tar-gets include presidents of the distant past,the Kennedy family, and leaders from othercountries as well as anyone who ever doubt-ed him in his quest to attain ultimate power.The only one who emerges unscathed isNixon’s mother, whom he continued to wor-ship even after her passing. Altman uses hisversatility as a director to keep the film’s sin-gle location from becoming claustrophobicand stagnant. By cutting between Nixon him-self and a security monitor that is taping hisdrunken tirade, Altman blurs the linebetween reality and fiction even more strik-ingly, rendering a Nixon with a very humanand yet “televised” face. Filmed while thedirector was a visiting professor at theUniversity of Michigan, Secret Honor remainsan insightful and interpretative glimpse intothe mind of one of America’s most notoriouspresidents.

Throughout his extraordinary career,Robert Altman has surprised, enter-

tained and challenged audiences withvibrant, freewheeling films that stretch theboundaries of the medium.

Altman’s more than thirty features bearwitness to an extraordinary creative range:films made with enormous casts (Nashville, A

Wedding, Short Cuts), as well as one with asolitary cast member (Secret Honor); films cel-ebrating male camaraderie (M*A*S*H,California Split), and those exploring women’sconsciousness (Images, Three Women, ComeBack to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, JimmyDean) He has inverted, satirized and enrichedgenres like the western (McCabe and Mrs.Miller), the gangster melodrama (Thieves LikeUs), the detective film (The Long Goodbye, thebiography (Vincent and Theo) and the Englishdrawing-room whodunnit (Gosford Park). Hissource material has included comics (Popeye),the theater (Streamers, Fool for Love, Harold

Pinter’s The Room and The Dumb Waiter), con-temporary politics (Tanner ‘88) and contem-porary literature (Short Cuts).

Altman’s work with actors is legendary.His use of music has broken ground in filmsas different as McCabe and Mrs. Miller,Nashville, and Kansas City. He has beenapplauded for the technical innovation ofmulti-layered soundtracks and for his pio-neering use of the zoom lens. While his sub-jects and themes have been diverse, he hasoften cast an irreverent eye on the institu-tions, mores and foibles of American life,matching that with an encompassing, unsen-timental humanism.

Altman has received five Academy Awardnominations for Best Director (Gosford Park,Short Cuts, The Player, M*A*S*H, andNashville) and three for Best Film (M*A*S*H,Nashville and Gosford Park).

In 2003 he made the critically acclaimedThe Company, starring Neve Campbell,Malcolm McDowell, James Franco and theJoffrey Ballet of Chicago. His four-episodesequel to the 1988 television series, Tanner‘88, written by Garry Trudeau and starringCynthia Nixon and Michael Murphy, airs onthe Sundance Channel in October, 2004. InNovember 2004 he directs an opera of his1978 film, A Wedding, at Chicago’s LyricOpera.

Other awards include: at Cannes, thePalme D’or/Best Film (M*A*S*H), and BestDirector (The Player); the New York FilmCritics Circle, Best Film (The Player,Nashville), and Best Director (Gosford Park,The Player, Nashville); the Venice Film FestivalGrand Prix, Best Film (Short Cuts); the BritishAcademy Award (BAFTA) for Best British Film(Gosford Park), Best Director (The Player) andBest Foreign Television Series (Tanner ‘88);opening night of the New York Film Festival(Short Cuts, A Wedding); and an Emmy forBest Director (Tanner ‘88).

BIO

SECRET HONORDirector: Robert Altman USA / 1984 / 90 minutes

Tinker Street10/14 • 12:00pm

Main Credits:Screenwriter(s): Donald Freed and

Arnold Stone

Cinematography: Pierre Mignot

Featuring: Philip Baker Hall

“...A cinematic tour-de-force....[Hall’s] contribution is alegitimate, bravura perform-ance...”

Included in the New York Times“10 BEST FILMS OF 1985”

The feature debut of director/co—writerJessica Sharzer, Speak is the tragicomic storyof a smart, spirited high school freshman whohas been stunned into silence by an unspeak-able event. Based on the award-winningnovel by Laurie Halse Anderson, Speakechoes its heroine’s stubborn honesty andsardonic humor as it follows her journey fromtraumatized isolation to brave disclosure.Sharzer vividly renders a teenager’s world,displaying a brightness and sensitivity that isperfectly matched to character and story.Unfolding over the course of the school year,Speak captures the absurdities and tormentsof highschool, where speaking up can lead to trou-ble for students and teachers alike. But forthe film’s protagonist, expressing herself isthe only way to confront a shattering experi-ence, and thus cope with it.

Jessica Sharzer makes her featuredirectorial debut with Speak. She

holds an M.F.A. in film and television fromNew York University’s Tisch School of theArts. Her thesis film, The Wormhole, receivedthe Student Academy Award Gold Medal innarrative, among other prizes. Other directingcredits include the short film Fly Cherry, writ-ten by actress Michele Greene and starringSharon Lawrence; and the five-hour seriesMaking a Scene: Advance Scene Study withSuzanne Shepherd, featuring Joan Allen, BebeNeuwirth, Athol Fugard, Danny Glover, andthe late Gregory Hines.

Sharzer is slated to adapt and directLizzie Simon’s memoir My Bipolar Road TripThrough 4-D for HBO Films. She has alsoadapted and will direct Turgenev’s First Loveat Universal Studios, and her original screen-play Pretty Lies is currently in development.

BIO

NARRATIVE FEATURES

45

SPEAK

Courtesy ofShowtime Independent Films

NEW YORK PREMIERE

In CompetitionDirected by Jessica Sharzer

USA / 2003 / 92 minutes

CMF 210/16 • 8:30pm

Bearsville Theater 10/17 •1:30pm

Main Credits:Director Jessica Sharzer

Producers Fred BernerMatthew Myers

Screenwriters Jessica SharzerAnnie Young Frisbie

Cinematographer Andrij Parekh

Music Christopher Libertino

Principal Cast Kristen StewartHallee HirshElizabeth PerkinsEric LivelyRobert John BurkeSteve ZahnD.B. Sweeney

46

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Ellison, known as L, is asmart, carefree eight-een-year-old who hasbeen brought up by hisproud and loving father,Sam, since the death of hismother when he was five. Father and sonshare a relationship that fulfills and nourishesthem both, and that insulates L from many ofthe world’s harsh realities. But when tragedystrikes, L’s life changes drastically. As he facesbasic issues of survival, L confronts hisfuture, and the decisions he makes in desper-ation will change him forever. He is anUnknown Soldier on a cold and unforgivingbattlefield—the streets of Harlem.

Ferenc Toth has been writing screen-plays and fiction since leaving the

business world for a creative career manyyears ago. He’s worked on several independ-ent films in New York City, most recently as aproducer on the critically acclaimed, multi-ple-award-winning feature Manito, UnknownSoldier is Ferenc’s directorial debut.

BIO

Set in a contemporary Southuntouched by time, Undertow is a dra-matic thriller about two brothers who runaway from home to guard a secret followingthe death of their father and the arrival oftheir greedy, troubled uncle.

Featuring: Jamie Bell, Devon Alan, JoshLucas, Dermot Mulroney, Shiri Appleby,Leigh Hill, Robert Longstreet, and KristenStewart.

David Gordon Green was born inArkansas and raised in Texas. He

studied filmmaking at the North CarolinaSchool of the Arts and has directed severalshort fiction and documentary films. Hisdebut feature, George Washington, played atthe Toronto Film Festival in 2000, where itshared the Discovery Award. His secondfilm, All the Real Girls, received a Special JuryPrize for Emotional Truth at the 2003Sundance Film Festival. Undertow is his thirdfeature.

BIO

UNDERTOW

Courtesy of United Artists

UNKNOWN SOLDIER

Directed by David Gordon GreenUSA / 2004 / 107 minutes

CMF 1 10/15 • 7:00pm

Tinker Street10/17 • 3:00pm

Main Credits:Director David Gordon Green

Executive Producers Alessandro CamonJohn Schmidt

Producers Edward R. PressmanTerrence MalickLisa Muskat

Screenwriters Joe ConwayDavid Gordon Green

Cinematographer Tim Orr

Editor Zene BakerSteven Gonzales

Music Phillip GlassMichael LinnenDavid Wingo

Principal Cast Jamie BellDevon AlanJosh LucasDermot MulroneyShiri ApplebyLeigh HillRobert LongstreetKristen Stewart

In CompetitionDirected by Ferenc TothUSA / 2004 / 78 minutes

Town Hall10/15 • 3:00pm

Upstate Films 10/16 •12:30pm

Main Credits:Director/ScreenwriterFerenc Toth

Producer Sean Bachrodt

Cinematographer Steve Carillo

Editors Frank ReynoldsSam Neave

Music Peter Calandra

Principal Cast Carl LouisRandy ClarkPostell PringleLayla EdwardsCarl Garrison