April 2006 Newsletter

CONTENTS:
HATS & SPATS ANNUAL BENEFIT
FOURTH ANNUAL NOT SO SILENT AUCTION
WFF CALL FOR ENTRIES
IFP MARKET CALL
IN THEATERS
ON TV / PRODUCTION/COMMISSION NEWS
SPONSOR NEWS

Show off your fanciest 'Sunday Best', from head to toe.
Enjoy the wonderful Champagne brunch...
Unwind with big-band favorites by the MJR Quintet...
and check out the live and silent auction with guest auctioneer Barry Cherwin featuring one-of-a-kind items including an autographed Blondie Fender Telecaster guitar from the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. (see below)

PLEASE JOIN US:
Sunday, June 4, 2006 from 11:30am - 2pm
Wiltwyck Country Club, 404 Steward Lane, Kingston, NY 12401

Benefit tickets are $75
Click here to reserve tickets online

For info, email benefit@woodstockfilmfestival.com or call 845.679.4265

"Woodstock is one of the few festivals where
the moviemaker is still king, and that philosophy
translates into hospitality that cannot be beat.”
Kyle Henry, director, Room

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Awards are sponsored by Markertek, A&E Indiefilms, Docurama, Lowel Lights, Apple's Final Cut Studio, Final Draft, and Gorilla Software.

The WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL (October 11-15, 2006) is currently accepting submissions in all categories. Maverick Awards are presented for Best Feature, Documentary, Short Documentary, Short Film, Student Film, Cinematography, Film Score, Editing, and Animation. Cash, prizes, and/or services are given out in each category. Audience Awards are presented for Best Feature and Documentary.

Industry participants have included Steve Buscemi, Peter Saraf (Big Beach Films), Bob Berney (Picturehouse), Jeanne Berney, Eamonn Bowles (Magnolia Pictures), Mark Urman (THINKfilm), Bingham Ray, James Schamus (Focus Features), Fisher Stevens (Greenstreet Productions), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Ira Deutchman (Emerging Pictures), Ron Mann (Films We Like), John Pierson (Grainy Pictures), Christine Vachon (Killer Films), Andrew Hurwitz, Mira Nair, Todd Haynes, Woody Harrelson, Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, D.A. Pennebaker, Albert Maysles, Barbara Kopple, Leon Gast, Liz Garbus, Brett Morgen, Thelma Adams, Robert Downey, Zachary Sklar, and many others.

To apply online, and for more details, visit ENTRY FORM

20 FILM FESTIVALS WORTH THE ENTRY FEE One might think that New York City was where all the film action was happening in this state, but since its introduction only four years ago, the Woodstock Film Festival is proving that isn't true. Since its founding, the event has made fast friends in members of the press and the film industry. It has also built a reputation as a festival with impeccable taste. With such advisory board members as Magnolia Pictures' Eamonn Bowles, casting director Ellen Chenoweth, director-actor-producer Griffin Dunne, actor Ethan Hawke and Bingham Ray supporting the cause, a trip to Woodstock certainly can't hurt your chances of making a few worthwhile industry connections. (Movie Maker Magazine)

Apply now at www.ifp.org the IFP Market (September 17-21, 2006)
Rolling deadlines begin May 1.

Seeking financing or a producer for your script? Completion funds or
distribution for your documentary? Looking to expand your contact list?
The IFP Market, a great place to begin, is the only selective forum in the
US to introduce new work to an industry-only audience of sales companies,
festival programmers, distributors, broadcasters, producers, and agents from
the US and abroad. An essential networking opportunity, IFP Market
connects you with the industry reps you need to know to get your work financed, completed, and distributed.

Sections include Spotlight on Documentaries (features, works-in-progress,
shorts); Emerging Narrative (screenplays, short films); and No Borders
International Co-production Market (new fiction scripts with some financing
in place by producers with track records). Fees: $40-$50 application;
$225-$450 attendance fee upon acceptance (depending on section).

For more details call 212.465.8200 x 222 or email IFP

Photo Credits: Catskill Mountain Pictures

THE HOMESTEAD STRIKE

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is thrilled to announce the television debut of THE HOMESTEAD STRIKE on Wednesday, April 12 at 10:00pm on the History Channel. The TV SPECIAL, which is part of the History Channel's ambitious series, 10 DAYS THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED AMERICA™, was filmed primarily in Kingston and Hudson, NY. Additional airings will screen Friday, April 14 at 11pm and on Saturday, April 22, when all 10 programs will be shown throughout the day.

In July 2005, the Hudson Valley Film Commission, received a call regarding a film production to be directed by Rory Kennedy, who had won the Best Documentary Award at the 2002 Woodstock Film Festival for A BOY'S LIFE. The film was being produced for the History Channel by Moxie Firecracker Films, an production company responsible for many outstanding films including Pandemic, Girlhood, and The Execution of Wanda Jean.

“They were looking for locations for a mid July film shoot,” says Hudson Valley Film Commissioner Laurent Rejto. “They needed to do historical recreations of the 1892 Homestead Steel strike between Pinkerton Detectives and mill workers. Necessary locations included the exterior of large old industrial brick mill building that appears similar to a 1900s era steel mill, a grassy meadow for a soldier encampment, and a late 1800's factory or mill town.”

After putting out a call for locations and subsequent casting notice, Bill Stitt and Joan Knight of Catskill Mountain Pictures got in the mix.

“The first time we talked to Jake Borritt, Associate Producer for Moxie Firecracker Productions,” says Bill Stitt, “80 to 90 percent of THE HOMESTEAD STRIKE was scheduled to be shot on location in and around Pittsburg, PA. By the time he had finished scouting the ratio was flipped with 90 percent of the special shooting in and around Kingston and Hudson, NY, with the remainder in Pittsburg and at Lyndhurst Castle in Westchester.

“I think the turning point came when we showed him Basilica Industria in Hudson,” said Joan, “He took one look and exclaimed, “I think this is a home run!'” Among other sites used as shooting locations in the area were Steve Truman's Tugboat Museum and Callanan Industries, both on the Rondout. Incidentally, Bill turned out to be assistant director on the shoot, and also appears in some of the scenes.

The Story:
On July 6, 1892, striking workers and their families engaged 300 Pinkerton guards in a fierce 12-hour gun battle at Andrew Carnegie's Homestead Steel Works near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In all, seven employees and three Pinkertons were killed. It would prove to be one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the U.S. labor movement.

For more info about the show, visit The History Channel
For info about the Hudson Valley Film Commission, click here

Levon Helm will play a fundraiser May 6, 2006 at 8 p.m. at the Onteora High School because he believes that children should not suffer from budget cuts. The music program at Onteora, as in most schools experiencing cutbacks, IS suffering. New equipment and supplies are sorely needed. Auditorium chairs need to be repaired and/or replaced. The stage desperately needs work, including new curtains, lighting and sound. Levon hopes this event will spark interest in other area musicians to reach out and offer their talents for future events to raise money. Tax payers are over-burdened, but this shouldn't impact our kids and the quality or quantity of education they receive.

Help Levon help the kids! Come out and show your support. If you'd like to make a monetary donation, please go to levonhelm.com. If you'd like to offer a talent or service (carpenters, painters), please contact us. If you'd like to help with advertising this event, please call. We owe this to our kids....

Tickets available through levonhelm.com or by calling the high school at 657-2373
Auditorium Adults - $50 Students with ID - $25 (Advance ticket sales only)

Raffles will include a Yamaha snare drum donated by Woodstock Music Shop, autographed by all the musicians that night, Ramble Tickets, NYC Show tickets and more...

MARKERTEK
We're thrilled to announce that for the SEVENTH straight year, Markertek, America's largest video and audio supply and accessory source, has come on board as a presenting sponsor.

For over 19 years, Markertek is the supplier of choice for hundreds of thousands of Broadcast, Recording and Multimedia professionals. With content being created and delivered through conventional media outlets like television, radio and cinema or newer distribution means such as the internet, video games or cell phones, you need a partner that has more unique solutions than anybody else.

Their reputation as an innovator stems from a long-term commitment to the development of unique and elegant solutions for pro-audio, broadcast and presentation. Unlike many catalog and internet companies that buy their items from common suppliers, Markertek designs and develops many of the exclusive items they sell to offer a collection of merchandise that can’t be found anywhere else. If you love unique, then you will love Markertek! View our rich Company History and our impressive Client List .

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

Want to sponsor the 2006 Woodstock Film Festival?
For info, call (845) 679-4265 or visit http://woodstockfilmfestival.com/sponsorwoodstock.htm