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May 2007 Newsletter

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CONTENTS:
THE MITCH SHOW
TWELVE DISCIPLES OF NELSON MANDELA
AUCTION NOW LIVE
PETER MAX POSTER
APERTURE EXPOSURE
LEGAL ISSUES FOR FILMMAKERS
WFF IN NORWAY
RACING DAYLIGHT & BENEFIT
IN THEATERS
ON DVD
MUSIC NEWS
BOOK NOOK
LOCAL PRODUCTION NEWS

SPONSOR NEWS
LOWEL-LIGHT
MARKERTEK

CALL FOR ENTRIES

WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL and
HUDSON VALLEY PROGRAMMERS' GROUP present
THE MITCH SHOW
featuring the illustrious and funny filmmaker-choreographer Mitchell Rose

Sunday, June 3, 7:30pm (doors open)
at the Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street (Route 212, Woodstock, NY 12498)

The Mitch Show is more than just a retrospective of offbeat comic short films spanning the oeuvre of the artiste, it's a film/performance mashup. Not only does Mitchell present his hilarious, innovative films, but he also leads several comic audience-participation performance pieces. The result is pure cineformatainment.

"Mr. Rose is a rare and wonderful talent," pronounces The New York Times, the heaviest newspaper in the world. And all this… can be yours!

As can be plainly discovered on MitchellRose.com, Mr. Rose is the former housemate of Paris Hilton. Let the art begin.

The screening is sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts and Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill. Admission is FREE for the public, but reservations are required. Click here to reserve tickets online, or call (845) 810-0131.

THE MITCH SHOW will also be presented on Friday, June 1, at 8pm
by WAMC Northeast Public Radio at the Linda Norris Auditorium
and at the Lady Washington Firehouse on Saturday, June 2, at 8pm in conjunction with Childen's Media Project

"An important documentary"
- The New York Times
"Intensely personal yet historically expansive"
- Time Out New York

Saturday, June 9, 1pm
TWELVE DISCIPLES OF NELSON MANDELA
at the Shadowland Theater in Ellenville


Confronted by the death of his stepfather, Director Thomas Allen Harris embarks on a journey of reconciliation with the man who raised him as a son but whom he could never call “father.” B. Pule Leinaeng ("Lee") was an ANC foot soldier, who sacrificed his life for the freedom of his country. As part of the first wave of South African exiles, Lee and his eleven comrades left their home in Bloemfontein in 1960 to broadcast to the world the brutality of the apartheid system and to raise support for the African National Congress (“ANC”) and its leaders, Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. Drawing upon the memories of the surviving disciples and their families, young South African actors portray the harrowing events of the exodus and exile and in so doing, forge their own reconciliation between the generations.

The screening is sponsored and will be introduced by Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill. A post screening Q&A with Director Thomas Allen Harris will follow.
Click here for more info and to reserve tickets

The 2007 WFF NOT SO SILENT AUCTION is now online
Items include one-of-a-kind film and music memorabilia, artwork, photos, posters, and much more. Specific items as of May 17, include an original Barry Feinstein photograph of George Harrison's ALL THINGS MUST PASS album cover, the original WHEN WE WERE KINGS poster signed by the one and only Muhammad Ali, a weekend stay at the Mohonk Mountain House, 2 VIP tickets to this summer's red carpet NYC Premiere of Becoming Jane starring Anne Hathaway, a 2004 signed photograph of Joaquin Phoenix on the set of WALK THE LINE, a 1968 Bob Dylan photo by Elliott Landy, and GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK promotional material signed by actor David Strathairn.

Auction items can be viewed online at http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/auction/auction.php

ONLINE BIDDING will end at 10am on Saturday, July 14. Some items will continue on to the live auction, which is a part to the DANCING UNDER THE STARS Summer Benefit Gala.

This year's event includes delicious drinks, fantastic food and a silent and live auction, with musical guests the Night Owls. Come out to support the Woodstock Film Festivl, Hudson Valley Film Commission and, get dressed to the nines, eat, dance and rub some elbows. The benefit will take place July 14th, from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m., at the Wiltwyck Country Club, 404 Steward Lane, Kingston, NY.

Gala Tickets can be purchased at http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/fundraising/summer-gala-2007.php

Click for more information

For more on Peter Max visit

2007 WFF POSTER DESIGNED BY FAMED ARTIST

Talk about a match made in heaven! Innovator of what has become known as the Cosmic ‘60s art movement, Peter Max has created this year’s official commemorative Woodstock Film Festival poster.

"Woodstock is synonymous with creative energy, rock-n-roll, and free spirits,” said Max. “This tradition continues with the Woodstock Film Festival and all of the wonderful, independent film makers it is featuring and supporting."

Meira Blaustein, Woodstock Film Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director, enthused, “Given Peter’s strong positions on environmental, human and animal rights, it’s simply the most natural fit that he design our poster. We are thrilled beyond belief to have an artist of his caliber promoting the Festival and creating an image that depicts the independent spirit, pursuit of dreams and fun that the Festival represents.”

In addition to the Festival’s commercial usage of this image, 100 18” x 24” limited edition 2007 WFF posters will be individually signed and dedicated by Max personally, and available online. Click here for details

“This is a very small run of prints and an amazing opportunity to own a real work of art that is significant to the Woodstock Film Festival as well as the area’s history and the town itself,” added Blaustein.

Max’s collaboration with Woodstock is long and varied. In 1989, he created the world’s largest rock-and-roll stage for the Moscow Music Peace Festival, set to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival. Then, in 1999, Max set a record (beating his own) for painting the largest mural: a 600-foot stage for the 1999 Woodstock celebration.

Michael Lang, creator of the Woodstock Music Festival & Concert, said,“Woodstock has always been close to Peter’s heart and throughout our long friendship he has been incredibly generous with his unique talent.”

KOSMORAMA AND THE NORWEIGIAN INTERN

The Woodstock Film Festival has worked with interns from all over the US and abroad. They've been in integral part of the festival and staff tries to stay in touch with them after they are gone. In keeping with that spirit, it was a real pleasure when Jorgen Risvik, a former intern from Norway, approached WFF executive director Meira Blaustein to participate as a juror and panelist at the Kosmorama Film Festival in Trondheim, Norway.

During Meira's stay at Kosmorama, she watched over a dozen films by emerging filmmakers from around the world. Films were screened in a state-of-the-art multiplex located in the center of town, just minutes from the beautiful Brittania Hotel where festival guests were hosted.

In addition to the many screenings, Meira met with filmmakers and industry from Nordic countries and Europe, learning about Norway's film culture and the wonderful people in it. She gave interviews to local papers, magazines and on the radio, where she talked about Woodstock, the Hudson Valley Film Commission, and sat on a panel discussing independent film in the US. And of course she ate plenty of salmon and drank plenty of beer.

Meira returned to Woodstock with wonderful memories and great new friends, and the hope to further nurture the relationship between Woodstock, Norway and other European film festivals.

Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill, director Nicole Quinn, Sabrina Lloyd, Meira Blaustein (Woodstock Film Festival) Melissa Leo, Jason Downs, Elizabeth Bracco and Aidan Quinn at a special screening of Nicole Quinn's Racing Daylight... part of the Woodstock Film Festival Film Series sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill
Photo Credit: Martin L. Gardlin

RACING DAYLIGHT FOLLOW-UP

Nicole Quinn's locally produced RACING DAYLIGHT screened May 5 at Rosendale Theater to two standing room only houses. The screening was introduced by Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill. A post screening Q&A with principal cast and crew was hosted by US Weekly Film & DVD critic Thelma Adams. To read Thelma Adam's blog inspired by the film click here

Following the screening, a benefit was hosted at BYWATER BISTRO for the HUDSON VALLEY FILM COMMISSION to celebrate the 1pm sneak preview screening of RACING DAYLIGHT (shot in 2006 in the Hudson Valley). The benefit was sponsored by Mary Collins Real Estate.

The fabulous reception featured delectable hors d'oeuvres, wine, and the great company of emerging and established talents.

IN THEATERS (AND ON TV)
GRACIE, which screened May 12 as part of the Woodstock Film Festival Film Series sponsored by the office of Kevin A. Cahill, will have its theatrical June 1 in theaters across the country.

GRACIE, directed by David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) tells the inspirational, touching story of a sixteen-year-old girl, who, after a family tragedy changed her life, fought for and won the right for girls everywhere to play competitive soccer. The film is set in 1978 and inspired by the Shue family’s real life events.

GRACIE was produced by WFF advisory board member Lemore Syvan. "What is so special about this film is that each person that sees it can take a different message from it." Syvan says. "All the messages that are inherent, however, do have one thing in common: Empowerment; the idea that when you put your mind to something, anything can be accomplished. Then, of course, there are lessons about grief, loss, and how you can turn a negative situation into one that is positive and inspirational. This is a story about family, and how when you stick together, any obstacle can be overcome. So, the message that I take away with it is power - power of the family and power of the individual. The story has a sense of time and place that is timeless. It is so universal, so entrenched in so many cultures over so many periods of time that it is a story that is accessible to all people."

Click here for theaters and showtimes

BETTY LA FLACA & ORPHEUS
Hugo Perez's short film which screened at the 2006 festival in the I LOVE YOU BADLY shorts program, will be airing on HBO Latino through the month of May.

BETTY LA FLACA is the story of Skinny Betty, who might just as well not exist given the lack of attention she gets from men, including her boyfriend Carlos. Her co-worker, Reina, recommends she have some work done to enlarge and enhance the most important part of the body--her butt. When Betty arrives at the homegrown 'clinica' in Olga's living room in the Bronx, she has no idea how much impact a little 'work' will have on her life.

On May 30, 2007 at 7:30pm, join M30A Films for the New York City Benefit Screening of IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ORPHEUS a work-in-progress documentary by Hugo Perez. When the Hungarian poet Miklos Radnoti was shot and buried in a mass grave in 1944 after a two-month death march, he did not know whether his poems would survive. Eighteen months later, when his body was exhumed, a notebook was found in his coat pocket that contained his final poems— poems that documented his final months as a prisoner of the Axis powers. Read more about the film at M30A Films.

ON DVD

THE PAINTED VEIL
Based on the classic novel by W. Somerset Maugham, THE PAINTED VEIL is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper – class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else.

When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.

THE PAINTED VEIL was presented by WFF and Warner Independent Films in a special sneak preview screening in December 2006. The amazing screenplay adaptation was written by WFF advisory board member, Ron Nyswaner.

Click here to buy the DVD

LOCAL PRODUCTION NEWS
HUDSON VALLEY FILM COMMISSION lands HUMAN FOOTPRINT
National Geographic/Touch Production documentary to shoot in Hudson Valley

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if all the things you produce
and consume in your lifetime were piled up outside your door? All your
clothes, all your electrical goods, all your worldly goods laid out before
you? The American version of this remarkable film will be produced in June
and July in New York¹s Hudson Valley area.

The documentary, produced by National Geographic and a UK based Production
Company, tells the story of an average life, a 2,475,576,000 second journey
from the cradle to the grave, revealing the extraordinary impact that each
of our lives has on the world around us. It is the story of our human
footprint.

To read full press release, click here

      
On location with Tiziano Magni
and Fly Magazine

FLY FASHION FILMS

On Monday, May 4, in West Hurley, NY, director Tiziano Magni shot a new
video for the June installment of FLY, "Celebrating 60 years of Magnum". The shoot was Magni's third for the production.

FLY is a unique platform that brings together artists from all creative disciplines (fashion, art, music, photography, dance, film) and uses the power of film to showcase their work and reaches a highly targeted audience through a mix of traditional and online distribution channels.

Magni, a world reknowned fashion photographer and director, shot the photographs which were used for the 2005 Woodstock Film Festival poster and souvenirs.

For more information, visiton FLY.

May 14th sees the vinyl LP and download release of the highly anticipated debut album ‘Tonight At The Arizona‘ from The Felice Brothers.

Already getting rave reviews, “a gripping intro for these shores” (Uncut) and “warm and wonderful” (Clash Magazine), this limited release vinyl includes the entire album on CD for free.

You can pre-order the vinyl now from the Loose Online Shop, Amazon and HMV.

The download will be available from Sunday from all major download sites including iTunes, Playlouder, 7Digital and Rough Trade Digital.

You can watch a live version of ‘Ballad of Lou the Welterweight’ shot at a sound check by Vice Magazine at Southpaw in Brooklyn.

MARK DONATO
DESIGNING OPEN SPACES, INDEPENDENT MUSIC,
SOMETHING ABOUT HORSEWOMEN & PERSONAL VIEWS FOR THE QUIZZICALLY ALERT (written by Irv Yarg - Reprinted from Woodstock Times)

Mark Donato & Other Independent Artists At the High Falls Cafe On 5/17

Good news for those of you planning to rent a DVD of "Boraxo" next Thursday evening and suffer through Ron Reagan’s performance as a Pakistani mule-driver attempting to rescue a digital goddess from a vast electronic desert...There’s a better alternative of LIVE performance at the High Falls Cafe featuring Mark Donato as a singer-songwriter musically exploring the liquid labyrinth of life’s existential jar of half-sour pickles, a performance sure to be fraught with around-the-corner perspectives and rhythmic wit... And isn’t that what alternatives are all about?

Live music venues in the Catskill-Hudson Valley have dwindled in counter-pace to the expansion of cable TV channels, DVDs, video games and other forms of household entertainment. This is a notion that major marketers of recorded music should keep in mind as they try to figure out how to charge, fine or sue concert attendees for listening to music they own the "intellectual rights" to without giving them a taste. A vanishing community-based experience to be cherished, live performance insists tribally that it’s not a reality show unless you’re actually THERE yourself.

BOOK NOOK
The ABC'S of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond
Delicious Alphabet Poems
Plus Food, Facts and Fun for Everyone
by Steve Charney and David Goldbeck

This rich alphabet book, by locals Steve Charney and David Goldbeck, is actually two books in one -- it will not be put aside after a child learns the alphabet. It will provide ongoing learning and pleasure for children (and parents) as they progress from beginning readers into grade-school and beyond.

Part One teaches the ABC’s via twenty-six funny and clever poems about both common and unusual fruits and vegetables. Each poem, written by Steve Charney, a Jim Henson writer, is exuberantly illustrated by Maria Burgaleta Larson.

Part Two by David Goldbeck goes "beyond the ABC's" -- bringing children to a comfortable connection with these foods. This remarkable feat is accomplished through a wonderful mix of jokes, tongue twisters, unusual facts, poems, kid-friendly recipes, shopping tips and the like.

The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond is available in bookstores or order directly from Ceres Press, PO Box 87, Woodstock NY 12498 for $16.95 plus $4.50 S/H. (845) 679-5573. For online discounts visit HealthyHighways.com

LOWEL-LIGHTwill again support, promote, and reward the next generation of inspired filmmakers with cash/in-kind awards to be awarded at the festival.

In memory of Diane Seligman , the DIANE SELIGMAN AWARD is presented to the Best Short Narrative and Best Student Short to honor films that are vibrant, life affirming, and created by filmmakers filled with energy, creativity, and passion.

Diane was a beautiful, loving, and giving person. She touched and inspired all who knew her. As a teenager in the 1960's, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and was the lone survivor in a large experimental treatment group. Against the odds and medical advice, she gave life to and raised a son and a daughter. She passed away on February 27, 2004 from respiratory complications caused by the radiation that had originally helped to save her. Diane lived in the moment, in the flow, in harmony with the life force and source with grace and dignity. She was grateful for every day.

MARKERTEK Launches Daily On-Line News Channel
with Breaking News for Media Professionals

The Markertek News Channel is geared toward broadcast, audio and multimedia professionals, and is updated daily. Unlike other news sources, we cover news from a “tech” perspective, with daily tech terms and solutions for the working professional. We feature original content, and readers can subscribe to the channel as an RSS feed so as not to miss a word!

Real industry news without the fluff—that’s the MarkertekNews Channel.
Check it out!

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 their rich Company History and impressive Client List .

FILM FESTIVALS IN
FABULOUS PLACES
The Woodstock Film Festival
was selected one of a dozen film festivals to visit by TravelSmart

CALL FOR ENTRIES

June 6, 2007 (postmark) - Final Deadline: July 12, 2007

The WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL (Oct 10-14, 2007) is currently accepting submissions in all categories. Maverick Awards are presented for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Animation. Cash, prizes and/or services are given out in each category. Audience Awards are presented for Best Feature and Best Documentary. Award sponsors have included Lowel-Light, Baseline Studio Systems, Apple Computers, Final Draft, Post Factory, A&E Indie Films, Markertek, and others.

Industry participants have included Steve Buscemi, Peter Saraf (Big Beach Films), Jonathan Sehring (IFC), Bob Berney (Picturehouse), Jeanne Berney, Eamonn Bowles (Magnolia Pictures), Mark Urman (THINKfilm), Bingham Ray (IFC), 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), John Anderson, Ryan Werner (IFC), 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, Robert Downey, Zachary Sklar, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Ethan Hawke, Matt Dillon, Rosie Perez and many others.

To apply online, and for details, visit ENTRY FORM

The Woodstock Film Festival is a nonprofit organization which presents 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.

For information, call (845) 679-4265 or visit Woodstock Film Festival