Woodstock Film Festival Returns for a (Lucky) 13th Year; October 10th – 14th | Big Gay Hudson Valley

Woodstock’s fiercely independent cinematic tradition – the 13th Annual Woodstock Film Festival (kicking off Wed. Oct. 10 through Sun. Oct. 14), is unveiling its 2012 line-up of nearly 130 exciting films, panels, performances and special events. Screenings and events will take place in the historic arts colony of Woodstock and the neighboring towns of Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties and Kingston, in the Hudson Valley Catskills, just two hours from NYC.

“We’ll be screening some of this year’s best independent films,” said Meira Blaustein WFF executive director and co-Founder. “The line-up features a diverse slate of today’s most outstanding amd bold voices in filmmaking. We can’t wait to share that with our audiences this October.”

This year, WFF is proud to showcase a number of premiere films including 19 World Premieres, 6 US Premieres, 3 North American Premieres, 10 East Coast Premieres and 15 New York Premieres(click here for list).

Since its inception in 2000, WFF has firmly established itself as one of the foremost regional independent film festivals, being named by Indiewire as one of the top 50 festivals in the world. This year there was no shortage of fantastic submissions. With nearly 2000 entries spanning the globe, from countries including Russia, Greece, Peru, Iran, Italy, Singapore, Mexico, UK, Greenland, Iceland, Monaco, India, Switzerland, Egypt, Denmark as well as across the United States, veteran, first-time and student filmmakers submitted their work for consideration.

Festival highlights include the opening night film, “DEAR GOVERNOR CUOMO…” directed by Jon Bowermaster, the closing night film CASTING BY, directed by Tom Donahue, centerpiece film THE SESSIONS, directed by Ben Lewin. As well as special screenings of DINNER AT THE NO-GO’S, directed by Marco Antonio Orsini; ONE TRACK HEART: THE STORY OF KRISHNA DAS, directed by Jeremy Frindel; QUARTET, directed by Dustin Hoffman; and VAMPS, directed by Amy Heckerling. The MAVERICK AWARD HONOREE will be director JONATHAN DEMME (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Agronomist, Stop Making Sense).

If you’re craving a taste of gay-centric cinema, be sure and check out these two features:

Gayby

Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their 30s. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood? Gayby is an irreverent comedy about friendship, growing older, sex, loneliness, and the family you chose.

Airing Thurs Oct 11th @ 7p. Click for tickets and more info.

Any Day Now

Set in the 1970s, Travis Fine’s Any Day Now explores the unique struggles of a gay couple as they fight both prejudice and the law for custody of a neglected and abandoned son of a junkie neighbor. Drag performer Rudy and district attorney Paul have only just met, yet are confident in their love for one another as well as their love and ability to care for Marco, a 14-year old boy with Down Syndrome who faces a future of foster care after his mother’s arrest. Despite Marco’s happiness, the new family is ripped apart when authorities find the two gay men as unfit caretakers for the abused teen.