WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2016 FAVORITES PART 1
Woodstock Film Festival 2016 is showcasing a stellar collection of documentary, feature and short films. Here’s are some of the BN team’s picks for most beautiful.
1. YEAR BY THE SEA
“Year by the Sea,” directed by Alexander Janko, puts us through changes, connecting us with empty-nester Joan Anderson (Karen Allen), who wonders about her new purpose, and her husband (Michael Cristofer) who has just relocated to Kansas.
Rather than follow him, Joan escapes to Cape Cod, hoping to regroup and jumpstart her writing career. She meets and becomes fast friends with Joan Erikson, wife of the famed psychologist Erik Erikson, who coined the term “Identity Crisis.”
With gorgeous cinematography, set against the backdrop of the magnificent Cape Cod National Seashore, it is all about changing tides.
2. BLIND
“Blind,” directed by Michael Mailer, is an improbable love-triangle story that gets very real and very deep. Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin), loses his wife and his eyesight in a tragic car crash.
He is lifted from the depths of his despair by desperado socialite Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore). They fall fast and hard for each other. It is a beautiful love. But when Suzanne’s husband is unexpectedly released from jail, her real angst begins -- the angst of choice.
3. GIRL FLU
“Girl Flu,” directed by Dorie Barton, is a beautiful story of family and friendship, told with joy, edgy humor and great optimism.
Bird (Jade Pettyjohn) is a 12-year-old girl, with a stoner mom, who has to face the boogie-men of school bullies, her first period, and her new hometown. Watch her rise!
4. MY FIRST KISS AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED
“My First Kiss and the People Involved,” directed by Luigi Campi, tells the story of Sam, a beautiful young woman who lives in a group home for mentally and physically challenged people.
Sam sees life as a montage of dreams. When she disappears after a violent confrontation, thrills kick in full-throttle in the search clues.
5. NERUDA
“Neruda,” directed by Pablo Larrain, tells the powerful passionate story of the renowned poet Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco). Neruda, Senator in Chile in 1948, accuses the government of betraying the Communist Party. A warrant is promptly issued for his arrest.
He is hunted by Police Prefect Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal) and is forced into hiding. Living in the shadows with his wife, Neruda writes his incredible volume of poems, Canto General, so beautiful, no government can contain them.
6. PAINT IT BLACK
Amber Tamblyn makes her directorial debut with “Paint it Black,” a character-driven drama, in which 2 seemingly incompatible women share the same unforeseen loss. Beautiful in its darkness, it heads towards the light.
7. THIRSTY
“Thirsty,” directed by Margo Pelletier, is a coming of age story about a transgender girl-boy, played out in dramatic, fantasy and musical sequences, and fortified by a killer soundtrack.
8. AMERICAN EPIC
“American Epic,” directed by Bernard MacMahon, dives into the life of American music during the Roaring Twenties. Narrated by Robert Redford, it tells “Americas greatest untold story.” Filmmakers interviewed descendents of the country's folk, blues, and jazz musicians and wove their stories together in this powerful four-part film.
“American Epic: The Big Bang” features Jack White, Nas, Taj Mahal, The Carter Family, the Memphis Jug Band and Charlie Musselwhite, Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Lockwood, Honeyboy Edwards, Homesick James, The Rolling Stones, and Howlin Wolf.
“American Epic: Out Of The Many, The One,” features Mississippi John Hurt, Taj Mahal, the Hopi Indian Chanters, Joseph Kekuku, Lydia Mendoza, the Breaux Frères, Cyril Pahinui, and Louis Michot.
“American Epic: The Sessions” features The Alabama Shakes, The Americans, Ana Gabriel, Ashley Monroe, The Avett Brothers, Beck Bettye Lavette, Bobby Ingano, Auntie Geri Kuhia, & Charlie Kaleo Oyama, Elton John, Frank Fairfield Jack White, Jerron Paxton, Los Lobos, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Nas, Pokey LaFarge, Raphael Saadiq, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, & Merle Haggard.
9. THE PROMISED BAND
“The Promised Band,” directed by Jen Heck, a reality TV producer, who assembles a fake band of Israeli and Palestinian musicians. While their talent is questionable, their passion is flat out. The film takes us on their adventures as they struggle to get through the political madness that shapes their world and as they find strength and healing through friendship.
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IMAGE CREDITS:
- Image: Courtesy of Montabela Productions. “Year By The Sea.”
- Image: Courtesy of Montabela Productions. “Year By The Sea.”
- Image: Courtesy of Montabela Productions. “Year By The Sea.”
- Image: Courtesy of Foresight Unlimited. “Blind.”
- Image: Courtesy of Free Chicken Films. “Girl Flu.”
- Image: Courtesy of Noiz Film & Dodgeville Films. “My First Kiss & the People Involved.”
- Image: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Chile. “Neruda.”
- Image: Courtesy of Olive Productions. “Paint It Black.”
- Image: Courtesy of Thin Edge Films. “Thirsty.”
- Image: Courtesy of Lo-Max Films. “American Epic: We’re Still Here.”
- Image: Courtesy of Lo-Max Films. “American Epic: The Big Bang.”
- Image: Courtesy of Lo-Max Films. “American Epic: The Sessions.”
- Image: Courtesy of Lo-Max Films. “American Epic: The Sessions.”
- Image: Courtesy of Steamboat Pictures. “The Promised Band.”
- Image: Courtesy of Woodstock Film Festival. Festival Logo.
- Image: Courtesy of Lo-Max Films. “American Epic: The Sessions.”
- Image: Courtesy of Noiz Film & Dodgeville Films. “My First Kiss & the People Involved.”
- Image: by BN App - Download now!
- Image: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Chile. “Neruda.”