May Film Flowers included more than five productions that worked throughout the Mid Hudson Valley region. We continue to be proud of the diversity that is exhibited in regional productions, and we want to point out that all the films listed below were either directed or produced by women, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Courtney Kivowitz, Talia Kleinhendler, Karla Raj, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Mona Lessnick, Celine Song, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Taylor Shung, Maggie Ambrose, Summer Crockett Moore, Stacey Cormier, Allegra Venturi, Olivia Benedicts, Eliza McKenna, and Allegra Leguizamo.

Since its inception in 2000, the Hudson Valley Film Commission has had the pleasure of working with many projects directed or produced by women, including the award winning films, Personal Velocity directed by Rebecca Miller (Sundance 2002) and Down to the Bone by directed by Debra Granick (Sundance 2004) and Stephanie Daley directed by Hilary Brougher (Sundance 2006).

May 2024 projects included:

The Bride! is an upcoming American science fiction horror film directed, written, and co-produced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and starring Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, and Julianne Hough. The film draws inspiration from James Whale's 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein, itself adapted from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein asks Dr. Euphronius to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change.

Principal photography got underway in March 2024. Filming in the Mid Hudson Valley took place during May in Accord, Ancram, Boiceville, Stanfordville and Windham. The Film Commission had the pleasure of working with the location team over the past several months and also provided support for background actors to Grant Wilfley Casting.

The Bride! is scheduled to be released in the United States in October of 2025 by Warner Bros.

Prior to this production, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard appeared in a wonderful locally produced short film called High Falls, which follows a wife and husband who separately divulge secrets to a friend, who subsequently witnesses their inability to honestly connect during a weekend trip in the country.

Das Traumschiff

Read in depth blog at www.tinyurl.com/dasdreamboat

In May, German director Helmut Metzger was back to helm his 11th Mid Hudson Valley movie, Das Traumschiff (The Dreamboat). Joining Metzger was a team of about 50 accomplished cast and crew members from Germany and America (including many locals).

Das Traumschiff is in its 41st year of production. Each episode features a cruise to a different spectacular location aboard a German luxury liner. There are usually several storylines, mostly of the romantic kind, involving the passengers and sometimes the crew of every cruise. There is always a feel-good factor and usually a happy ending for all.

Locations that have been featured over the past 41 years, include Argentina, Australia, Bali, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Cook Islands, Curaçao, Disney World, Dominican Republic, Dubai, The Galápagos Islands, Grenada, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, New Orleans, Norway, Oman, Samoa, South Africa, Seychelle Islands, Singapore, St. Lucia, Tasmania, Tahiti, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vancouver and others. The Hudson Valley can now be added to the above listed locations.

Materialists is the follow up to director Celine Song’s Oscar nominated Past Lives, for which she also received a nomination for best director. The sophomore effort stars Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans.

The film follows complications that arise from a matchmaker’s expertise, leading to a toxic love triangle that threatens to unravel the lives of all involved.

Filming mainly took place in New York City but the Mid Hudson Valley was fortunately used as a rural setting. Location scout John Hutchinson (IBT817) found an ideal setting. Many regional background actors were also hired through Roman Candle Casting, with some support from the Hudson Valley Film Commission.

Killer Films and A24 are both involved with the project. Both companies have worked on prior films in the region. Shirley and It Comes at Night. A24 is also distributing Sing Sing, which was filmed in Beacon, Fishkill and Warwick in 2022.

followed up on two recent Christmas movies with There She Goes; a romantic comedy created by Seth Goldsmith and Charles Hood.

There She Goes, from Choice Films followed two of their recent Christmas movie productions for BET/Paramount+. The romantic comedy was created by Seth Goldsmith and Charles Hood. The story follows a famous movie actress who comes home for her parent's wedding anniversary and reconnects with her former high school sweetheart who she left behind for fame.

There She Goes is directed by Charles Hood and stars Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) and Utkarsh Suresh Ambudkar (Pitch Perfect). Tony Glazer worked as a producer with Summer Crockett Moore working as producer and unit production manager. Filming took place primarily in Newburgh. Beacon was also a feature location. The production team had many local cast and crew members and quite a few department heads; Cesar Baptista (G&E), Debbie Devilla (production design). Background casting was handled by HBG Casting.

Other May productions included a commercial for a “Major Whisky Brand,” which was line-produced by Stacey Cormier. Other local crew members included production manager Katey Wheelhouse, gaffer Luke Carquillat, art director Tim Bruno and others.

Also filming was Allegra Venturi’s directorial debut Sick Enough, which filmed in New Paltz with local crew members including gaffer Adam Muro and actress, producer and writer Olivia Benedict under Duck Duck Goose Films. Sick Enough is a short film about a young woman named Stella undergoing treatment for an eating disorder. She faces an abrupt insurance cut off, compelling her to delve deeper into the genuine roots of her illness.

A photo shoot by Eliza McKenna also took place in the region with local actors working with the photographer to create collaborative relationships to explore a common understanding of loss and grief.

The last project that filmed in May was Flash Warning by director Allegra Leguizamo. The story follows Pia, a young woman who goes to visit her boyfriend’s family home for a weekend. She is set on making a good impression on his parents, but when her boyfriend’s dad exposes himself to her, it throws a wrench into the weekend. The incident sends Pia into a spiral of self-doubt and confusion causing her to flee from the house, but not before taking matters into her own hands.

The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to engage, support and promote regional Film & TV productions. In 2024, we celebrate our 25th year, and will continue to recommend thousands of locations, local crew members, actors, background extras, qualified production facilities, post production houses and more.

Please help us continue our efforts with a tax-deductible contribution at https://tinyurl.com/hvfcsupport