HUDSON VALLEY STREAM FEST
COMING SOON:
The Adults • Blackout • Blue Light • Crumb Catcher • Family • Figments of Freedom • Full Circle • The Green Veil • Lost on a Mountain in Maine • Manifest • A Paracosm • Paradise & Lunch • Poker Face • Sing Sing • Stay Awake • Theater Camp • Three Women • The Tuba Thieves • White House Plumbers • The Whale
February 14, 2021 – HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!! Today’s streamfest recommendation is the charming GROWING UP SMITH, which was filmed in the region in 2014.
In 1970s suburban America, all 10-year-old Smith wants to do is watch "Happy Days," play with his "Star Wars" figurines, and hang out with the girl-next-door. But things are not that easy when he has to deal with his overbearing father pushing his Indian heritage on him every second of every day.
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February 12, 2021 – In July and August of 2019, cast and crew worked in the Hudson Valley on Noah Hutton’s narrative feature debut, LAPSIS. Over 25 days, the production filmed in 18 different locations, mostly around Patterson, in Putnam County, and also Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County.
On February 12, LAPSIS will be available for streaming on multiple platforms including iTunes, Amazon Prime and through local movie theaters including the Jacob Burns Film Center, which will also hold a special Q&A screening on March 9.
To mark the premiere, the Hudson Valley Film Commission recruited filmmaker Jeremiah Wenutu to interview Noah about the making of the film. The 17 minute interview covers a lot of ground and can be streamed at https://vimeo.com/507963403
January 18, 2021 – Today's streamfest recommendation is HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE.
From director Yoruba Richen , and executive producers Alicia Keys, Mehret Mandefro, Hudson Valley filmmaker Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Elizabeth Trojian and Elliott Halpern, the film tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
Premiering on #mlkday this Monday, January 18th at 9pm
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January 17, 2021 – To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our streamfest recommendation is Sam Pollard's MLK/FBI. Video on Demand started on January 15. Streaming is available at at https://www.mlkfbi.com/watch-at-home
MLK/FBI is the first film to uncover the extent of the FBI's surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government's history of targeting Black activists, and the contested meaning behind some of our most cherished ideals. Featuring interviews with key cultural figures including former FBI Director James Comey and directed by Emmy® Award-winner and Oscar®-nominee Sam Pollard, MLK/FBI tells this astonishing and tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment.
Sam Pollard is an Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated director and producer. His films for HBO, PBS, and the Discovery Channel include the documentaries "Four Little Girls," "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," "Slavery by Another Name," "Sammy Davis, Jr.: I Gotta Be Me," "ACORN and the Firestorm," "Why We Hate," and "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children." Pollard also directed two episodes of the groundbreaking series Eyes on the Prize.
Since 1994 Pollard has served on the faculty of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and lives in New York City.
01/10/2021 – Today's streamfest recommendation is John Bowermaster's HOPE ON THE HUDSON, which is currently streaming at https://smile.amazon.com/City-on-the-Water/dp/B08Q862WD2
The Hudson River has defined cultures and communities in the Hudson Valley for generations. From the Native Americans who preceded European settlers, to the vast pre-industrial fishing and trading cultures, to the present day communities who view it as a keystone of tourism and quality of life, the River has always been a defining characteristic of the Hudson Valley.
The relationship between the river and its neighbors has not always been a positive one – but each time its safety has been threatened, there have always been those who are ready to fight for it. Today, myriad environmental organizations, communities, artists and musicians are bound together by their efforts to help protect its future and tell the story of its past.
Jon Bowermaster is the filmmaker behind “Hudson: A River at Risk.” “Hope on the Hudson” is Part III of the “River at Risk” series. A writer, filmmaker and adventurer, Bowermaster is a six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council. His Oceans 8 project took him and his teams around the world by sea kayak over the course of ten years (1999-2008), where they bought back stories from the Aleutian Islands, French Polynesia, Gabon, Tasmania, and beyond about how the planet’s one ocean and its various coastlines are faring today. He is the chairman of the board of Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation and a boar. For more info, visit https://www.hudsonriverstories.com/hope-on-the-hudson
January 7, 2021 – Today's streamfest recommendation is DRIVEWAYS, starring the late Brian Dennehy. Kathy (Golden Globe® Nominee Hong Chau), a single mother, travels with her shy eight-year-old son Cody (newcomer Lucas Jaye) to Kathy’s late sister’s house which they plan to clean and sell. As Kathy realizes how little she knew about her sister, Cody develops an unlikely friendship with Del (Golden Globe®, Tony® winner and acting legend Brian Dennehy), the Korean War vet and widower who lives next door. Over the course of a summer, and with Del’s encouragement, Cody develops the courage to come out of his shell and, along with his mother, finds a new place to call home.
“Production on Driveways took place in July and August of 2018 in Dutchess and Ulster Counties,” recalls Laurent Rejto from the Hudson Valley Film Commission. “The film commission made a lot of referrals for lodging, crew, casting directors and vendors. Over fourteen locations were featured from Hyde Park (Hyde Park RollerMagic), Kingston, New Paltz, Pleasant Valley (Miller Hardware), Poughkeepsie (Mid-Hudson Civic Center), and Rosendale (My Town Market Place).”
“The people and the businesses of the Hudson Valley were integral to our success filming Driveways ” says producer Joe Pirro. “The Hudson Valley Film Commission went to great lengths to connect us to these wonderful people and places both before and during our shoot. It was a joy filming in Dutchess and Ulster counties, and we hope to return again soon.“
Director Andrew Ahn adds that “We could not have made Driveways without the support of the Hudson Valley community. Our production found the talent and resources to not only make a beautiful film, but also to have a beautiful experience, collaborating with local cast and crew. I think back to my time in the Hudson Valley with an intense nostalgia for the generous people and the beautiful landscape.“ Limited virtual run ends tonight, January 7.
Read more about DRIVEWAYS at <https://www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/newsinfo/https//www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/202057>
December 19, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM.
While it it’s true that the film was not produced in the Hudson Valley, quite a bit of the post production was done locally. See details in our recent POST NEWS, PART III at https://www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/.../2020126
The film is directed by George C. Wolfe and stars Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927. Stream at www.netflix.com/title/81100780
Also treat yourself to BESSIE, starring Queen Latifah. The film was directed by Hudson Valley resident Dee Rees and explores the life of Bessie Smith, including her rise to the top in the 1920s under the tutelage of Ma Rainey. BESSIE can be streamed at https://play.hbomax.com
December 18, 2020. Today’s streamfest recommendation is the 9th episode of 2020's The Chair Series, with James Felice sitting in The Chair. (OK, it's a bench.)
James is a member of The Felice Brothers band, but today, he’s sharing a song with us all by his lonesome. It’s called "All That There Is There To Love," and as James will tell you, it’s the first time he’s ever performed it in front of humans that he's not related to.
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Today's streamfest recommendation is BLACK BEAR, written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, and starring Aubrey Plaza.
At a remote lake house, a filmmaker plays a calculated game of desire and jealousy in pursuit of a work of art that blurs the boundaries between autobiography and invention.
Filmed partly in the Hudson Valley during the summer of 2019, BLACK BEAR was one of five locally producer films to premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The four other films included THE CLIMB, SAVE YOURSELVES, SCARE ME and SHIRLEY (see blog)
"We're honored to have BLACK BEAR in Sundance this year, along with so many great films, and many from the Hudson Valley,” wrote producer Jonathan Blitstein, who filmed his 2013 directorial debut ANOTHER KIND in the region. “Tandem Pictures has a history of shooting films in and around the area, and we love it. Not only does it make economic sense for independent filmmakers to work in NY-State, there are amazing crews around the Valley, the sights and locations are one of a kind, and the support of the Hudson Valley Film Commission is unparalleled."
Aubrey Plaza previously worked in the region in 2013 on the feature film ABOUT ALEX. Cinematographer Rob Leitzell also worked previously in the Hudson Valley while an MFA graduate student for NYU, and later on APPROACHING THE UNKNOWN. His credits include many music videos for Arcade Fire, MGMT, Okkervil River, as well as work on Hudson Valley native, Benh Zeitlin’s GLORY AT SEA, which would lead to the Oscar nominated feature film BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.
ROTTEN TOMATOES top critics give BLACK BEAR a 93% positive review.
"Defies classification. A witty, razor-sharp genre-bending riot."
-KATE ERBLAND for INDIEWIRE
"You can't take your eyes off it."
-DAVID CANFIELD for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
December 11, 2020 – I've had the pleasure of programming two films by Sascha Paladino, and presenting two concerts with the subject of both films, Bela Bleck. If you've never had the pleasure of seeing THROW DOWN YOUR HEART, watch a FREE SCREENING tonight and join Sascha and Bela after the screening for a live Q&A.
For more, visit https://www.facebook.com/belafleckbanjo/videos/225310525640643
December 10, 2020 – Todays streamfest recommendation is 20/20 on ABC and the special two-hour edition of “Rodney Reed on Death Row.”
The episode investigates the murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas and the man who was convicted for her murder. Rodney Reed has spent nearly 25 years imprisoned. Stacey’s family is glad to have him behind bars. The Innocence Project, Kim Kardashian, and others cite DNA evidence and shabby police work for wrongly convicting Reed and taking the blame off Stacey’s police-officer fiancé. The controversy resulted in a stay of execution last December for Rodney Reed following public outcry.
Local filmmaker Raj Trivedi directed re-creations to bring the story to life for 20/20.
December 7, 2020 – Happy birthday to Tom Waits. To commemorate, we're recommending Jim Jarmusch's THE DEAD DON'T DIE, which filmed in the region in 2018. Fun fact: During filming, Tom and Jim spent time foraging for mushrooms. 2018 was a particularly good year for fungi.
December 1, 2020 – In 2018, the Hudson Valley Film Commission worked very closely with the indie film ANTARCTICA. Production started in November but the film commission worked behind the scenes with director Keith Bearden and producer Joe White as early as January 9. Referrals were made for line producer, UPM, casting directors, production design and many more crew positions, most of which were filmed locally. The film commission also referred several location and even provided rooms for several crew members.
The story follows lifelong friends Kat and Janet, who face a tidal wave of adult pressures and problems as they face down their last year of high school in small-town USA.
November 30, 2020 – Today’s streamfest recommendation is the final episode of the HBO thriller THE UNDOING. The last fifteen minutes will feature location in the Town of Ulster, Kingston and Esopus.
If you are interested in seeing local footage, you can view THE UNDOING: Inside the Shocking Final Moments of the Finale
*DO NOT WATCH unless you don't mind the entire end being revealed!
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November 25, 2020 – Today’s streamfest recommendation is CRISIS INTERVENTION: VETERANS PRESS 1. This Oscar winning short documentary was produced by local filmmaker Dana Perry and spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders, who provide immediate intervention and support in hopes of saving the lives of service members. If you know anyone in need of help, the Veterans Crisis Line number is 1-800-273-8255.
November 14, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Lisa M. Thomas' music video CANDY SSTORE, featuring the music of THE DUST BOWL FAERIES. Watch at https://youtu.be/jELSbCqfWxY
November 13, 2020 – Today’s streamfest recommendation is THE CLIMB, which was partly filmed in the region, is headed to theaters nationwide starting today, November 13. The film is directed by Michael Angelo Covino, and features Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, Judith Godrèche
About filming upstate, producer Noah Lang wrote: "Upstate NY filming is like your favorite winter coat. Comfortable, reliable, and filled with random things you forgot about."
THE CLIMB follows Kyle and Mike, best friends who share a close bond —until Mike sleeps with Kyle's fiancée. What follows is the tumultuous but enduring relationship between the two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently uproarious film about the boundaries (or lack thereof) in all close friendships.
For theaters and showtimes, visit https://tickets.theclimbfilm.com/tickets
*Please abide by all CDC recommendations for public events including wearing a mask and social distancing.
October 12, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Tobe Carey's MOUNTAIN RIVER - The Esopus Creek: Headwaters to the Hudson Watch the trailer or stream the full documentary online at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mountainriver
The 73 minute film, MOUNTAIN RIVER, follows the Esopus Creek, from its headwaters on Slide Mountain in New York’s Catskill Mountains, to the Ashokan Reservoir, and on to the Hudson River at Saugerties - a fascinating journey of 65 miles.
MOUNTAIN RIVER is produced and directed by Glenford filmmaker Tobe Carey, and co-produced by photographer and Catskills' Fishing Guide, Mark Loete, of Chichester. Music is by Tim Kapeluck, Jay Ungar, Evan Pritchard, and the late Artie Traum.
October 11, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is LOITERING WITH INTENT, directed by Adam Rapp and starring Michael Godere, Ivan Martin, Marissa Tomei, Sam Rockwell and Brian Geraghty.
Fledgling screenwriters retreat to a quiet country manor to work on their script, but a constellation of needy characters produces constant interruptions. Filming primarily took place on private property with several local crew hires.
October 10, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is KING JACK, directed by Felix Thompson.
A scrappy 15-year-old (Charlie Plummer) bonds with his introverted cousin (Cory Nichols) while facing off against a bully (Danny Flaherty).
Filming took place in Kingston, Rosendale, Saugerties and Rhinecliff over a 25 day period in July and August of 2014. Stone Pony Deli provided catering services.
October 7, 2020 – In 2012, I had the pleasure of working with and hanging out with Clark Middleton on location for the short film, MY PAIN IS WORSE THAN YOUR PAIN. Filming took place around Bethel.
I remember driving around with him a bunch. Clark was funny, delightful, and all heart. I was really sad to hear of his passing yesterday.
The short film follows a middle-aged man (Middletonm) who engages in reckless behavior and is met with the pain he wishes to destroy.
October 5, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WE ONLY KNOW SO MUCH, directed by Donal Lardner Ward, and starring Jeanne Tripplehorn, Damian Young and Noah Schnapp.
Upon moving into her husband's childhood home to help take care of his elderly relatives, Jean Copeland, an emotionally withdrawn wife and mother of two, becomes embroiled in an affair with a suicidal lover. Her husband, Gordon, is oblivious, too busy worrying that he's losing his most prized possession, his mind, after a run-in with an ex-girlfriend he doesn't remember. 19-year-old, Priscilla, is a fashionista desperate to become a reality TV star, while 9-year-old crossword fanatic, Otis, has fallen in love for the very first time.
While most of the filming took place in the Hamptons, additional scenes were produced in Rhinebeck with local crew, including line producer Jonathan Burkhart, Tim Bruno, Erica Pearce, Lisa Purcell, Natalie Chau, Michael Winsor, Alanna Wray McDonald, Joe Cantor, Samuel O'Sullivan, Andrew Stymacks, and background actors.
October 4, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is ONCE UPON A RIVER, directed by Haroula Rose, based on the novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell, with Kenadi DelaCerna, John Ashton, Tatanka Means, Ajuawak Kapashesit, Sam Straley, Coburn Goss, Lindsay Pulsipher, and Kenn E. Head.
Based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell, ONCE UPON A RIVER is the story of Native American teenager Margo Crane (Kenadi DelaCerna) in 1970s rural Michigan who after enduring a series of traumas and tragedies, sets out on an odyssey on the Stark River in search of her estranged mother. On the water, Margo encounters friends, foes, wonders, and dangers; navigating life on her own, she comes to understand her potential, all while healing the wounds of her past. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/K8eGExAATCU
"After shooting the primary footage for ONCE UPON A RIVER in Illinois," writes director Rose, "I knew I had to shoot more scenes of the film in order to complete it. We ended up renting a cabin and heading up there to shoot at Big Deep among other incredible magical places around Woodstock. The shots needed to feel magical, almost surreal, for a dream sequence as well as a time of innocence in the main character's life. I feel both the community and the place itself have an energy that makes me want to come back and spend more time; whether to make my next film there or just to be and to write, as well."
October 3, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is A CALL TO SPY, directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-produced by part-time Hudson Valley resident Brian David Cange. In 2013, Pilcher produced THE SISTERHOOD OF NIGHT in the Hudson Valley.
As Great Britain’s forces were stretched thin during World War II, Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) began to enlist women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. Spymistress Vera Atkins, later the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond franchise, was the chief recruiter for this secret army. Atkins selected two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall, an American journalist from Baltimore hampered by a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan, a wireless officer of Indian descent and an avowed pacifist. Together, they worked to undermine the Nazi regime in France. The courage, sacrifices and grit of these three women helped quell the Nazi occupation – and ultimately turned the tide of the war.
October 2, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is MONSTERLAND, the limited series on Hulu.
Encounters with mermaids, fallen angels, and other strange beasts drive broken people to desperate acts in Monsterland, an anthology series based on the collection of stories from Nathan Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters.
Several scenes were filmed in uptown Kingston, which doubled for a Mardi Gras type location. The Hudson Valley Film Commission helped recruit extras.
October 1, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is SCARE ME, written and directed by Josh Ruben and starring Aya Cash, Chris Redd, Rebecca Drysdale and Josh Ruben.
During a power outage, two strangers tell scary stories. The more Fred and Fanny commit to their tales, the more the stories come to life in the dark of a Catskills cabin. The horrors of reality manifest when Fred confronts his ultimate fear: Fanny may be the better storyteller.
VARIETY wrote, "Ruben has forged himself an actors' showcase. He and Cash are marvelous mimics."
What To Watch wrote: "If Scare Me is an experiment in low-budget creepiness using verbal manipulation methods, it’s a smash-hit."
Filming took place in Woodstock, Phoenicia and at Woodstock Film Studios during January of 2018. SCARE ME made its world premiere at the 2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL while Josh Ruben was in pre-production for his second regional feature film, WEREWOLVES WITHIN.
"Making SCARE ME was the most cathartic, stressful, and fulfilling experience of my life and I'm happy as hell I got to do it at home."
STREAM at https://www.shudder.com
September 30, 2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is the episode of Classic Albums, PETER GABRIEL: SO, which features two Hudson Valley music icons Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta.
The documentary directed by George Scott examines the production of the first of Peter’s studio albums to have a proper title. SO was a watershed release in his career. Its marriage of the artistic and the commercial made for an indisputable success, with the album quickly sitting atop the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Aside from some intriguing collaborations – with Laurie Anderson on This Is The Picture, Kate Bush on Don’t Give Up and Youssou N’Dour on In Your Eyes – it was the unity of singer, band and producer that made So such a crucial record in the Gabriel canon.
Songs included Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Don't Give Up, That Voice Again, Mercy Street, Big Time, We Do What We Are Told, This is the Picture (Excellent Birds) and In Your Eyes.
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September 29, 2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is THE TICKET, directed by Ido Fluk, with Dan Stevens, Malin Åkerman, Oliver Platt, and Kerry Bishé.
A blind man inexplicably regains his vision and sets out to build a better life. However, his new improvements—a nicer home, a higher paying job, tailored suits, luxury car—leave little room for those who were part of his old, simpler life.
Production took place over 20 production days in July and August 2014 with many local hires in key positions. Locations were used in Kingston, Kerhonkson, Ellenville, Stone Ridge, Rhinebeck, and the Town of Ulster. Over 180 local extras were used and 5 local actors.
September 28, 2020 - The streamfest recommendation for today is OUR PLANET.
OUR PLANET is a groundbreaking, four-year collaboration between Netflix, Silverback Films and WWF. It explores the rich natural wonders, iconic species and wildlife spectacles that still remain, and reveals the key issues that urgently threaten their existence. Today, humans have become the greatest threat to the health of our planet.
Share the wonder of the extraordinary place we call home. Utilizing the latest technology OUR PLANET was filmed entirely in Ultra High Definition in over 50 countries. From exotic jungles to the deepest seas, open your eyes to the connections we all share. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
In April of 2018, the Hudson Valley Film Commission was contacted by production coordinator, Rachel Norman, for Silverback Productions about filming in the area for the 8 part natural history series, OUR PLANET.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission helped with location referrals, permits, and lodging. The production team arrived in May to create a swathe of online conservation content to help launch the series. All of the content is aspirational, empowering and focused on the core message of OUR PLANET, that the world’s future can be amazing.
The series hopes to inspire people over the world to understand our planet - and the challenges it faces. "If we can truly understand why nature matters to us all, and what we can do to save it, then we can create a future where nature and people thrive."
September 27, 2020 - MONSTERLAND premieres on Hulu on October 2. Several scenes were filmed in uptown Kingston, which doubled for a Mardi Gras type location. Watch the trailer at https://youtu.be/-kgtaf-KxeA
Two episodes of the anthology series were helmed by directors who previously made films in the region. As a result, our streamfest recommendation today is Desiree Akhavan's THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST and Kevin Philips' SUPER DARK TIMES.
SUPER DARK TIMES, directed by Kevin Phillips and starring Owen Campbell, Charlie Tahan, Elizabeth Cappuccino.
Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.
Filmed in November and December of 2015, SUPER DARK TIMES filmed primarily in Kingston, including Kingston High School, over 27 production days. Over 200 local extras were used, mostly high school kids. Over a thousand room nights were rented.
STREAM at https://www.netflix.com/title/80184135
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST was directed by Desiree Akhavan.
Based on the celebrated novel by Emily M. Danforth. In 1993, a teenage girl is forced into conversion therapy after being caught with another girl in the back seat of a car on prom night. Run by the strict and severe Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick (himself an example of how those in the program can be “cured”), the center is built on repenting for same-sex attraction. In the face of intolerance and denial, Cameron meets a group of fellow “sinners.” Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr. and Jennifer Ehle.
Filmed in October and November of 2016, production took place in Greene and Ulster Counties. Over 200 local background extras were hired for production which took 24 days.
STREAM at https://www.hulu.com/.../the-miseducation-of-cameron-post...
Actor Charlie Tahan has appeared in several Hudson Valley films including SUPER DARK TIMES, MESKADA, and HIGH FALLS.
September 26, 2020 - Todays streamfest recommendation is Jim Mickle's COLD IN JULY, starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson and co-screenwriter Nick Damici.
When family man Richard Dane kills an intruder identified as Freddy Russell, he soon finds himself fearing for his family's safety when the man's ex-con father targets him for revenge. The film takes place in 1980s Texas and is based on the novel of the same name by author Joe R. Lansdale. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/XkyuV69YZcM
Filmed in July of 2013, COLD IN JULY used regional locations in Esopus, Hurley, Kingston and Woodstock to double for 1980s Texas. Local crew members were hired as well as background actors and vendors. Ironically, ONE ARMED MAN, which filmed at the Ashokan Center was doubling for 1920s Texas at the same time. It made for a perfect opportunity to travel back in time while visiting both sets. Also remember how kind the folks from Catskill Mountain Railroad were in prepping one of the scenes.
September 25, 2020 – Today’s streamfest recommendation is CHRISTMAS CAMP, directed by Jeff Fisher.
To get a promotion, Haley, an advertising executive who specializes in social media, must land a toy company that is all about traditional Christmas as an account. Watch sneak peek at https://youtu.be/_1jUg58shio
Along with LAST VERMONT CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS CAMP was one of two Hallmark movies filmed in the region in 2018 thanks to the Hudson Valley Film Commission. Crew included the wonderful Joe James who was propmaster. He very sadly passed away later that year. RIP Joe. We miss you!
September 24, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE BOURNE LEGACY, directed by Hudson Valley native Tony Gilroy and starring Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton, and Rachel Weisz.
When the actions of Jason Bourne spark a fire that threatens to burn down decades of research across a number of secret intelligence agencies, Eric Byer (Edward Norton), the man who built the programs, decides he must sacrifice one of them: Outcome. Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), one of Outcome's six agents, and research scientist Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) go on the run when Byer targets them for termination. But Cross proves to be a far deadlier target than Byer realizes.
The film commission worked with the production and helped refer an old Hudson Valley mansion that could be scaled from the exterior. Initial plans to use interiors at the location fell apart because engineers realized the building could not sustain the size of the production.
September 23, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is HBO's Emmy Award Winning SUCCESSION.
Although he has no plans to step aside as the head of Waystar Royco, the international media conglomerate controlled by his family, aging patriarch Logan Roy is contemplating what the future holds. He has lingered in the limelight longer than even he thought he would, and now family members want to run the company as they see fit. Despite a best-laid succession plan, tempers flare over Logan's intentions. Kendall Roy, Logan's eldest son from his second marriage and a division president at the firm, is the heir apparent. As Kendall attempts to solidify his eventual takeover, he and the three other Roy children face a difficult choice as company control and family loyalties collide. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/l9TKHvvaMfE
While the series did not film in the Hudson Valley, the film commission did help with extras casting for Capital Region production.
September 22, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Ridley Scott's AMERICAN GANGSTER, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas rises to power in corrupt 1970s New York, equalling and surpassing the notorious Mafia families with the reach of his empire. On the other side of the law, honest cop Richie Roberts dedicates himself to taking down `the most dangerous man walking the streets'. Lucas acts with impunity, smuggling heroin into the US in the coffins of American soldiers killed in Vietnam.
In 2006, airport scenes for AMERICAN GANGSTER were filmed at Stewart International Airport.
September 21, 2020 – In honor of the very well deserved EMMY that was awarded on 9/20/2020 to Mark Ruffalo for outstanding lead actor in a limited series, today's streamfest recommendation is the HBO series I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, directed by Derek Cianfrance.
The series was filmed almost entirely in the Hudson Valley between March and October of 2019. In addition to Ruffalo, the series featured Melissa Leo, Rosie O'Donell, Archie Panjabi, Juliette Lewis, Kathryn Hahn and thousands of local extras.
The limited series, based on the bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, follows Dominick Birdsey as he struggles to care for his twin brother, Thomas, while discovering the truth about his own family history.
View the Emmy acceptance speech from Ruffalo at https://youtu.be/cyxwfIcDmN4
September 20, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is ALL IN:THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY, directed by Liz Garbus & Lisa Cortés.
Garbus has long been affiliated with Woodstock and the Hudson Valley. Her most recent film, LOST GIRLS, focused on the plight of a missing person from Ellenville, NY. For the Academy Award nominated WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE?, several scenes were filmed in the region. The series WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? also had some local filming and important support.
ALL IN:THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY
In anticipation of the 2020 presidential election, ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY examines the often overlooked, yet insidious issue of voter suppression in the United States. The film interweaves personal experiences with current activism and historical insight to expose a problem that has corrupted our democracy from the very beginning. With the perspective and expertise of Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, the documentary offers an insider’s look into laws and barriers to voting that most people don’t even know is a threat to their basic rights as citizens of the United States.
September 19, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is the Academy Award winning documentary RBG, directed by Julie Cohen, and Betsy West.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans – until now. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/biIRlcQqmOc
RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg 's exceptional life and career. You can't spell truth without Ruth.
September 18, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is BURN, directed by Mike Gan, with Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Josh Hutcherson, Suki Waterhouse, and Harry Shum Jr.
Melinda is a lonely and unstable gas-station attendant who's tired of being overshadowed by her more confident and outgoing co-worker. When a robber holds up the station at gunpoint, Melinda tries to make a connection with the desperate thief. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/Icb1Y_ZrKpk
The Hudson Valley Film Commission was responsible for finding the major location in Lagrangeville. It was graciously referred to us by a Facebook member after we posted for a gas station. HVFC also referred many crew members including casting director. Local actors included Joe James (RIP), Keith Leonard, and Wayne Pyle. It was the 11th film we worked on, with Yale Productions. Local spend topped $250K. Local hires included 12 local crew members, 9 actors and 20 extras.
September 17, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is DEERE JOHN by Mitchell Rose.
DEERE JOHN was part of "Modern Daydreams," a suite of four Chaplinesque films. In this episode a man and a 22 ton John Deere excavator dance a dance of discovery, fulfillment, and eventually, the loss that any diesel-based relationship must suffer.
In 2007, the film commission hosted The Mitch Show in Poughkeepsie and Woodstock as part of the Hudson Valley Programmers Group, which administered a year round touring exhibit featuring films by established & emerging filmmakers. Screenings provided artists an opportunity to present work that is rarely exhibited and gave audiences an opportunity to interact with filmmakers.
September 15, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is an excerpt from THE TUBA THIEVES, directed by Alison O’Daniel
HEARING 4’33” can be streamed at https://vimeo.com/168422862
THE TUBA THIEVES is composed of film installations, sculptures, and performances, and began after tuba robberies from Los Angeles schools. The project prioritizes Deaf and Hard of Hearing experiences and reimagines the aural world.
Filming took place in 2012 at the Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, some 60 years after the 1952 John Cage premiere. The music venue was built in 1916 as part of Hervey White's Maverick Arts Colony. The concert hall remains the longest running venue for chamber music in the United State. The film commission helped recruit many local extras, including Norman Aronson who is featured in the scene along with pianist David Tudor.
August 26, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is MICHAEL CLAYTON, directed by Tony Gilroy who was raised in Washingtonville, and starring George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson
MICHAEL CLAYTON is a story about deception, backstabbing and the greed that has become all too common. Problem fixer Clayton (Clooney) is brought in to clean up the mess after one of his law firm's top litigators suffers a breakdown. Under pressure to appease the firm's clients, he finds himself torn between his desire to do the right thing and a pressing need to pay off spiraling personal debts.
Filming took place in Cornwall, Blooming Grove, New Winsor and Dutchess County.
August 25, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is SUPER DARK TIMES, directed by Kevin Phillips and starring Owen Campbell, Charlie Tahan, Elizabeth Cappuccino.
Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.
Filmed in November and December of 2015, SUPER DARK TIMES filmed primarily in Kingston, including Kingston High School, over 27 production days. Over 200 local extras were used, mostly high school kids. Over a thousand room nights were rented.
August 24, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is NANCY which filmed in the region in 2017. Directed by Christina Choe, the film features Andrea Riseborough, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd, and John Leguizamo.
Craving connection with others, Nancy creates elaborate identities and hoaxes under pseudonyms on the internet. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing 30 years ago, fact and fiction begin to blur in Nancy's mind, and she becomes increasingly convinced these strangers are her real parents. As their bond deepens, reasonable doubts give way to willful belief - and the power of emotion threatens to overcome all rationality.
Winner of Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Also nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
August 21, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE FLY ROOM by Alexis Gambis.
A 10-year-old girl receives an unorthodox education in genetics when she visits her father's insect laboratory.
Film in June of 2013 over a 21 day period, THE FLY ROOM featured many scenes filmed at Bard College, Red Hook and Tivoli.
August 19, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is LIKE ME, directed by Robert Mockler and featuring Addison Timlin, Ian Nelson and Larry Fessenden with cinematography by James Stewert (Bard Almumni)
A reckless loner, desperate for human connection, sets out on a crime spree that she broadcasts on social media. Her reality quickly splinters into a surreal nightmare as her exploits spiral out of control.
Eight days of the production took place in Woodstock and West Shokan. Glass Eye Pix has filmed over ten productions in the region since 2000.
August 18, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is PARIAH DOG, which was directed by Woodstock's Jess Alk.
PARIAH DOG is a documentary that focuses on several eccentric street dog caretakers in Kolkata, India. Shot over three years, the film paints a kaleidoscopic picture of the city of Kolkata, seen through the prism of four outsiders and the dogs they love. An artistically shot creative documentary, PARIAH DOG gains intimate access to the lives of its subjects, as they care for the street dogs around them, and struggle to find their place in this crowded megacity.
In March of 2019, Alk premiered PARIAH DOC at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Feature. Jesse was among a strong contingent of Hudson Valley Filmmakers represented at the festival, including Filmmakers Peter Nelson and Sally Roy, who brought their feature, THE POLLINATORS to Big Sky. With filmmakers representing Accord, Kingston and Woodstock, the Mid Hudson Valley contingent at Big Sky helped to illustrate the vibrant regional documentary filmmaker community.
Color correction for the film was done with Chad Smith at Massive Clouds in Kingston. “It was literally the most pleasant part of making PARIAH DOG,” said Alk. “Chad’s excellent taste and consummate professionalism brought a level of polish to the film beyond what I could not have anticipated. As a first time filmmaker, I was incredibly grateful that Chad was willing to talk me through the process and dedicate himself to this smaller project with as much seriousness as he brings to larger films. The coloring of the film has repeatedly, and rightly, been singled out for praise by other filmmakers.”
“I met with Jesse to talk about working together at the beginning of the edit,” recalls Chad Smith. “At that time he only had a short trailer edited. There was such a strong visual sense, so much texture and interesting characters that I was taken in right away. Even though he is a first time filmmaker, Jesse has a great eye, attention to detail and brings deep knowledge of cinema history. Jesse attended the color sessions and provided positive feedback during the process. This made for a very collaborative and supportive experience. The end result is an exceptional looking film. I could not be happier for his wonderful win at Big Sky”
August 17, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is CARMINE STREET GUITARS directed by Ron Mann and featuring among others, part time local Jim Jarmusch. The film was also produced by another part time local, Carter Logan. Other featured artists include Cindy Hulej, Rick Kelly, Eszter Balint. Christine Bougie, Nels Cline, Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Friedberger, Bill Frisell, Dallas Good, Travis Good, Dave Hill, Jamie Hince, Stewart Hurwood, Lenny Kaye, Marc Ribot and Charlie Sexton
Once the center of the New York bohemia, Greenwich Village is now home to lux restaurants, and buzzer door clothing stores catering to the nouveau riche. But one shop in the heart of the Village remains resilient to the encroaching gentrification: Carmine Street Guitars.
There, custom guitar maker Rick Kelly and his young apprentice Cindy Hulej, build handcrafted guitars out of reclaimed wood from old hotels, bars, churches and other local buildings. Nothing looks or sounds quite like a Rick Kelly guitar, which is the reason they are embraced by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Jim Jarmusch, just to name a few.
Featuring a cast of prominent musicians and artists, and some virtuoso performances, the film captures five days in the life of one shop in the heart of Greenwich Village that remains resilient to the all-too-quickly vanishing way of life.
This film is dedicated to Jonathan Demme.
August 16, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is STRANGER IN THE HOUSE (aka The Inherited), directed by Devon Gummersall, featuring Annabella Sciorra, Tammy Blanchard, and Dennis Boutsikaris.
Eve (Jenn Liu) has married the man of her dreams (Nathan Darrow), but when they return to live in the house he inherited from his first wife, Eve falls into a spiral of suspicion and madness. Filming took place primarily in Warwick, New York around 2014.
STRANGER IN THE HOUSE was produced for Lifetime by Ash Christian who passed away on August 15, 2020 at age 35. It's one of five films he produced in the region. Had a nice visit with him on this one. His kindness and sense of humor and great attitude will be missed. Read more about Ash at <https://variety.com/2020/film/obituaries-people-news/ash-christian-dead-dies-producer-actor-cranium-entertainment-1234736177>
August 15, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WOODSTOCK: 3 DAYS OF PEACE AND MUSIC
From August 15–18, 1969, 500-thousand people descended on Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in upstate New York to put on a concert that was conceptualized in Woodstock.
In this documentary, the iconic event is chronicled in unflinching detail, from the event's inception all the way through to the unexpected air-delivery of food and medical supplies by the National Guard. The film contains performances, interviews with the artists and candid footage of the fans in a defining portrait of 1960s America.
Featured artists include Richie Havens, Joan Baez, The Who, Sha-N-Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, Crosby Still & Nash, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sly and the Family Stone, Canned Heat, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and many others.
Screenshot shows the opening act, featuring Richie Havens with Daniel Ben Zebulon (percussion) and Paul "Deano" Williams (guitar and backing vocals.) Their set list included From the Prison, Get Together, I'm a Stranger Here, High Flying Bird, I Can't Make It Anymore, With a Little Help from My Friends, Handsome Johnny, Strawberry Fields Forever & Hey Jude, and Freedom (Motherless Child).
Screen online on Vimeo (free) at https://vimeo.com/379486099 or Amazon Prime at https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-Days-Peace-Music-Directors/dp/B002DEZXOE/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
August 14, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is CREATING WOODSTOCK. The documentary from Mick Richards is a comprehensive examination of the famous rock 'n' roll festival that took place in August 1969 on Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York.
August 12, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION, directed by Barak Goodman and Jamila Ephron.
In August, 1969, half a million people from all walks of life converged on a small dairy farm in upstate New York. They came to hear the concert of their lives, but most experienced something far more profound: a moment that came to define a cultural revolution.
August 11, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is TAKING WOODSTOCK, directed by And Lee and starring Demetri Martin, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano, and many others.
In the summer of 1969, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) divided his time between Greenwich Village and the upstate ramshackle motel, El Monaco, which was owned by his Old World parents. When the proposed venue for the upcoming Woodstock concert fell through, Elliot stepped up to play a pivotal role in the generation-defining event by helping organizers secure Max Yasgur's nearby farm for the festival and offering the El Monaco as the home base. The infamous Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place August 15–18, 1969.
"As the head of the film commission, I was responsible for introducing the producer James Schamus and director Ang Lee to Michael Lang," remembers Laurent Rejto. "The introduction gave a new perspective on the book by Elliot Tiber that the movie was based on. It was also a pleasure working with David Gropman (Life of Pi, Fences) as we attempted to find ideal locations and setting."
Production spent 45 days filming at 8 locations. $8-million was spent on local direct spending. 50 local crew members were hired and 200+ extras. Most of the filming ended up taking place in Columbia County."
August 10, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WHAT CHILDREN DO, directed by Dean Peterson and starring Grace Rex, Nicole Rodenberg and Josh Ruben.
Amy and Shannon are estranged sisters who are brought back into each other's lives when they return to their hometown in upstate New York upon learning about their grandmother's health. Back home, they encounter old flames and zealous pastors while attempting to repair their relationship.
Filming took place in April of 2016 with filming taking place primarily in Kigston and Woodstock. Actor Josh Ruben. A Hudson Valley native, returned in January of 2019 to direct his debut feature film SCARE ME, then returned in January of 2020 to direct WEREWOLVES WITHIN. Stay tuned for release date.
August 9, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WELCOME THE STRANGER directed by Justin Kelly and featuring Abbey Lee, Caleb Jones, and Riley Keough.
Alice arrives at her estranged brother Ethan's house in an attempt to reconcile, but bizarre visions, the return of his strange girlfriend, and Alice's paranoia and suspicion force the siblings to cling to reality amidst mysterious circumstances.
Filmed primarily in Palenville, production on WELCOME THE STRANGER took place over 21 days during June and July of 2016. Over 12 local crew members were hired and more than 840 hotel rooms were rented primarily in Kingston region. "Working in the Hudson Valley is always a wonderful experience with lots of good, experienced and helpful people," wrote producer John Keeyes. "And, as always, the film commission provided an amazing service."
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August 7, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is ONE PERCENT MORE HUMID, starring Juno Temple and Julia Garner.
Iris and Catherine, college-age childhood friends, reunite for a humid New England summer to help each other cope with the unimaginable -- a friend has died in a car accident, an accident which they both survived.
Production took place over 18 days in 2016 with locations in Ulster and Dutchess. The Hudson Valley film Commission was instrumental in local hires, including crew, vendors and cast.
August 6, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is the astounding documentary GHOST FLEET, which was just nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography. The documentary was produced by Jon Bowermaster of the Hudson Valley.
Directed by Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldron, GHOST FLEET delves into Thailand's fishing industry, which supplies a large portion of the world’s seafood. The country’s giant fishing fleet is chronically short of up to 60,000 fishermen per year, leaving captains scrambling to find crew.
Human traffickers have seized upon the labor shortage, selling people from Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and across Southeast Asia for a few hundred dollars each. Once at sea, the men often go months, or even years, without setting foot on land. Beaten, starved and held in cages, men are forced to work for little or no pay.
August 5, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WHAT WE FOUND (aka The Buried Girl) directed by Ben Hickernell, and starring Elizabeth Mitchell, James Ransone, Yetide Badaki, with a nice part featuring Jeremiah Wenutu.
Tensions run high in a community when a well-liked high school girl suddenly and mysteriously disappears.
The film was produced in July 2017 primarily in Poughkeepsie, NY. Thirty-five local crew members were hired as well as seventy five actors and dayplayers. Over 550 rooms were rented at the Courtyard Marriott Poughkeepsie and miscellaneous homes.
"It was such a joy seeing so much local crew and talent on this project," recalls actor Jeremiah Wenutu. "This was one of my first onscreen roles and to be able work locally made it that much more special. We have some truly amazing professionals in the Hudson Valley that I’m lucky enough to call friends. I can’t help thinking about this film without remembering the late, great, Joe James. He was the armorer on this project and I speak for a lot of us when I say that his presence is deeply missed."
August 4, 2020 –
"There's a storm coming."
"It's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better."
Storms always remind me of WE ARE WHAT WE ARE by Jim Mickle, so we will repost that film as today's streamfest recommendation. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE was directed by Jim Mickle in 2012 in Ulster and Delaware Counties on the heels of hurricane Irene which left the region devastated. The narrative follows the Parker family, reclusive people who cling to ancient customs. Their secret lives are threatened when a torrential downpour and the death of the family matriarch forces daughters Iris and Rose to assume special responsibilities. The cast features Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis, and the late Michael Parks.
In his review in Salon, Andrew O'Hehir wrote "It's a sinister, wistful and even sad portrait of one family that has followed the insanity and bloodthirstiness of American history into a dark corridor with no exit."
August 3, 2020 –Today's streamfest recommendation is SWALLOW by Carlo Mirabella-Davis. SWALLOW is one of Refinery29's best 15 movies of 2020! The feature film was produces in April and May of 2018 with the primary location in Highland, NY. Cast and crew stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Poughkeepsie.
On the surface, Hunter (Haley Bennett) appears to have it all. A newly pregnant housewife, she seems content to spend her time tending to an immaculate home and doting on her Ken-doll husband, Richie (Austin Stowell). However, as the pressure to meet her controlling in-laws and husband's rigid expectations mounts, cracks begin to appear in her carefully created facade. Hunter develops a dangerous habit, and a dark secret from her past seeps out in the form of a disorder called pica -- a condition that has her compulsively swallowing inedible, and oftentimes life-threatening, objects. A provocative and squirm-inducing psychological thriller, SWALLOW follows one woman's unraveling as she struggles to reclaim independence in the face of an oppressive system by whatever means possible.
August 3, 2020 –Today's streamfest recommendation is IN & OUT, which was filmed in part in Warwick, NY.
Directed by Frank Oz, the film follows a midwestern teacher (Kevin Kline) who questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards. Other featured actors include Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, and Bob Newhart.
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July 31, 2020 –– BIRDY was probably my favorite Alan Parker film, but THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE based on the novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle was filmed at Mohonk Mountain House in 1992. Today's streamfest recommendation is THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE, directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Dana Carvey, and Bridget Fonda. The film was produced in 1993 primarily at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz.
A staunch advocate of healthy living, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg opens a sanitarium that promotes his progressive, if eccentric, ideas about optimal well-being. Among the clients who arrive at the facility are the opportunistic Charles Ossining, who is keen on marketing Kellogg's cereal, and the wealthy Will Lightbody and his wife, Eleanor. This comedy is inspired by an actual spa run by Dr. Kellogg at the turn of the century.
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July 30, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation in A DEADLY LEGEND, directed by Pamela Moriarty, with Lori Petty, Corbin Bernsen and Judd Hirsch.
Joan Huntar, a real-estate developer, buys an old summer camp. However, the property has a dark history of supernatural worship and human sacrifice. A celebration weekend turns deadly when construction uncovers the mythical Stonehenge of America. Deadly spirits are awakened and kill to gain control of this supernatural gateway. Unable to escape, Joan and her family must fight for survival and defeat the spirits from beyond.
The summer-camp scenes were filmed on the former site of Camp Jened in Thompsonville, which provided camping experiences for handicapped people in the 1970s and is the subject of Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht’s recently released documentary Crip Camp.
July 27, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is SOUTH MOUNTAIN, directed by Lauren Wolkstein.
Lila (TALIA BALSAM) is an artist who teaches at a community college and has built a modest rural paradise in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her husband, Edgar (SCOTT COHEN). Soon after their teen daughters head off on summer adventures and her best friend Gigi (ANDRUS NICHOLS) begins chemotherapy, Edgar reveals he’s started a new family with another woman, leaving Lila alone for a season of explosive grief and self re-discovery. This is a film about what comes together when things fall apart.
The film is based on an original script by Hilary Brougher. Producers Kristin Frost, Maria Rosenblum, Susan A. Stover and Executive Producer Jean Castelli complete the team and in the Summer of 2017 we completed principal photography in Upstate N.Y. Photographed by D.P. Ethan Mass and a dedicated small crew, we are proud to have made a film with a small production footprint that resonates all the more deeply because of the intimacy of its making.
July 26, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE STRANGE ONES, directed by Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff. The feature films stars Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike), and James Freedson-Jackson (18 to Party), Emily Althaus, Gene Jones, Owen Campbell, and Tobias Campbell,
Filmed entirely in the Hudson Valley during August 2016, THE STRANGE ONES follows mysterious events that surround two brothers as they travel across America. On the surface, everything seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to dark and complex truths. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2017. On May 20, 2017, Vertical Entertainment and DirecTV acquired distribution rights to the film.
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*The feature film is based on the short of the same name, which was also filmed in the region in
2010. You can stream it on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/strangeones.
Production took place in Cornwall, New Hampton, Cornwall-on-Hudson, Willow, Accord, Kerhonkson, Rosendale, Catskill, Phoenicia, Malden-on-Hudson, Walden, Goshen, West Hurley, and Saugerties. Producers wrote the following note: "The Hudson Valley FIlm Commission provided a tremendous amount of help in facilitating our production. Whether it was suggesting locations, caterers, lodging, he was extremely organized and prompt in helping us find everything we needed."
July 25, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is SUPER TROOPERS, directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, and written by comedy 'troopers' Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, and Broken Lizard.
A handful of state troopers are put in the uncomfortable position of having to actually enforce the law in this high-spirited comedy. Mac (Steve Lemme), Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar), Foster (Paul Stoter), and Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske) are four Vermont state troopers whose dedication to duty is not exactly an inspiration to law enforcement officers everywhere.
The comedy was filmed in the Hudson Valley in 2000.
July 24, 2020 – Sorry about missing a day of streamfest recommendations. I've been dealing with LYME and slowly recouping. As a result, I'm going to refer UNDER OUR SKIN, which was in fact partly produced in the region. For details, visit https://www.lymedisease.org/under-our-skin-lyme-amazon-prime
The award-winning Lyme documentary Under Our Skin, and its sequel, Under Our Skin 2: Emergence are both available for free viewing by members of Amazon Prime. It's essential that everyone do a tick or rash check once a day. Please make it a part of your daily routine.
July 22, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Panic! At The Disco's official video for 'LA Devotee' from the album Death Of A Bachelor.
It's very likely the most watched media project made in the region with more than 47-million views on YOU TUBE. The video was directed by SCANTRON + Mel Soria in Newburgh, NY. The producer was Rachel Diamond from Poughkeepsie, and the director of photography was Nick Wise, also from Poughkeepsie. Scenes with Brendon Urie were filmed elsewhere.
July 21, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is FRANCES HA, directed by Noah Baumbach, and starring Greta Gerwig.
The eponymous main character, an aspiring dancer, tries to find her way in New York City after graduating from an unnamed Ivy-league college. Frustrated by her lack of success (and money), Frances finds herself adrift, and eventually returns to her Poughkeepsie alma mater as a “resident assistant” in a summer dance program. While on campus, she finds a job serving wine at an event for high-end college donors. For details regarding the use of Vassar as a location, visit https://vq.vassar.edu/…/2…/01/beyond-vassar/on-location.html
July 20, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS, directed by Raymond De Felitta.
Ben Kleinman (Paul Reiser) gets a surprise visit from his father, Sam (Peter Falk), who shows him a vague note from his mother indicating that she's left, and Sam has no idea where she's gone. While Ben's sisters mobilize in an effort to find their mother, he and Sam decide to hit the open road together. After looking at a farmhouse that Ben and his wife are considering buying, father and son continue traveling, sleeping outdoors, venting old frustrations -- and ultimately bonding. Production took place in 2003 and was one of the first major films to work with the film commission. Crew stayed at the Ramada Inn (now Quality Inn & Suites) and actors stayed at the Holiday Inn (now Best Western). Filming primarily took place in Ulster County. While filming at Cooper Lake, the process car that was carrying Reiser and Falk passed another film production (PATCH), which made for a funny coincidence.
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July 19, 2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is JAMIE MARKS IS DEAD, directed by Carter Smith, with Morgan Saylor, Liv Tyler, Noah Silver, Cameron Monaghan, and Brett DelBuono. Despite warnings to the contrary, a high-school student (Cameron Monaghan) befriends the ghost of a misfit classmate (Noah Silver) who may have been murdered.
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7/18/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE, directed by Dawn Porter.
A poignant, powerful documentary that serves both as a tribute to a living legend and a call to action arguing that the work of fighting racial injustice isn't done.
7/17/2020 – For today's streamfest, we're sharing Robert Burke Warren's new music video. AT THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is RBW's first-ever professional RBW video, directed by Dennis O'Clair, produced by Desirée O'Clair, shot at Phoenicia Diner and Phoenicia Playhouse in the early days of January, 2020.
7/15/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is DIANE, directed by Kent Jones. For Diane (Mary Kay Place) everyone else comes first. Generous but with little patience for self-pity, she spends her days checking in on sick friends, volunteering at her local soup kitchen, and trying valiantly to save her troubled, drug-addicted adult son from himself. But beneath her relentless routine of self-sacrifice, Diane is fighting a desperate internal battle, haunted by past mistakes which threaten to tear her increasingly chaotic world apart.
The movie was honored with the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and Best Narrative at Tribeca Film Festival. Filming took place in January and February of 2017 in Rosendale, Kingston, Saugerties and Palenville. 186 local extras were hired and 8 crew members including G&E, locations and more. Over 1400 room nights were rented at local lodging establishments.
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7/13/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is JACK GOES HOME, directed by Thomas Dekker, with Rory Culkin, Britt Robertson, Natasha Lyonne, and Nikki Reed. After his father dies in a car crash, a man (Rory Culkin) returns home to care for his injured mother and slowly begins to question his own childhood memories.
Produced in August of 2015 in Kingston, Saugerties, Kerhonkson, Athens, Lomontville, and Port Ewen. Can you name what other local films Rory Culkin has been in?
7/12/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is A VIGILANTE, directed by Sarah Daggar-Nickson, with Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett. A once abused woman, Sadie (Olivia Wilde), devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers while hunting down the husband she must kill to truly be free. A VIGILANTE is a thriller inspired by the strength and bravery of real domestic abuse survivors and the incredible obstacles to safety they face.
Filming took place during February and March of 2017 in Newburgh, Kingston, Ulster Park, Saugerties, Lake Katrine, and Windham. 42 locations were used over a 25 production days. 87 local extras were hired and 10 local crew members including Company 1 Productions.
7/11/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is FOR THE BIRDS, which was filmed entirely in Ulster County.
In Richard Miron’s surprising and empathetic For the Birds, we follow an unusual woman named Kathy who lives with 200 pet chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. What starts as a story seemingly about Kathy’s battle with local animal advocacy groups slowly transforms into an intimate drama about her relationship with her husband Gary, and the toll the birds have taken on their marriage and her well-being. Filmed over the course of five years, this sensitive tale of one woman’s world breaking down—poignant and absorbing in equal measure—is ultimately one of hope about the possibility of regaining one’s life.
7/10/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Larry Fessenden's DEPRAVED, with Joshua Leonard, Chloë Levine, Owen Campbell and Alex Breaux.
A disillusioned field surgeon who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder makes a man out of body parts and brings him to life in a Brooklyn loft.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission referred several actors, and locations, including apple orchards.
7/9/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is THE BEACH HOUSE, directed by Jeffrey A. Brown.
Young lovers Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah LeGros) are driving through the dunes to reconnect in solitude at his parents’ Cape Cod beach house. But we soon realize that not all is quite well: Emily, an aspiring astrobiologist (foreshadowing alert!), is on the fence about continuing her life with troubled dropout Randall, and almost immediately realizes how adrift she really is. The awkwardness only increases when Emily and Randall realize that the house is already occupied by an older couple, Mitch and Jane Turner (Jake Weber and Maryann Nagel), friends of Randall’s father (Randall, it seems, failed to clear his romantic getaway with his parents). Still, the Turners are nice enough and in need of company, and soon the foursome sit down to a home-cooked dinner. Things take a turn, however, when the wine runs out, and Randall offers to share his stash of edibles. (Excerpted from Oscar Goff / Boston Hassle)
While THE BEACH HOUSE was clearly not filmed in the Hudson Valley, it was directed by Jeff Brown whose work on THE DEAD DON'T DIE and WEREWOLVES WITHIN cemented him as an "unofficial" local. Jeff is considered in some circles as "the film Mayor of Fleischmanns. Actor Noah LeGros also appeared in Larry Fessenden's THE DEPRAVED, which filmed several scenes in the Hudson Valley. Stunt coordinator Manny Siverio lives and has worked on dozens of Hudson Valley Films.
7/8/2020 - For today's streamfest recommendation we are referring the HBO series HIGH MAINTENANCE which film extensively (especially for Season 3 in Dutchess County.
To his clients, he is simply known as 'The Guy,' a nameless, bike-riding pot-delivery man who brings viewers into the homes and routines of a variety of characters, each with a different compelling reason for doing business with him.
Ben Sinclair stars as 'The Guy' in this comedy series based on his web series with Katja Blichfeld.
7/7/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is part 2 of A BREAD FACTORY: WALK WITH ME A WHILE, directed by Patrick Wang, and featuring Tyne Daley, Elisabeth Henry-Macari, Janeane Garofalo, Jessica Pimentel, Brian Murray, and Logan Smith.
A small theater in a small town turns out to be a great setting for thinking about many big themes: art, globalization, gentrification, changing social institutions and new technology. Production tool place primarily in Hudson, and went on to be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and and an Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.
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7/6/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is part 1 of A BREAD FACTORY: FOR THE SAKE OF GOLD, directed by Patrick Wang, and featuring Tyne Daley and Elisabeth Henry-Macari
A small theater in a small town turns out to be a great setting for thinking about many big themes: art, globalization, gentrification, changing social institutions and new technology.
Production tool place primarily in Hudson, and went on to be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and and an Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.
7/5/2020 – It seems only fitting to follow up yesterdays streamfest recommendation of MAN ON WIRE with the narrative feature film that it inspired: THE WALK by Robert Zemeckis.
As a boy, Philippe Petit dreams of performing daring feats for dazzled crowds. As an adult, his life's ambition comes true when he becomes a high-wire artist who stares death in the face with every step. Under the guidance of mentor Papa Rudy, the French daredevil devises a plan to walk on a tightrope attached to the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. With help from his team and against all odds, Petit attempts the seemingly impossible stunt on Aug. 7, 1974.
The film was primarily produced in Canada but the Hudson Valley Film Commission had a hand in recommending a place where Philippe Petit could train the person who would portray him in the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. As a result, trained at Tech City in the Town of Ulster. Other scenes involved Gordon-Levitt's tightrope walking body double and CGI face-replacement technology. Watch short clip with Levitt, Petit and Zemeckis at https://youtu.be/yXtgDfE3VSY
Robert Zemeckis is considered one of the premier American directors with other credits including, FORREST GUMP, CAST AWAY, the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy, and WELCOME TO MARWEN, which, was inspired by MARWENCOL, a documentary about Hudson Valley resident Mark Hogancamp.
THE WALK can be streamed at https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Joseph-Gordon-Levitt/dp/B0163KPKDM
7/4/2020 –– – Happy Fourth of July! Today's streamfest recommendation os MAN ON WIRE, a documentary by James Marsch that celebrates the independent spirit.
Using actual footage from the event seamlessly mingled with new re-enactments, filmmaker James Marsh masterfully recreates high-wire daredevil Philippe Petit's 1974 stunt: performing acrobatics on a thin wire strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Plotting his feat like a master cat burglar, Petit enlists the help of a motley group of friends as he calculates every detail, from acquiring building access to stringing up the wire, and manages to pull off an astounding crime.
Had the pleasure of hearing Philippe read the first two chapters of the book that the doc is based on. TO REACH THE CLOUDS was published in 2002. The reading was held at the home of one of his assistants and wire riggers, Valerie Fanarjian.
Probably the best connection to this movie was through colleague Lisa Myers who also assisted Petit. In 2009, after MAN ON WIRE was nominated, she was asked to create an Oscar Statue so Petit could practice balancing it. It was a lot of fun watching the Oscars with Lisa that year, and seeing how her "bowling pin version" came in handy.
7/3/2020 –– Today’s streamfest recommendation is LITTLE WHITE LIES, which was directed by Lacey Schwartz & James Adolphus. Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical upper middle class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her identity, despite occasional remarks from those around her who wondered how a white girl could have such dark skin. As a child she believed her family’s explanation — that her appearance was inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather — but when she reaches her adolescence, and her parents abruptly separate, her gut begins to tell her something else.
7/2/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is IT COMES AT NIGHT, directed by Trey Edward Shults, starring Joel Edgerton and Riley Keough. After a mysterious apocalypse leaves the world with few survivors, two families are forced to share a home in an uneasy alliance to keep the outside evil at bay -- only to learn that the true horror may come from within.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission referred locations, crew members and a few dayplayers for this production that took place in August and September of 2017, primarily on the historic grounds of the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, New York. Twenty six production days were recorded for this A24 production and over $1-million was spent of local direct spending. The Hudson Valley Film Commission remains grateful for the very kind equipment and supply donation that was made by the production upon completion.
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7/1/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is the 8 part TV series BIG DOGS, created by Adam Dunn, with Brett Cullen, Manny Perez, and Michael Rabe. Episodes were directed by Darnell Marton, David Platt, and Matt Penn, and Tony Glazer who also acted as co-writer, executive producer and show runner. Summer Crockett Moore was executive producer and show runner. BIG DOGS exists in an alternate reality of New York City. Businesses are shuttered, crime is rampant, black markets thrive. Drug are run via taxis and NYPD detectives use taxis for undercover teams trying to rein in the chaos.
Filming took place in 2017 with over ninety days of production in Wappingers Falls, Beacon, Newburgh, Middletown, and Poughkeepsie. A hundred local crew members were hired ass well as over 150 extras. More than 6000 room nights were rented at local lodging establishments. For more information, visit www.bigdogsseries.com
6/30/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE BRASS TEAPOT, directed by Ramaa Mosley, and featuring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano as a couple that is transformed from hapless losers into instant winners, after finding a magical antique that fills with money each time they experience pain.
The Hudson Valley FIlm Commission referred vendors, crew and coast for the 2012 production that took place primarily in Dutchess County, and also Ulster and Orange where two certified stages (Umbra & Newburgh Unity Armory) were recommended and processed through the film commission. Production spent well over $400-thousand in direct regional spending.
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Focus Movie Mondays presents PARIAH. In Dee Rees' 2011 film, a Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
The screening will be followed with a LIVE moderated Q&A with the stars of the film: Adepero Oduye (Alike), Kim Wayans (Audrey), and Aasha Davis (Bina).
Local Hudson Valley connections to PARIAH include director Dee Rees, producer Joey Carey and cinematographer Bradford Young. The film world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.
To stream, Focus Features will be livestreaming a film every Monday exclusively on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FocusFeatures
6/28/2020 – Would you like to see handicapped people depicted as people?
Today's streamfest recommendation is CRIP CAMP
CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION is a 2020 American documentary film, directed and produced by Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht. The film follows Camp Jened, which Wass established in 1951 at the foot of Hunter Mountain in the Catskill Mountains for disabled children, teenagers, and adults. The camp was meant to provide a nurturing community environment for people with a range of disabilities, such as polio and cerebral palsy.
The documentary starts on the heels of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, when a group of teen campers are inspired to join the fight for disability civil rights. The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. It was released on March 25, 2020, on Netflix at https://youtu.be/XRrIs22plz0
6/27/2020 – To commemorative graduation with many local high schools, we're going back a ways with our streamfest recommendation to a movie that was directed by one of the greats – Elia Kazan (ON THE WATERFRONT, EAST OF EDEN, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE).
In 1961, Kazan filmed part of SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS in High Falls where he had a summer house. William Inge (PICNIC, BUS STOP) received an Academy Award for best original screenplay. Natalie Wood was nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Deanie. Warren Beatty made his big screen debut was Bud.
Bud and his high school sweetheart Deanie, are weighed down by their parents' oppressive expectations, which threaten the future of their relationship. Deanie's mother and Bud's father caution their children against engaging in a sexual relationship, but for opposing reasons: Deanie's mother thinks Bud won't marry a girl with loose morals, while Bud's father is afraid of marriage and pregnancy that would ruin Bud's future at Yale.
6/26/2020 – Vertical Entertainment is set to release RUN WITH THE HUNTED, directed by Hudson Valley resident John Swab. Filming took place in Swab’s native Oklahoma, but post production was handled primarily in Woodstock, Bearsville and Washingtonville by John Greenhalgh (picture editor), Coll Anderson (Supervising Sound Editor, Re-recording Mixer), and Jay Peck (Stepping Stone Foley). Producer Jeremy M. Rosen (Roxwell Films), a native of Delmar, NY, helped score amazing songs for the soundtrack including The Air The I Breathe (The Hollies), Out In The Woods (Leon Russell). The Hudson Valley Film Commission worked closely with the project to make post production referrals.
STREAM on APPLE, GOOGLE PLAY or AMAZON PRIME
6/24/2020 – All the recent news about Nascar reminds us of ROCKSTEADY which we first recommended back on April 4.
In 2009, the film commission was proud to recommend director Mustapha Khan for the feature film ROCKSTEADY. Soon after, Khan met with producers Stephen Hays and Anthony Moody at the Accord Speedway, where they were introduced to owner Gary Palmer, by Laurent Rejto of the film commission. As luck would have it, Palmer, Hays and Rejto had all grown up in the same town in Connecticut. A deal to use the speedway was struck. That was followed with 25 production days in the region. Over 50 local crew members, actors and vendors were hired, including editor John David Allen, who was also referred by the film commission.
The film, which features Cedric Sanders, Natalie Knepp, Jon Orsini, and actor/musician David Hinds (Steel Pulse), is a coming of age drama about B.C. (Cedric Sanders), the only black kid on the race track. He uses racing as a way to reach manhood.
The film premiered to sold out audiences at the Rosendale Theatre and Bearsville Theater at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival. David Hinds performed at a special party at the Catamount (now Emerson Resort).
6/23/2020 – As part of our streamfest recommendations, we've never included a book, but I'm going to make an exception for THE PALEONTOLOGIST'S DAUGHTER. This memoir by Katharine McKenna will take you on amazing adventures you will not soon forget. Among many other things, this page turner will have you exploring secret chambers, digging for fossils, riding white water rapids, building boats in Mystic, visiting Easter Island, sailing the Galapagos Islands, collecting Hopi Katsinas and learning about Navajo rugs and jewelry. As you read, you become one with the family heritage, history, science and what really matters. I highly recommend it.
The book is available at local bookstores and online.
6/22/2020 – Here a short doc that was shared by Filmmaker and VFX Artist John Mattiuzzi. PINE BUSH, I LOVE YOU is a short film that documents the Black Lives Matter protest that took place in the small town of Pine Bush, NY on June 10th, 2020.
I made this film because I grew up in Pine Bush, NY. It warmed my heart when I heard Pine Bush was organizing a protest. Unfortunately, the protest was not covered by any major news outlets. So...please help me share this film so all the people of Pine Bush, and surrounding towns, can get a glimpse into a beautiful moment in history. Pine Bush, like many small towns across the country, are in need of racial healing right now.
6/21/2020 – For Father's Day, I was hoping to find an ideal movie that honored the father figure while also embracing some of the social issues that are so relevant these days. No film matches those parameters better than TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, directed by Robert Mulligan, based on the Academy Award winning adapted screenplay by Horton Foote.
Scout Finch (Mary Badham), 6, and her older brother, Jem (Phillip Alford), live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill (John Megna) and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley (Robert Duvall). When Atticus (Gregory Peck), their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to the evils of racism and stereotyping.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was NOT filmed in the Hudson Valley, but there are some small degrees of separation the separate it, including the fact that Horton Foote "was hired by the Maverick Theater in Woodstock, New York, to perform eight roles" between 1937 to 1939. Also, it should be noted that his daughter Daisy lives in the region with husband Tim Guinee, who directed the film adaptation of Foote's ONE ARMED MAN (2014). Foote also wrote TENDER MERCIES, which was directed by Bruce Beresford, who produced PEACE LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING in the region in 2011.
6/20/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST, directed by Desiree Akhavan.
Based on the celebrated novel by Emily M. Danforth. In 1993, a teenage girl is forced into conversion therapy after being caught with another girl in the back seat of a car on prom night. Run by the strict and severe Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick (himself an example of how those in the program can be “cured”), the center is built on repenting for same-sex attraction. In the face of intolerance and denial, Cameron meets a group of fellow “sinners.” Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr. and Jennifer Ehle.
Filmed in October and November of 2016, production took place in Greene and Ulster Counties. Over 200 local background extras were hired for production which took 24 days.
6/19/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is THE BANKER, directed by George Nolfi, with Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, and Nia Long. Two African American entrepreneurs in the 1950s hire a white man to pose as the head of their company while they posed as a janitor and a chauffeur and ran the business. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/J_-nk9-sMus or stream the film for free through end of June.
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6/18/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE? by Oscar nominated director Liz Garbus.
Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy.
The film commission helped with locations and crew referrals for a few flashback scenes.
Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/z7jIOawq8y8
Stream online at https://www.netflix.com/title/70308063
6/17/2020 - Today's streaming recommendation THE VIRUS: WHAT WENT WRONG comes from director Robert Stone (Chasing the Moon). As COVID-19 spread from Asia to the Middle East to Europe, why was the U.S. caught so unprepared? Despite repeated warnings of a potent contagion headed our way, America’s leaders failed to prepare and protect us. Why and who is accountable?
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6/16/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is THE POLLINATORS
The award-winning documentary will be released across all digital platforms on June 16, 2020, right ahead of National Pollinator Week (June 22 – 28).
THE POLLINATORS is a cinematic journey around the United States following migratory beekeepers and their truckloads of honey bees as they pollinate the flowers that become the fruits, nuts and vegetables we all eat. The many challenges the beekeepers and their bees face en route reveal flaws to our simplified chemically dependent agriculture system. We talk to farmers, scientists, chefs and academics along the way to give a broad perspective about the threats to honey bees, what it means to our food security and how we can improve it. Watch trailer at https://vimeo.com/333561076
Regarding production, director, cinematographer and producer Peter Nelson wrote: "We filmed THE POLLINATORS for over a year and travelled across the United States to tell this story of migratory beekeepers and their essential role in our food system, but we produced this documentary right here in the Hudson Valley and there are many beautiful images and important scenes filmed locally. Living here and being able to film locally whenever we needed to was an incredible opportunity to showcase the stunning and diverse landscapes and agricultural stories that we told in our film and provided amazing visuals everywhere we went.“
To screen THE POLLINATORS, visit https://geni.us/ThePollinators
6/15/2020 - Today's streamfest recommendation is WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? The documentary was not filmed locally (apart from maybe a few scenes) but director Liz Garbus (a two-time Academy Award-nominee and Emmy-winner) has close ties to the region and filmed part of her amazing documentaries (WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?) in Willow.
WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? - a two part HBO series - begins with the 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips and subsequent trial for second-degree murder of Clarkson University soccer coach Nick Hillary, a black man living in mostly white Potsdam, NY. The documentary chronicles the five years following the murder, as Garrett’s grief-stricken family and community relentlessly seek justice, and Hillary desperately fights to prove his innocence.
CLICK TO STREAM WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS?
To stream WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE, visit https://www.netflix.com/watch/70308063
6/14/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is the final episode of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE on HBO. The series was filmed almost entirely in the Hudson Valley over the course of a year. The conclusion is expected to answer how things are going to be now that Thomas is back at home.
Watch preview at https://www.hbo.com/…/sea…/episodes/episode-6/videos/preview
I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE was exceptional. I'm very proud that the film commission was able to help by referring locations, crew members, cast and vendors. It's an honor to work on a production that is so well crafted and actually touching and human.
It's sad that there are no more production days or upcoming episodes, but it's wonderful to have this work left as a legacy of how good local production can be from an economic and aesthetic point of view.
Area locations never looked better thanks to the cinematography of Jody Lee Lipes (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Manchester By the Sea).
6/13/2020 - The streamfest recommendation today is PANDEMIC: HOW TO PREVENT AN OUTBREAK
Released in January, PANDEMIC follows nine people around the world as they prepare themselves for a disease outbreak they hope never comes. The series doesn’t specifically focus on COVID-19, but it does outline in chilling detail how a global flu could grind the world to a halt.
Executive Producer and showrunner Jeremiah Crowell helped craft this verite doc series that explores the lives of men and women all over the world who are fighting to stop the coming pandemic flu. The documentary questions our readiness for fast-moving viruses like coronavirus. It is informative, inspiring – and terrifying. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/fPs90HZbSVQ
Crowell has filmed scenes for the series A CRIME TO REMEMBER in the Hudson Valley, and the production company Zero Point Zero has established ties in the region.
Wear your mask in public, and stream the series at home @ https://www.netflix.com/title/81026143
6/12/2020 - After posting about SELMA and Bradford Young's cinematography the other day, it's difficult not to follow up with director Ava DuVernay's WHEN THEY SEE US, which chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled 'The Central Park Five.' They were convicted of a rape they did not commit. Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/VHbOt2M8md0 The 4-part series can be streamed on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/80200549
THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, the documentary by Ken Burns is available for streaming at https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Burns-Central-Park-Five/dp/B00BYEVUWI
6/11/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is Stanley Nelson's brilliant THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF A REVOLUTION. The documentary demystifies much of the misinformation and propaganda that has surrounded the group since the sixties, by examining the role of women in the Black Panthers movements d the rise the party in the 1960s and its impact on civil rights and American culture. The film is streaming for free on Amazon prime and several other streaming platforms.
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6/10/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is GOD LOVES UGANDA, by part-time Hudson Valley Catskill resident (and Oscar winner) Roger Ross Williams, who was featured in Indiewire yesterday. GOD LOVES UGANDA explores the role of American religious extremists in Uganda, as a bill to make homosexuality punishable by death in that country gains a strong foothold. "A searing look at the role of American evangelical missionaries in the persecution of gay Africans." Read Eric Kohn's article at https://www.indiewire.com/2020/06/roger-ross-williams-supporting-black-filmmakers-1202236179 Roger Ross Williams Was the First Black Director to Win an Oscar, but the Industry Still Held Him Back Inspired by the activism of the past weeks, Williams has big plans to scale up his company and support young black filmmakers.
For streaming links, visit https://www.godlovesuganda.com
6/9/2020 – I was reminded about today's streamfest recommendation after posting yesterday about MUDBOUND by Dee Rees. Another one of her films, PARIAH, is a great choice for pride month, or any time for that matter. The film was produced by Woodstock native Joey Carey, and the cinematographer, the brilliant Bradford Young, was then living in Ulster County.
After PARIAH, Young went on to lens AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS (other local connections include editor Craig McKay and production designer Jade Healy), ARRIVAL (Young became the first African American to be nominated in the cinematography category.), SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, and todays streamfest recommendation, SELMA. The 2014 feature film directed by Ava DuVernay was not filmed in the Hudson Valley, but the film offers important historical context in light of current events.
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
SELMA can be screened free of charge courtesy of Paramount, on Google Play, Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms.
Watch trailer at https://youtu.be/x6t7vVTxaic
6/8/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is MUDBOUND, by part-time Ulster County resident Dee Rees. The film was in fact edited by Mako Kamitsuna in Woodstock. Foleys were done at Stepping Stone Foley in Orange County.
The 2017 narrative follows two Mississippi families – one black, one white – confronting the brutal realities of prejudice, farming and friendship in a divided World War II era.
Rolling Stone wrote: "Epic Drama on Poverty, Race and Family Is ‘Stunning Achievement.’ Dee Rees’s story of one black and one white family struggling in WW II-era South couldn’t be more timely."
6/7/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is episode 5 of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Mark Ruffalo. In episode 5, Dominick becomes convinced his family is cursed after learning the details of his Sicilian grandfather’s arrival in the early 1900s to Three Rivers.
The film commission is particularly excited to watch this episode because it includes many locations we referred to the stellar location department working on the series. We're particularly looking forward to seeing The Bleachery in Wappingers Falls, Rokeby in Barrytown, the Delaware and Ulster Heritage Railroad in Arkville, and the Wallkill Vally Rail Trail Bridge in New Paltz. YES - the same bridge was used for A QUIET PLACE, but the look is very different.
Watch episode 5 trailer at https://www.hbo.com/embed/i-know-this-much-is-true/seasons/season-1/episodes/episode-5/videos/preview
6/6/2020 – We're recommending another non-local film today in light of recent events. The Academy Award nominated documentary I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using James Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of Black Lives Matter (#BlackLivesMatter). It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. Ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Baldwin and filmmaker Raoul Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for. Watch the trailer at https://youtu.be/rNUYdgIyaPM
The full documentary can be streamed for free, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures, at https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01MT86T72
6/5/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation is SHIRLEY, which filmed in the Hudson Valley during the 3rd quarter of 2018. For details, see BLOG.
The production is directed by Josephine Decker from a screenplay by Sarah Gubbins, based on the book by Susan Scarf Merrell. Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.
The film is being released on June 5. For a full list of local partners streaming the film, visit https://neonrated.com/virtual-cinema. The film will also be available on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, FandangoNow, Vudu, DIRECTV, DISH and longtime NEON partner Hulu.
6/4/2020 – Today's streamfest recommendation was not filmed in the Hudson Valley, but it seemed more than just appropriate, and the film is streaming for free on multiple platforms for June. JUST MERCY, was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and stars Jamie Foxx, Charlie Pye Jr., and Michael Harding. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or those not afforded proper representation. One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence. In the years that follow, Stevenson encounters racism and legal and political maneuverings as he tirelessly fights for McMillian's life.
Watch for free at https://www.justmercyfilm.com
6/3/2020 –– SKIN, directed by Guy Nattiv and starring Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Mike Colter and Vera Farmiga.
A man makes the dangerous choice to leave the neo-Nazi gang he joined as a teenager. He is determined to start a new life—if he can make it out alive. Filmed over a 24 day period during early 2018 in Kingston, Catskill, Port Ewen, Saugerties, and Ulster Park. More than 40 local crew members were hired in addition to 340 actors and extras.
June 2, 2020 –– We are taking part in 'The Show Must Be Paused' as part of Blackout Tuesday. We will resume streamfest recommendations on 6/3. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. –Martin Luther King, Jr.
June 1, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, directed by Ira Sachs. Substance abuse and emotional and physical distance threaten the relationship between a gay filmmaker (Thure Lindhardt) and his longtime lover (Zachary Booth). The film was produced in part in the Hudson Valley in July of 2011. The Hudson Valley Film Commission referred the location (Blue Hole) and several crew members.
May 31, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is episode 4 of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Mark Ruffalo. In episode 4, Dominick returns to work before fully recovering from his accident; heavily medicated, Dominick recalls the disturbing incident that led to Thomas' first hospitalization while counting down the hours to his hearing with the review board. For more info, READ BLOG. Watch trailer at https://www.hbo.com/embed/i-know-this-much-is-true/seasons/season-1/episodes/episode-4/videos/preview
TO STREAM, VISIT HBO.COM
May 30, 2020 –– Today's streamfest suggestion is THE HUDSON TRIBES, directed by John Marco Lopez, with Owen Campbell, who may have the distinction of acting in more Hudson Valley Films than most, including Bitter Feast, Riding Shotgun, Super Dark Times, The Strange Ones, Nancy, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Depraved, and Body Brokers (post only). In a New York public school district torn apart by racial divides, corrupt politicians, and escalating violence, a young Hasidic man falls in love with a Hispanic woman. Inspired by true events.
May 29, 2020 –– Join a virtual NYWIFT Member Screening, showcasing Anja Murmann’s feature film UNINTENDED, produced by NYWIFT member Sabine Schenk.
Watch the film any time from Thursday, May 28 at 3pm to Monday, June 1 at 11:59pm.
Join the Q&A: Monday, June 1 at 5pm
The film will be available to all who register to view via an exclusive link at any time throughout the weekend of May 28th. Then, join us for a special Q&A with the filmmakers on Zoom. For links, register in advance at https://www.nywift.org/event/virtual-nywift-member-screening-unintended
UNINTENDED, directed by Anja Murmann Lea, a 13-year-old girl, represses the memory of having accidentally shot a teenager named Bill. Twelve years later, Lea is an emotional wreck. After nearly drowning, she ends up in a hospital where her repressed memories return to haunt her. She is plagued by the question – did Bill actually die? And if he survived, what will he do when she finds him? Is she ready to face the consequences of her actions?
UNINTENDED filmed over a 20 day period with local cast, crew and vendors in June and July of 2017 at 14 locations in Ellenville, Bearsville, Rosendale, Kingston, the Mohonk Preserve, and Minnewaska State Park. Local crew included Greg Meola, Timothy Bruno, Erica Pearce, Spencer David Hutchings, Jaf Farkas, Jerry Wenutu, Nat Chau, Morgan Malecki, Lisa Purcell, Jesika Farkas, Kevin Callahan, Louise Farkas, Richard Auth, Richard Hutchings, Eliza McKenna, Patrick Mullen, Amy Hutchings, Heidi K. Eklund-Pyle, Elizabeth Stella, Julian Rodriguez, and fishing-aid, Andrew Wolf Woltman.
May 28, 2020 –– AVENGERS: ENDGAME, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo filmed several scenes in the Hudson Valley with help and references for locations and crew from the Hudson Valley Film Commission. The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Benedict Cumberbatch, among many others.
Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) sends a message to Pepper Potts (Paltrow) as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers -- Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner -- must figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies for an epic showdown with Thanos (Josh Brolin) -- the evil demigod who decimated the planet and the universe.
No actors were present for the Hudson Valley production which filmed plates for the final battle scene. Specific locations included the Staatsburgh State Historic Site and Black Rock Preserve in Esopus. The pseudonym for the production was "Mary Lou." A followup highlight included playing poker with Thanos. He lost and had to buy back in 3 times!
May 27, 2020 –– In celebration of Levon Helm's birthday (5/26) today's streamfest recommendation is AIN'T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT Levon Helm. The documentary directed by Jacob Hatley, features Levon Helm, Larry Campbell, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Helm, and Barbara O'Brien.
Having overcome drugs, bankruptcy, a bout with throat cancer and other hard knocks, Levon Helm, founding member of the Band, works on his first studio album in 25 years at his home studio in Woodstock, N.Y.
May 26, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is ABOUT ALEX, directed by Jesse Zwick, with Aubrey Plaza, Nate Parker, Jason Ritter, Maggie Grace, Max Greenfield. The story of seven college friends who reunite over a three-day weekend, after one of them attempts suicide. When the friends get together to keep an eye on Alex, the weekend that ensues will renew old crushes and resentments.
Mostly filmed in Greene County and around Hudson back in 2013. Film Commission provided referrals, and set up some meetings. Location manager Stephen Harris found them the farmhouse they needed. The working title was "Seven Years, Three days"
May 25, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is DREAMKATCHER, directed by Kerry Harris, with Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill) and (Henry Thomas, E.T., The Haunting of Hill House). In this terrifying horror-thriller, a woman is forced to come to terms with her new stepson, who keeps having sinister dreams about his dead mother. When the child's dad returns home, he and his wife begin to suspect that their son has been possessed by an ancient, bloodthirsty spirit.
Filming took place primarily in Delaware County thanks to Chris Ingvordsen. DREAMKATCHER was a film written and directed by an old friend of mine," Ingvordsen recounts. "I co -produced the film and was able to secure most of our locations in Bovina. I also stunt coordinated the film and played the Sheriff. We had a super talented, tight crew with a large percentage of local hires, and we had tremendous support from the community." For streaming link, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
May 24, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation in episode 3 of HBO's I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, which screens tonight, May 24, at 9pm on HBO. Based on the bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, and starring Mark Ruffalo, this limited series follows Dominick Birdsey as he struggles to care for his twin brother, Thomas, while discovering the truth about his own family history. For more info, Click to READ BLOG
May 23, 2020 –– Today's streaming suggestion is AFTER EVERYTHING, directed by Hannah Marks and Joey Power, with Marisa Tomei, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Gina Gershon, and Maika Monroe. Elliot is a young and carefree New Yorker whose world gets turned upside down when he finds out that he has cancer. He soon finds comfort and happiness when he falls in love with Mia, a woman who sticks with him through the hard times.
May 22, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation explores social isolation, when American astronaut tests his will, sanity and endurance while embarking on a one-way, solo mission to Mars. APPROACHING THE UNKNOWN (Ad Inexplorata), directed by Mark Elijah Rosenberg, features Mark Strong, Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan, and Charles Baker.
The film commission worked overtime on this one landing an amazing location (Orange County Emergency Services Center in Goshen) to serve as mission control and certifying a space on route 209 where the spaceship would be constructed and filmed.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM
May 21, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is LOVE IS BLIND (aka LOOK AWAY), directed by Monty Whitebloom and Andy Delaney. Featured actors include Shannon Tarbet, Aidan Turner, Benjamin Walker, Matthew Broderick and Chloë Sevigny. A young woman is unable to see or hear her mother despite living with her in the same house. With the help of an eccentric psychiatrist she learns to grow up and take control of her future despite not being able to see what's in front of her.
Filming took place primarily in Columbia and Dutchess Counties. Twenty locations were used overall, including the Reem-Kayden Center for Science and Computation at Bard College.
The film is currently streaming on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/81185694
May 19, 2020 –– Today's streaming recommendation is the U.S. release of LAND OF LITTLE RIVERS directed by Aaron Weisblatt. Follow the link below for the online screening for the nationwide PREMIERE of the film with a live interactive Q&A, joined by cast and crew (fly fishers!). This event will include a Zoom webinar with a live audience-participation, broadcast TV-style livestream going to Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and Youtube Live. Starts at 5pm PST / 8pm EST
For info, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/land-of-little-rivers-livestre…
May 18, 2020 –– Next up in our Melissa Leo streaming binge is FURLOUGH, directed by Lauri Collyer and featuring Melissa Leo, Tessa Thomspon, Whoopi Goldberg and Anna Paquin. Executive producers included the same team behind DRIVEWAYS –– James Schamus and Joe Pirro. The film follows a young woman (Thompson) who works part time at a prison while also caring for her mother. As a rookie guard, she gets a chance to prove her mettle when she's tasked with accompanying a hellraising inmate (Leo) on an emergency furlough to visit her dying mother. But things soon spiral out of control, sending the pair on a surprisingly touching road trip.
May 17, 2020 –– Today, we are recommending EPISODE 2 of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE on HBO. Based on the bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, and starring Mark Ruffalo, this limited series follows Dominick Birdsey as he struggles to care for his twin brother, Thomas, while discovering the truth about his own family history.
Watch EPISODE 1 for free www.hbo.com/i-know-this-much-is-true
Producers included Ron Nyswaner, Brice Dal Farra, Claude Dal Farra, Neda Armian, Lauren Munsch, Paul Prokop. The feature film, is based on the short PREDISPOSED, also starring Leo. A young piano prodigy (Jesse Eisenberg) tries to get his family's issues in order before an important audition. Scoring drugs and rehab for his addict mother (Melissa Leo) are a few of the issues he is faced with. Unlike the short, which was filmed entirely in the region, the feature production moved much of the filming to Westchester. We are including it because so many cast and crew members from the Hudson Valley were attached.
May 16, 2020 –– Next up in our Melissa Leo streaming binge is WHY STOP NOW, directed by Phil Dorling and Ron Nyswaner. Producers included Ron Nyswaner, Brice Dal Farra, Claude Dal Farra, Neda Armian, Lauren Munsch, Paul Prokop. The feature film, is based on the short PREDISPOSED, also starring Leo. A young piano prodigy (Jesse Eisenberg) tries to get his family's issues in order before an important audition. Scoring drugs and rehab for his addict mother (Melissa Leo) are a few of the issues he is faced with. Unlike the short, which was filmed entirely in the region, the feature production moved much of the filming to Westchester. We are including it because so many cast and crew members from the Hudson Valley were attached.
May 15, 2020 –– As we lead up to the second episode of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE this coming Sunday on HBO, we will continue to highlight some of the FIFTEEN film and TV projects that Melissa Leo has been involved with in the region. Today, we will recommend the 2012 production of BOTTLED UP, directed by Enid Zentelis. In this modern day drama, Oscar-winner Melissa Leo beautifully conveys the heart-wrenching struggle that comes with love and addiction, while also lightheartedly depicting a woman rediscovering romance.
Production took place mostly around Beacon. Local crew, among others, included Emily Carragher, Rachaell Dama, Christopher Washington, Seth Tallman, and Anney Perrine. Producers Mandy Beckner, Anthony Brandonisio, Riel Roch Decter, Erik S. Weigel, Sig De Miguel, and Stephen Vincent have all worked on multiple projects in the region including A DIFFERENT SUN, AFTER PARTY, COLD IN JULY, DEPRAVED, MOUNTAIN LOW, MOB TOWN, NIGHT OF THE WOLF, and THE SEAGULL.
CLICK HERE TO SEE TRAILER - UNFORTUNATELY THE FILM DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE STREAMING AT THIS TIME
May 14, 2020 –– Next up in our Melissa Leo streaming is the short film BOMB, by director Ian Olds (OCCUPATION DREAMLAND, BURN COUNTRY).
Produced in 2006 as part of the Master’s Program in Film and Media Studies at Columbia University, BOMB starts as an innocent flirtation between teenagers on the edge of an old bombing range before a trip home reveals a chaotic adult world that seeks to subvert their friendship. Filming took place in and around Marbletown and Accord.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM (password is Bomb_short)
May 13, 2020 –– Melissa Leo also appears in a small role in today's streamfest recommendation –– THE CAKE EATERS directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. The death of the Kimbrough family matriarch affects the three male survivors of the clan. Widower Easy (Bruce Dern) tries to reconnect with his old flame, Marg (Elizabeth Ashley). Eldest son and struggling musician Guy (Jayce Bartok) moves back to town, feeling guilty that he missed the funeral. His brother, Beagle (Aaron Stanford), who was his mother's caretaker, falls for Marg's granddaughter, Georgia (Kristen Stewart), a chronically ill girl who fears her time is growing short.
The film commission worked hard referring local UNION crew members to producers Allen Bain, Darren Goldberg, and Jesse Scolaro so the film could be produced outside the "zone." The film was also featured as part of the film commission's Hudson Valley Programmers Group, which used to administer a year round touring exhibit that featured films by established & emerging filmmakers.
May 12, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation focuses on Oscar winner Melissa Leo, who currently appears in Derek Cianfrance's I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE as the mother of Domick and Thomas (played by Mark Ruffalo). No other actor has supported or worked on more productions in the Hudson Valley. It's not even close (see below).
In 2006, Melissa co-starred with David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito in Nicole Quinn's RACING DAYLIGHT, a magical love story of hope and forgiveness, set against the backdrop of the Hudson River Valley, with light that glows from the inside out, and specifically the Shawangunk Ridge; home to Revolutionary war battles, the Underground Railroad, Native Americans and Dutch settlers.
Academy Award Nominee David Strathairn star opposite Melissa Leo and Leclanche Durand, along with Giancarlo Esposito, Sabrina Lloyd, Jason Downs, Denny Dillon and John Seidman in this ghost story, murder mystery and love story that crosses time.
Other regional film productions Melissa Leo has been a part of, includes RUNAWAY, PATCH (short), NO SHOULDER (short), STEPHANIE DALEY, BOMB (short), DEAR LEMON LIMA (short), THE CAKE EATERS, RACING DAYLIGHT, FROZEN RIVER (short), PREDISPOSED (short), WHY STOP NOW, FRANCINE, PERSEPHONE (short), BOTTLED UP, FURLOUGH, COAST, and BODY BROKERS, which was not filmed regionally but involved local producer and director John Swab.
May 11, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is MY FIRTS KISS AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, directed by Luigi Campi. The film features Bobbi Salvör Menuez as a young woman living in a group home who becomes upset when she finds out her best friend has left. As she tries to discover what happened, her world begins to unravel. Production took place in 2015 in and around Roxbury.
May 10, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE on HBO. The 6-part series premieres May 10 at 9pm. In October of 2018, production offices were opened on IBM Road in Poughkeepsie for HBO’s I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE. Based on the bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, this limited six-part limited drama series stars Mark Ruffalo as identical twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in a family saga that follows their parallel lives in an epic story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness. The series, set in the fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, shows Dominick and Thomas at different stages in their lives, beginning in their present in the early 1990s with both brothers approaching middle-age, filled in with Dominick’s flashbacks to their young adulthood and childhood. The series also features Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis, Kahthryn Hahn, Rosie O'Donnell, and Archie Panjabi.
May 9, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is a repeat, but it seems fitting in light of the HBO premiere of I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE starring Mark Ruffalo as twin brothers, In 1999, Ruffalo starred in YOU CAN COUNT ON ME with Laura Linney and Matthew Broderick. The film was written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, who won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for MANCHESTER BY THE SEA.
The story follows Sammy (Linney), a single mother who is extremely protective of her 8-year old son. She is satisfied with living in the small town she grew up in and working in a local bank. When her brother Terry (Ruffalo) visits he fits the void in the life of both her and her son. Temporarily free of the constraints of single motherhood, she begins to break free of her normal routine. In a string of traumatic events, Sammy is torn between helping her brother and her maternal instinct to protect her son from getting hurt.
May 8, 2020 –– BILLIONS - Season 5 includes scenes that were filmed at the Mohonk Mountain House. in December of 2019.
In season five of BILLIONS, Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) and Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) see their vicious rivalry reignited, while new enemies rise and take aim. Social impact pioneer Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) poses a true threat to Axe’s dominance, and Chuck feuds with a formidable district attorney (Roma Maffia). Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon) is forced back to Axe Capital, where Taylor must fight to protect their employees and their assets. Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff) reevaluates her loyalties and forges surprising new alliances that put her at odds with both Chuck and Axe. This season, the struggle for power becomes a struggle for survival, and all characters must adapt or risk extinction.
Watch new episodes of Billions on Sundays at 9/8c on SHOWTIME.
May 7, 2020 –– Today's streaming recommendation is THE SUFFERING KIND, written and directed by Kevin Liddy with cinematography by Declan Quinn (Leaving Las Vegas, Rachel Getting Married). The film stars Keith Leonard, Vahe Katros and Reagan Leonard. Somewhere up the Hudson River, two men, and inner city priest and a sanitation workers, grapple with the ghosts of their past, the longings that haunt them and a chance to set them free.
To stream, visit https://vimeo.com/206442055
The password is imnotworthy
May 6, 2020 –– Today’s streamfest recommendation is DRIVEWAYS, directed by Andrew Ahn. A special virtual screening will take place on MAY 6 at 7pm. A Q&A will follow with director Andrew Ahn, actors Hong Chau, Christine Ebersole, and Lucas Jaye, and writers Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen.
Nominated for 2 Film Independent Spirit Awards, this heartwarming drama follows single mom Kathy (Chau) as she travels with her shy eight-year-old son Cody (Jaye) to her late sister’s house in upstate New York to clean and sell it. As Kathy discovers how little she knew about her sister, Cody develops an unlikely friendship with Del (Dennehy), the Korean War vet and widower who lives next door. Over the course of the summer and with Del’s encouragement, Cody develops the courage to come out of his shell and, along with his mother, finds a new place to call home.
“Production on Driveways took place in July and August of 2018 in Dutchess and Ulster Counties,” recalls Laurent Rejto from the Hudson Valley Film Commission. “The film commission made a lot of referrals for lodging, crew, casting directors and vendors. Over fourteen locations were featured from Hyde Park (Hyde Park Roller Magic, Nana's Ice Cream), Kingston, New Paltz, Pleasant Valley (Miller Hardware), Poughkeepsie (Mid-Hudson Civic Center), and Rosendale. CLICK HERE for full release.
For tickets, visit , visit www.bam.org/film/2020/lfb-driveways
Beginning May 7, visit www.filmrise.com/film/driveways for streaming.
May 5, 2020 –– Today's streaming recommendation is THE MIGHTY HUDSON––a pure-cinema odyssey that takes you through the four seasons of America's first river, the mighty Hudson.
STREAM at https://vimeo.com/333039354
May 4, 2020 –– Today streaming recommendation is CRACKED UP, which was directed by Michelle Esrick and produced by David Becker. A Q&A on zoom is available May 4 at 7pm (eastern standard time). To register, visit www.tinyurl.com/YDGR6WP9
STREAM at https://www.netflix.com/title/81162153
May 3, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is THE SEAGULL, directed by Michael Mayer, and starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Corey Stoll, and the late Brian Dennehy. The film is based on the play by Anton Chekhov. At a picturesque lakeside estate, a love triangle unfolds between the diva Irina, her lover Boris, and the ingenue Nina.
Filming took place in May 2015 with much of the production taking place on location at Arrow Park in Monroe, NY. In addition to making crew referrals, the Hudson Valley Film Commission acted as a fiscal sponsor.
To STREAM, click here
May 2, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is TOOTSIE, directed by Sydney Pollack. The film was released in 1982 and stars Dustin Hoffman, Charles Durning and Jessica Lange who won best supporting actress for her role of Julie. We're only listing those three actors because they appear in the Hudson Valley scenes which were primarily filmed at the Hurley Mountain Inn, Wynkoop House and a few other location in Hurley, New York.
Hoffman plays New York actor Michael Dorsey – a talented perfectionist who is so hard on himself and others that his agent (Pollack) can no longer find work for him. After a soap opera audition goes poorly, Michael reinvents himself as actress Dorothy Michaels and wins the part. What was supposed to be a short-lived role turns into a long-term contract, but when Michael falls for his castmate Julie (Lange), complications develop that could wreck everything.
May 1, 2020 –– The first STREAMFEST recommendation for May 1 is UPLOAD. The ten part series was filmed in part at the Mohonk Mountain House in November 2017. The science fiction comedy satire web television series was created by Greg Daniels (The Office) and stars Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.
April 30, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE, directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Dana Carvey, and Bridget Fonda. The film was produced in 1993 primarily at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz.
A staunch advocate of healthy living, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg opens a sanitarium that promotes his progressive, if eccentric, ideas about optimal well-being. Among the clients who arrive at the facility are the opportunistic Charles Ossining, who is keen on marketing Kellogg's cereal, and the wealthy Will Lightbody and his wife, Eleanor. This comedy is inspired by an actual spa run by Dr. Kellogg at the turn of the century.
April 29, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is A DIFFERENT SUN, directed by Reed Tang. The film follows a Chinese family that struggles to acclimate to a new culture after immigrating from Shanghai. Eastern and Western cultures clash as the husband, wife and daughter all struggle in their own ways in their strange new home.
Filmed over twenty days in November 2015, A DIFFERENT SUN used locations in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and the Village of Fishkill. Seventy five extras and seven local crew members were hired.
April 28, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is UNINTENDED, directed by Anja Murmann, and featuring Elizabeth Lail, Hannah Westerfield, and Nathan Keyes. The film is distributed by FILM RISE.
Lea, a thirteen-year-old girl, represses the memory of having accidentally shot a teenager named Bill. Twelve years later, Lea is an emotional wreck. After nearly drowning, she ends up in a hospital where her repressed memories return to haunt her. She becomes plagued by the consequences of her actions, and the question of his death.
UNINTENDED filmed over a 20 day period with local cast, crew and vendors in June and July of 2017 at fourteen locations in Ellenville, Bearsville, Rosendale, Kingston, the Mohonk Preserve, and Minnewaska State Park. Local crew included Greg Meola, Timothy Bruno, Erica Pearce, Spencer David Hutchings, Jaf Farkas, Jerry Wenutu, Nat Chau, Morgan Malecki, Lisa Purcell, Jesika Farkas, Kevin Callahan, Louise Farkas, Richard Auth, Richard Hutchings, Eliza McKenna, Patrick Mullen, Amy Hutchings, Heidi K. Eklund-Pyle, Elizabeth Stella, Julian Rodriguez, and fishing-aid, Andrew Wolf Woltman
April 27, 2020 –– Todays streamfest recommendation is THIRSTY, directed by the late Margo Pelletier. Starring Scott Townsend, a.k.a. drag queen Thirsty Burlington, the movie follows his path from a rough youth in the projects to success on stage and self-acceptance. Production took place in 2013 with local cast and crew. Locations were primarily in Catskill, Hudson and Saugerties.
Variety wrote: "It’s not hard to see the film’s appeal; riffing on musicals as diverse as “West Side Story,” the series “Glee” and John Cameron Mitchell’s seminal “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” it draws on the story of Scott Townsend, an extraordinary boy from an ordinary background who grew up to be a gifted Cher impersonator."
After premiering at the Provincetown Film Festival, Pelletier told the Provincetown Magazine:“Why can’t we just be who we are and all that we are?”
“Margo’s work whether in the realm of fine art or in film always dealt with exposing social issues at its core,” said her wife and longtime producer, Lisa Thomas.
CLICK TO STREAM
April 26, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is UNCERTAIN TERMS, directed by Nathan Silver, and starring David Dahlbom, Adinah Dancyger, Casey Drogin, Hannah Gross, Tallie Medel, and Caitlin Mehner. After catching his wife with another guy, Robbie (David Dahlbom) flees Brooklyn for the countryside to stay with his neurotic aunt who runs a home for pregnant teenagers. As the only man in the house, Robbie inadvertently becomes the object of the girls' attention... and affection. He eventually meets Nina, (India Menuez) who is mature beyond her age and struggling with relationship troubles of her own. The more Robbie and Nina get to know each other, the more "complicated" their friendship becomes, stirring up jealously among the girls. In trying to save Nina from making the biggest mistake of her life, Robbie gets caught in a love triangle between Nina and her delinquent baby daddy, Chase.
Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote: "A rural group home for pregnant teen-agers is the setting for this intimately detailed, sharply observed modernist melodrama, directed by Nathan Silver."
The film commission made many referrals including locations in Dutchess County.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM
April 25, 2020 –– Todays streamfest referral is STAKE LAND, directed by Jim Mickle (Hap and Leonard, Cold in July, We Are What We Are). The critically-acclaimed apocalyptic thriller was produced by Larry Fessenden, Peter Phok, Adam Folk, Brent Kunkle and Derek Curl. STAKE LAND stars Connor Paolo (“Gossip Girl”), Danielle Harris (Hatchet II), Kelly McGillis (Top Gun, Witness), Nick Damici, and Michael Cerveris. Damici and Mickle co-wrote the screenplay, which was the winner of the Midnight Madness Audience Award at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.
The America of STAKE LAND is a lost nation. When an epidemic strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (Damici) whose new prey are the undead. Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America’s heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travelers, including a nun (McGillis) who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Cerveris) that interprets the plague as the Lord’s work.
One particularly funny story about film production on STAKE LAND includes roadside filming the took place at an abandoned house on Route 28. In the scene, vampires are being rounded up by mercenaries and shackled to the building. As these actions were being acted out, weekenders heading up Route 28 on Friday afternoon were rubbernecking and wondering why mercenaries with shotguns were rounding up vampires. Another fun scene featured a vampire takeover of the town of Pine Hill.
April 24, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is FRANCINE, directed by Melanie Shatzky and Brian Cassidy. Academy Award winner Melissa Leo gives a fierce and restrained performance as Francine, a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away others and instead seeks intimacy in the most unlikely of places. Gritty, elliptical, and voyeuristic, Francine is a portrait of a near-silent misfit and her fragile first steps in an unfamiliar world. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "“raw, intimate and observed with penetrating acuity...a legitimate discovery.”
When Melanie Shatzky and Brian Cassidy walked into the office of the film commission back, they had a $70-thousand dollar budget and a dream to make a feature film with non-professional actors to capture a documentary-style reality. The film commission recommended local crew (Greg Meola, Jon Read, Stephen Harris...), locations and untrained and trained actors. Melissa Leo was recommended for the role of Francine by Film Commission director Laurent Rejto. Melissa had just been nominated for an Academy Award for her work on FROZEN RIVER, and Rejto knew how supportive she was of smaller character driven projects. She liked the idea, met with Melanie and Brian during SXSW, and signed on to portray Francine. By the time the movie was finished, Melissa had received another Oscar nomination, which she won for Supporting Actress in THE FIGHTER.
April 23, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is Pamela Romanowski's GRAVITY, about a woman who lives with her husband in a remote mountain home, and finds herself at a crossroads. The short film was produced in the Bearsville, Phoenicia region in 2011. It received the NYU Tisch School of the Arts King/Wasserman Prize.
The film commission loves to work with students. Over the past 20 years, I've had the great pleasure of working with MFA students from NYU, Columbia and other programs, who have gone on to become accomplished filmmakers, including Jonas Carpignano, Tze Chun, Vladimir de Fontenay, Alexis Gambis, Cary Joli Fukunaga, Myna Joseph, Zach Kerschberg, Luke Matheny, Rob Meyer, Carlo Mirabella-Davis, Shawn Christensen, Leah Meyerhoff, Jim Mickle, Ian Olds, Christopher Radcliff, Pamela Romanowski, Raj Trivedi, Lauren Wolkstein, Benh Zeitlin, and many others.
STREAM at https://vimeo.com/promanowsky/gravity
April 22, 2020 –– HAPPY EARTH DAY
It's a great day to start a garden. Turn over some soil and plant some vegetables, or start a pollinator garden, or simply plant some herb in a pot. See links below.
Today's streaming suggestion is related to PETER NELSON's THE POLLINATORS. The documentary follows a journey around the United States following migratory beekeepers and their truckloads of honey bees as they pollinate the flowers that become the fruits, nuts and vegetables that get eaten.
Watch trailer and interview with director Peter Nelson at https://youtu.be/K0QTIwwvvrs
Another good interview with director Peter Nelson is at https://youtu.be/zYrop603NMw
For additional information and to request a screening, visit www.thepollinators.net
Also see HOW TO PLANT A VICTORY GARDEN
See HOW TO BUILD A POLLINATOR GARDEN
April 21, 2020 –– Todays streamfest recommendation is the short spoof, NIGHT OF THE LIVING JEWS. The film, which was produced and filmed in New York's Hudson Valley in 2007, was directed by Oliver Noble and filmed by local DP, Sam Falconi. After dropping out of high school, Noble became a contributing editor at Heeb. He virtually invented a genre of film, which he calls—“Jewish extreme.” A slew of other Hudson Valley filmmakers, actors and musicians worked on the film. The short premiered at the 2007 Woodstock Film Festival.
On the first night of Passover the residents of a remote Jewish bungalow colony are turned into flesh eating zombies by matzoh with a dark history. In the hunt for human flesh, the zombies descend on an unsuspecting family in their quiet farmhouse. The loving mother (Alexandra Angeloch), father (Phillip Levine), along with their rascally son James (Adam Forrest) and naively seductive teenage daughter Sally (Sierra DeCrosta), have to tap into their deepest survival instincts to battle Hasidic zombies, killer payos (that’s right, those little curly side-burns), and an antler-sporting zombie rabbi. It’s really the beginning of the end when a fairly tall but not so dark stranger (Nate Earl), who knows the situation all too well, miraculously appears. Journey through their hellish night of terror, romance, and a frighteningly non-kosher diet.”
April 20, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is WHISPER ME A LULLABY, directed by Kit Vinsick. The movie was executive produced by the late John Henson and stars Kit Vinsick, Jason Downs, and the late John Heard (HOME ALONE, CUTTER'S WAY). Filmed in the region in 2010, WHISPER ME A LULLABY follows friends and family who try to help a troubled woman whose search for spiritual grounding is causing her to pull away from reality.
April 19, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, which was produced in Phoenicia around 1999 with co stars Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney and Matthew Broderick. The feature film was written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, who won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for MANCHESTER BY THE SEA.
Sammy (Linney) is a single mother who is extremely protective of her 8-year old son. She is satisfied with living in the small town she grew up in and working in a local bank. When her brother Terry (Ruffalo) visits he fits the void in the life of both her and her son. Temporarily free of the constraints of single motherhood, she begins to break free of her normal routine. In a string of traumatic events, Sammy is torn between helping her brother and her maternal instinct to protect her son from getting hurt.
April 18, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is WENDIGO, which was produced in Phoenicia and Olive Bridge in 2000. The feature film is directed by Larry Fessenden and produced by Glass Eye Pix, which has since produced ten more films in the region. Kim (Patricia Clarkson), George (Jake Weber) and their 8-year-old son, Miles (Erik Per Sullivan), are city dwellers stealing a weekend away at a friend's country farmhouse. But a fluke accident sets off a chain of events that alters their lives forever and conjures up the ferocious spirit of the Wendigo, a Native American myth made manifest in Miles' imagination.
April 17, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is ALREADY GONE (aka Green Dolphin). The feature film directed by Christopher Kenneally, co stars Seann William Scott, Raquel Castro, Shiloh Fernandez, and Justine Skye. A 15-year-old boy runs away with his abusive stepfather's girlfriend. They embark on a road trip that will take them places they never imagined. ALREADY GONE is one of ten films produced in the region with Yale Productions. Filming took place during the the summer of 2017, primarily in Woodstock, Saugerties and Kingston.
Producer John Keeyes wrote, "We love Hudson Valley and keep coming back over and over again to make move there. We love the people, the crews, the environment and the film commission is amazing to work with.
April 16, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY. The 2018 documentary was not produced locally but we're recommending it because it is so delightful, and it focuses on the family of Eric Michelson of Michelson Studio II. Movie fans know the work of Harold and Lillian Michelson, even if they don't recognize the names. Working largely uncredited in the Hollywood system, storyboard artist Harold and film researcher Lillian left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola and others, this deeply engaging documentary from Academy Award (R)-nominated director Daniel Raim offers both a moving portrait of a marriage and a celebration of the unknown talents that help shape the films we love.
STREAM HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY at https://www.netflix.com/title/80147529
April 15, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is LINER NOTES, directed by Gregg Bray and starring Allen Enlow, Alyssa Carpenter and Nick Dawson. Production took place in August of 2014 with local cast and crew in Ulster and Dutchess Counties.
Upon learning of her father's death, a young barista, Alice, convinces her father's former guitarist, George--a middle age math teacher who left the music scene long ago--to take a road trip to her father's gravesite in Montreal.
April 14, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is AGAINST THE CURRENT, directed by Peter Callahan and starring Joseph Fiennes, Pell James, Justin Kirk, Elizabeth Reaser, Martin Shakar, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Mary Tyler Moore.
The film, which was produced by Mary Jane Skalski and Joshua Zeman follows a man (Joseph Fiennes) who tries to overcome his tragic past by swimming the 150-mile expanse of the lower Hudson River. In addition to making referrals, the film commission organized regional screenings as part of the Hudson Valley Programmers Group, which administered year round tours featuring films by established & emerging filmmakers.
April 13, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is episode 5 of THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA. It screens tonight on HBO. The series, which was filmed partly in 5 Hudson Valley counties, is a six-part re-imagining of history based on the Philip Roth novel of the same name. In episode 5, a working-class Jewish family is selected for a forced relocation to Kentucky.
CLICK TO WATCH TRAILER
April 12, 2020 –– Today's streamfest recommendation is HIGHER GROUND, directed by Vera Farmiga, who also co-stars, along with Joshua Leonard, Norbert Leo Butz, Michael Chernus, John Hawkes and Dagmara Dominczyk, as a fundamentalist who faces a lifelong struggle with the tenets of her church.
The film was produced by Carly Hugo, Renn Hawkey, Jon Rubinstein, and Claude Dal Farra, and executive produced by Matt Parker, Lauren Munsch, Brice Dal Farra, and Jonathan Burkhart. Hudson Valley locations included Accord, Ellenville, Kerhonkson, Kingston and Stone Ridge, where hundreds also turned out for auditions. HIGHER GROUND premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by SONY Picture Classics.
April 11, 2020 –– Today's streamiest recommendation is LEE'S 88 KEYS by Saugerties based director Susan Robbins. The 2015 documentary follows 88-year-old Lee Shaw, proudly known as Albany, New York's Queen of Jazz. From the piano bench Lee has bravely struggled with not only being a woman in a male dominated field, but with the financial challenges that come with pursuing a dream, and the conflict of her sharp musical mind's residence in an ever aging vessel. Her story is one of passion and triumph, which she attributes to her love of the 88's.
April 10, 2020 –– If you are looking for a mini series to binge over the weekend, check out Cary Joji Fukunaga's MANIAC, starring Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, and Justin Theroux. The Netflix series filmed part of the show in the mid-Hudson Valley in 2017.
Annie Landsberg and Owen Milgrim are two strangers who are drawn to the late stages of a mysterious pharmaceutical trial. Each has a different reason for participating in the experiment -- she is disaffected and aimless, fixated on broken relationships with her mother and sister, while he has struggled throughout his life with a disputed diagnosis of schizophrenia. The radical treatment, using pills that the inventor claims can repair anything about the mind, draws Annie, Owen and 10 other subjects into a three-day drug trial that they're told will permanently solve all of their problems, with no complications or side effects. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.
Several of the locations, including Lake Minnewaska were first referred to Fukunaga when executive producer Peter Pastorelli and location manager Kurt Enger scouted the region tor the film IT –– a project that was eventually produced elsewhere, after the director left the project. Tragically, Pastorelli passed away in 2019 after returning to the region to produce THINGS HEARD AND SEEN.
Laurent Rejto from the film commission first met Fukunaga when he won the Best Student Short award at the 2004 Woodstock Film Festival. "As the co-founder and head programmer for shorts, I came across VICTORIA PARA CHINO, and was totally blown away by the filmmaking," says Rejto. It's not hard to recognize that kind of talent. It usually happens once or twice a year but no one has ever had that kind of a career track after winning the best student short award. It's been amazing watching Cary's career skyrocket with projects like SIN NOMBRE, TRUE DETECTIVE, BEASTS OF NO NATION and of course, in 2019, he director NO TIME TO DIE - the 25th James Bond film which stars Daniel Craig.
April 9, 2020 –– Today, the film commission is recommending I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS by Leah Meyerhoff. The film, which stars Natalia Dyer, Peter Vack, Julia Garner, Amy Seimetz and Toni Meyerhoff was produced partly around Campbell Hall in 2013, and focuses on a teen's budding romance that takes a turn for the worse when her Prince Charming starts to reveal a volatile side. Among other things, the film commission posted for UNICORNS and circus performers.
I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS premiered at SXSW and later screened at the 2014 Woodstock Film Festival.
April 8, 2020 –– Today's local film recommendation is YOUTH IN OREGON. The feature film from Sundial Pictures is directed by Joel David Moore and features Frank Langella, Christina Applegate, Billy Crudup and Mary Kay Place. The movie was filmed in part in Dutchess County in June and July 2015. When 79-year-old curmudgeon Raymond (Frank Langella) makes arrangements to be euthanized in Oregon, his family refuses to accept his decision. But when another family emergency arises, Raymond's daughter Kate (Christina Applegate) turns to her husband, Brian (Billy Crudup), for a little help. So Brian reluctantly volunteers to drive the cantankerous Raymond and his wine-loving wife, Estelle (Mary Kay Place), to Oregon.
April 7, 2020 –– Today's local film recommendation is Robert Fontaine's MI AMERICA, which was produced in Newburgh, NY during the summer of 2013. The story investigates a hate-crime that has been committed. Five migrant laborers are beaten, shot, then ditched near an abandoned industrial riverfront complex. The bodies are discovered six months later. Detective Rolando Ramirez (a Mexican-American and longtime resident of the community) has been assigned to the case. His journey will force him to question his own identity and beliefs, on what it means to be a North American, and in turn, bring those who committed this crime to justice.
The New York Times wrote: "MI AMERICA is not just about a murder case but about how residents of divided communities share a history and deal with one another, sometimes hopefully, always warily." Cast and crew included hundreds of locals, including Joe James, Alice Quinn, Zoe Hunter, Leif Grund, Keith Leonard, Christopher Tighe, Ann Osmond, Wayne Pyle, Heidi Eklund, Joe Felece, Lew Gardner, Linda Kutrubes, Edward Crawford, Brendan Boyce, Angel Valle, Annemarie Lawless...
April 6, 2020 –– HBO has released the first promo for THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA’s upcoming fourth episode, featuring Morgan Spector’s Herman Levin and Zoe Kazan’s Bess Levin as their son continues to idolize Charles Lindberg under the influence of his aunt Winona Ryder’s Evelyn. Directed by Thomas Schlamme from a script written by co-creator David Simon and Reena Rexrode, the new episode is set to premiere on April 6.
Based on the novel by Philip Roth, THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA six-part miniseries imagines an alternate American history told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey as they watch the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator-hero and xenophobic populist who becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism.
The series stars Golden Globe winner Winona Ryder (Stranger Things) as Evelyn Finkel, Golden Globe nominee John Turturro (The Night Of) as Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf and Emmy nominee Zoe Kazan (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Olive Kitteridge) as Elizabeth “Bess” Levin. It will also feature Morgan Spector (Homeland) as Herman Levin, Anthony Boyle (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Alvin Levin, Azhy Robertson (Juliet, Naked) as Philip Levin, and newcomer Caleb Malis as Sandy Levin.
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA is written and executive produced by David Simon and Ed Burns. Joe Roth, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Nina K. Noble, Annapurna’s Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, and Susan Goldberg will also executive produce. Co-executive producers include Dennis Stratton and Philip Roth.
To STREAM the series, visit https://www.hbo.com/the-plot-against-america
April 5, 2020 –– Today, the film commission is recommending the short film IN THE BLIND directed by Davis Hall and produced by Ingrid Price. The movie was filmed mostly on set in Accord, NY. Nick Sandow (Orange is the New Black, Third Watch) and Neal Huff (Moonrise Kingdom, Meek's Cutoff) star as estranged brothers struggling with their father's apparent suicide. In this adaptation of an Adam LeFevre play, the two must first understand their absent father, then each other, in order to know the truth. Shot in a 5' x 10' set, this dramatic journey takes place in a small space that resonates.
April 4, 2020 –– Hoping everyone is safe and healthy and finding productive ways to get their work done. Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation will get you out to the race track for some racing fun. In 2009, the film commission was proud to recommend director Mustapha Khan for the feature film ROCKSTEADY. Soon after, Khan met with producers Stephen Hays and Anthony Moody at the Accord Speedway, where they were introduced to owner Gary Palmer, by Laurent Rejto of the film commission. As luck would have it, Palmer, Hays and Rejto had all grown up in the same town in Connecticut. A deal to use the speedway was struck. That was followed with 25 production days in the region. Over 50 local crew members, actors and vendors were hired, including editor John David Allen, who was also referred by the film commission.
The film, which features Cedric Sanders, Natalie Knepp, Jon Orsini, and actor/musician David Hinds (Steel Pulse), is a coming of age drama set in the world of stock-car dirt-track racing, against a heavy reggae soundscape. The film premiered to sold out audiences at the Rosendale Theatre and Bearsville Theater at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival. David Hinds performed at a special party at the Catamount (now Emerson Resort).
April 3, 2020 –– Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is Mo Ogrodnik's DEEP POWDER featuring Haley Bennett (SWALLOW) and Shiloh Fernandez (BURN). When a teen from the wrong side of the tracks falls in love with a wealthy girl at the local boarding school, he agrees to help her smuggle drugs from Ecuador for the benefit of her upper crust friends. But when the plan unravels and he becomes the fall guy for their crimes, he is forced to decide how far he will go for the girl he loves. The Killer Films production, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, took place in Greene and Columbia County in February and March of 2012, which was not a good winter for the snow and ice the film was hoping for. Basilica Hudson was certified as a NYS qualified soundstage for this particular project.
April 2, 2020 –– Today, we’re recommending COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, a four-part documentary film series directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick, produced by Sarah Botstein, and executive produced by Ken Burns. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time – our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. Through the personal stories of the students and their families, the film reveals the transformative power of higher education and puts a human face on America’s criminal justice crisis. Throughout, a small group of incarcerated men and women struggle to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States – the Bard Prison Initiative.
Two local filmmakers, were involved with this program as teachers –– Joseph Muszynski (Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, Rhymes with Banana, Mahjong and the West), and Christina Mengert (The Last Keepers, Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, Rhymes with Banana, Mahjong and the West).
4/1/2020 –– For April fools day, we tried to find a film that seemed fitting. DOOMSDAYS might fit the bill in more ways than one. The story follows a runaway teen (Brian Charles Johnson) and an aimless drifter (Laura Campbell) who change the lives of two vagabonds Justin Rice, Leo Fitzpatrick) as they wander around the Catskills and break into vacation homes. The movie was directed by director Eddie Mullins, who was residing in Kingston and used regional locations wisely. Post production was also handled locally with Chad Smith from Massive Clouds handling the uniquely structured editing.
Variety wrote: ...Mullins and d.p. Cal Robertson steal the show with their widescreen, deep-focus comic style; many of the best gags involve characters spying on one another or action that unfolds in multiple planes at once. The formalism calls to mind numerous Wes Anderson features, as does scoring by the band Bang & Yell (of which Mullins is a member) that sounds a bit too much like Mark Mothersbaugh. But notwithstanding that echo — and, according to the press notes, a list of influences as divergent as William Wyler, Jim Jarmusch and Hou Hsiao-hsien — “Doomsdays” is disarmingly original.
3/31/2020 ––Today's streaming recommendation is Caryn Waechter's THE SISTERHOOD OF NIGHT, which was produced in the mid-Hudson Valley in 2014, primarily in Kingston, NY at Kingston High School. Cast featured Georgie Henley (Narnia), Kara Hayward (Paterson), Willa Cuthrell, Olivia DeJonge, Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) and hundreds of local teens (and adults) who were cast through Amy Hutchings Casting.
The story follows a teenager's claim that she was victimized by a secret society of her peers. The accusation whips up hysteria and throws the town into the national spotlight. The film made its NY Premiere at the Woodstock FIlm Festival to sold out audiences.
3/30/2020 –– Today's streaming recommendation is Hilary Brougher’s STEPHANIE DALEY. The feature narrative was produced in the Hudson Valley in 2006 and received the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The story follows forensic psychologist Lydie Crane (Tilda Swinton), who once had a stillbirth and is pregnant again. As she takes on a personally difficult case, she must examine Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn), a teenager who is about to stand trial for the murder of her newborn. Flashbacks reveal Stephanie's past, as the teen recounts her version of events leading to her pregnancy, her labor and her infant's death. The cast features Amber Tamblyn, Tilda Swinton, Timothy Hutton, Constance Wu.
3/29/1019 –– The documentary TEAM FOXCATCHER, by Emmy nominated, Hudson Valley filmmaker, Jon Greenhalgh, is ranked of the 50 Best Documentaries on Netflix! TEAM FOXCATCHER tells the true story of Dave Schultz, an Olympian and professional wrestler who was gunned down by John E. du Pont, a billionaire and one of the founders owner of Team Foxcatcher, a wrestling team who trained at du Pont’s compound.
The film was directed by Jon Greenhalgh and features unseen home footage and archived interviews to help the audience understand what exactly happened that led to du Pont killing his friend, Dave Schultz. Jon Greenhalgh is an Emmy nominated filmmaker who attended Syracuse University, where he met 1990 NCAA champion wrestler and teammate Mark Kerr. Kerr would later become the subject of Jon's first film titled THE SMASHING MACHINE, which aired in 2004 as an episode of the critically acclaimed documentary series HBO: America Undercover. In 2016 Greenhalgh directed TEAM FOXCATCHER, which was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Historical Documentary category.
3/28/2020 –– Today's streaming recommendation is only available through March 31. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE was directed by Jim Mickle in 2012 in Ulster and Delaware Counties on the heels of hurricane Irene which left the region devastated. The narrative follows the Parker family, reclusive people who cling to ancient customs. Their secret lives are threatened when a torrential downpour and the death of the family matriarch forces daughters Iris and Rose to assume special responsibilities. The cast features Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis, and the late Michael Parks.
In his review in Salon, Andrew O'Hehir wrote "It's a sinister, wistful and even sad portrait of one family that has followed the insanity and bloodthirstiness of American history into a dark corridor with no exit."
3/27/2020 –– Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is BITTER FEAST from Glass Eye Pix. Directed by Joe Maggio, the plot follows a celebrity chef (James Le Gros) that exacts revenge on a food blogger (Joshua Leonard) who has torpedoed his career. Production took place in West Shokan in 2009 with DP Michael McDonough, production designer Beck Underwood and art director Lisa Myers. The film screened at the 2019 Woodstock Film Festival with a special dinner & screening supervised by Mary Giuliani Catering & Events at The Emerson Resort.
3/26/2020 –– THE LAST KEEPERS, directed by Maggie Greenwald and featuring Aidan Quinn, Zosia Mamet, Virginia Madsen, Olympia Dukakis, Sam Underwood. The story follows the teenage daughter of a reclusive family, who falls in love with an unusual boy at school. Her mysterious powers awaken, and ancient family secrets change her life. The BCDF Pictures production in 2010, took place primarily around Kerhonkson, Kingston, Saugerties and Woodstock. Among many other referrals, the film commission referred White Pines at the The Byrdcliffe Colony and NYU student Max Schneider, who got a bit part, which eventually led him to leave school and head the Los Angeles for pilot season where he landed a starring role in Nickelodeon's HOW TO ROCK. From there, MAX took off with his singing career.
Our heartfelt and warm wishes go out to director Maggie Greenwald as she recovers from Covid19. She posted a few thoughts recently: " Others are sick, others that I am worried about. It's a changed world since I started feeling unwell three weeks ago. At the moment, I am grateful I got Covid 19 before all the hysteria and the changed world. Wherever you are, my friends and family, stay safe, stay close to your loved ones but remember we must be a community through this. We must stick together, though we are apart. We cannot weather this storm alone. I am ever grateful for all of you."
3/25/2020 –– Prior to his feature directorial debut SWALLOW, Carlo Mirabella-Davis helmed and produced KNIFE POINT in 2009. The short film, which follows an evangelical family that offers a traveling knife salesman a ride on their way through upstate New York, features Lev Gorn, Kate Lyn Sheil, Davis Hall, Jan Uczkowski, and Lucy McMichael. "It's always a great pleasure to watch filmmakers develop their skills from short topic to feature, especially when it involves local production," says Laurent Rejto from the film commission. "As the head programmer of shorts at the Woodstock Film Festival from 2000-2019, it's been amazing to follow the careers of hundreds of filmmakers from student to industry stalwart. Hope people will check out both KNIFE POINT and SWALLOW."
CLICK HERE TO STREAM SWALLOW ONLINE
3/24/2020 –– In addition to narrative features, many wonderful documentaries have been produced in the Hudson Valley region, including LITTLE WHITE LIES, which was directed by Lacey Schwartz & James Adolphus. Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical upper middle class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her identity, despite occasional remarks from those around her who wondered how a white girl could have such dark skin. As a child she believed her family’s explanation — that her appearance was inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather — but when she reaches her adolescence, and her parents abruptly separate, her gut begins to tell her something else.
3/23/2020 ––
Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is IN OUR NATURE, directed by Brian Savelson and co-starring Zach Gilford, Jena Malone, John Slattery, and Gabrielle Union. Their girlfriends in tow, an estranged father (Slattery) and son (Gilford) are forced to hash out their differences during a shared weekend in the family vacation home. Filmed primarily in Bearsville during the summer of 2011, IN OUR NATURE hired many local crew members and used The Film Center in Woodstock for its production office. Cast stayed at The Emerson Resort.
3/22/2020 ––
Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is LATE PHASES: NIGHT OF THE WOLF, directed by Adrián García Bogliano, and starring Nick Damici, Ethan Embry, Lance Guest. A secluded retirement community is plagued by mysterious and deadly attacks until a grizzled war veteran moves in, rallies the residents, and discovers a beast is behind the killings. When Glass Eye Pix producers Larry Fessenden and Brent Kunkle reached out for location help on LATE PHASES, the film commission worked behind the scenes to see if the Gardens of Rhinebeck would be available. The development had just been taken over by Kirchhoff Company and was being re-developed into luxury condos. With an introduction from Michael Oates, David Silver met with the producers and Laurent Rejto from the film commission. "He went out of his way to help," remember Rejto. "He offered dozens of units and even said that they could smash walls and windows. The producers were stunned by his willingness to help." Filming took place mostly at Gardens of Rhinebeck in May and June of 2013 with many local crew and cast members that were referred by the film commission.
3/21/2020 ––
Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is THE ESCAPE OF PRISONER 614 directed by Zach Golden. After two deputy sheriffs lose their jobs because of poor arrest records, they pursue an escaped convict to try and win back their badges. Nabbing the convict won't be half as dangerous as facing the ruthless sheriff who is tracking their every move. Production, which was handled by mostly local crew members, took place around Phoenicia, Saugerties and Shandaken during the fall of 2017.
"It was great and I'll be making plenty of films up here. HVFC was invaluable in getting us set up and guiding us through the local crews, vendors, actors, etc,” wrote director Zach Golden.
3/20/2020 –– Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is TWELVE, directed by Stephen Grimaldi. This family friendly film follows a young boy, who, with help from his family, lets nothing stand between him and his dream to play in the twelve-year-old world series. Production took place in Dutchess and Orange County in July and August of 2017 in Fishkill, Wappingers Falls and Newburgh. Click to watch trailer.
Line producer Ellyn Vander Wyden wrote "This was my third film in the Hudson Valley. I have has a good experiences every time. The HVFC was extremely helpful and supportive. CLICK HERE TO STREAM ONLINE.
3/19/2020 –– Today's Hudson Valley Stream Fest recommendation is the delightful comedy GROWING UP SMITH. The comedy was written by Anjul Nigam, Paul Quinn, and Gregory Scott Houghton. It was produced by Anjul Nigam, Frank Lotito, and Steve Straka and directed by Frank Lotito.
The movie takes place in 1979, when an Indian family moves to America with hopes of living the American Dream. While their 10-year-old boy Smith falls head-over-heels for the girl next door, his desire to become a "good old boy" propels him further away from his family's ideals than ever before. Watch the trailer at https://youtu.be/735hGL47SAc
The Hudson Valley Film Commission was initially involved very early on when cinematographer Declan Quinn introduced the project, which was based on a story by his brother Paul Quinn, who very sadly passed away several months after production. After several conference calls and meetings, locations were found by location manager Stephen Harris in and around Kingston, NY. The scene in the movie in which Smith crosses the bridge on his bicycle was filmed on the Kingston-Port Ewen Suspension Bridge crossing Rondout Creek between the town of Esopus and the city of Kingston. Local crew and cast were hired including actors Hilarie Burton and Tim Guinee. The film made its New York Premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ONLINE
3/18/2020 –– We continue our Hudson Valley Stream Fest with a film production that may seem a little too close to home for some.
FIRST WINTER, directed by Benjamin Dickinson develops during a winter of record-breaking cold, when a blackout strands a group of Brooklynites in a remote country farmhouse. At first, it's a party: drugs, sex, and yoga. But as the days go on and the food supply dwindles, the house guests are forced into a confrontation with their mortality. Cast features Paul Manza, Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Kim.
FIRST WINTER was filmed primarily in Campbell Hall in 2011 and opened at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
3/17/2020 –– Hoping some of you had a chance to see the first episode of THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA last night on HBO.
Few TV shows had filmed in the Hudson Valley region before several HBO shows were produced locally in 2019, including I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, THE UNDOING and THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA.
Prior to 2019, during the extremely cold winter of 2014-15, Hudson Valley writer Shalom Auslander created, and executive produced (with Ken Kwapis and Alexandra Beattie) HAPPYISH for Showtime. The home of main character Thom Payne (Steve Coogan) was set in Woodstock. As a result, many scenes were filmed in the region including the UFO sighting over the Woodstock Day School. In addition to filming at local restaurants, homes, schools, art studios, and other locations, the municipal lot in Woodstock became film village central with hospitality at the nearby Colony.
HAPPYISH is available for streaming on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/80036981
HAPPYISH, stars Kathryn Hahn, Steve Coogan, Sawyer Shipman, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Preston, Ellen Barkin, Rob Reiner, Andre Royo and hundreds of Hudson Valley locals.
Thom Payne (Coogan) is a 44 year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25 year-old "wunderkind" boss arrives, saying things like "digital", "social" and "viral." Is he in need of a "rebranding", or does he just have a "low joy ceiling"? Maybe pursuing happiness is a fool's errand? Maybe, after 44 years on this ludicrous planet, settling for happyish is the best one can expect.
3/16/2020 –– SKIN, directed by Guy Nattiv and starring Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Mike Colter and Vera Farmiga.
A man makes the dangerous choice to leave the neo-Nazi gang he joined as a teenager. He is determined to start a new life—if he can make it out alive. Filmed over a 24 day period during early 2018 in Kingston, Catskill, Port Ewen, Saugerties, and Ulster Park. More than 40 local crew members were hired in addition to 340 actors and extras.
3/15/2020 –– THE NIGHT LISTENER, directed by Patrick Stettner, and starring Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Joe Morton, Bobby Cannavale, Sandra Oh and Rory Culkin.
In the midst of his crumbling relationship, a radio show host begins speaking to his biggest fan, a young boy, via the telephone. But when questions about the boy's identity come up, the host's life is thrown into chaos.
Production in 2005 included Montgomery, Ellenville, Shokan, Phoenicia and several other regional towns.
3/14/2020 –– As we all try to make sense of COVID19 FACTS & related difficulties, it is important to stay informed and to keep a healthy and positive outlook. We recognize that this is a very distressing, confusing and hectic time. Many productions (including several local ones) are postponing start dates for safety reasons. Like many of you, we are trying to figure it out, one day at a time, and trying to stay productive.
It’s a good time to catch up on local films that are streaming online. We will compile and provide a directory in the coming week, but for now, HBO is premiering THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA on Monday evening on March 16.
The series, which was partly filmed in the Hudson Valley, follows a working-class Jewish family in 1940s America, as the they watch the political rise of aviator-hero and xenophobic populist Charles Lindbergh. This six-part re-imagining of history is based on the Philip Roth novel of the same name. The series co stars SUNY New Paltz alumni John Turturro, Wynona Rider
n August, the Hudson Valley Film Commission started work on THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by producer David Simon (THE WIRE, TREME). Over a 5-day period, the production filmed in four regional counties, spent over $200,000 and rented 1,397 hotel rooms.
"Working in the Hudson Valley for THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA was a truly enjoyable experience. It was a beautiful time of year to work upstate and the people, towns and communities were tremendously supportive and friendly,” said line producer Joe Guest. “The Hudson Valley Film Commission provided exceptional support from day one - with their support, we found great locations and quality local vendors & crew. Our show was set in the 1940s, which meant greater demands from the local area, and on a tight time frame. We found everything we were looking for locally - 1940’s picture cars, props and period-correct set dressing, facility support, a local contractor who built us a dirt road, a horse wrangler, the list goes on. Everyone went out of their way to ‘make it happen’ for us. A big plus - almost every day we managed to find ourselves at yet another restaurant with wonderful food and drink, and coffee. Overall an excellent experience. We look forward to our next opportunity to work in upstate New York.”
Click here to watch THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA.
These precarious days also offer up a good opportunity to be creative. For example, it might be the perfect time to start that screenplay you’ve always wanted to write. Using Final Draft 11, you can brainstorm, visualize, report, tag, collaborate and customize your writing and the software automatically paginates and formats your script to industry standards.
And on a beautiful day like today, it’s a good time to start a vegetable garden and prepping seedlings inside.
Be well and take care of yourselves, and others.