The Vermont Film Festival is making its fourth annual return to the Upper Valley on July 31. This festival will run through August 3 and will be comprised of a star-studded lineup of films from comedic gems to heartfelt documentaries. Complete with question-and-answer talkbacks, industry panels, and Hollywood-inspired afterparties, organizers say this event is perfect for industry professionals, cinephiles, and casual movie-goers alike.
This year’s festival aims to showcase films that will spark meaningful discussion as well as bring levity and laughter to viewers in the Upper Valley. Conceived by local comedians and actors Collen Doyle and Matt Vita, as well as film and television producer Mark Dubzinski, the Vermont Film Festival team is no stranger to tackling tough topics with lighthearted humor.
“We are an international festival, so talented filmmakers can submit from anywhere in the world. One film being screened this year is from South Korea and will premiere on Thursday, July 31, at the Woolen Mill Comedy Club. It is called ‘Water Lilies,’ and follows two young women who escape to Seoul with dreams of creating a better life. It’s deeply heartfelt and moving, and we are so lucky to bring such a creative foreign film to Woodstock,” said Doyle.
He continued, “This year we have films coming in from Los Angeles, Chicago, Florida — all around the country. Our goal is to invite as many filmmakers as possible to Vermont so they can take in the landscape, feel the natural inspiration of the land, and perhaps, one day, even shoot a movie here.”
Beginning at noon on Thursday, July 31, in collaboration with Pentangle Arts at Woodstock’s Town Hall Theatre, the festival will open with a series of scripted short films, followed at 2 p.m. with the screening of the documentaries, “Never Quit,” the story of Jimmy Settle, a shoe salesman turned Air Force Pararescueman, along with “Error 404: Books Not Found,” a documentary chronicling the controversy surrounding Vermont State University’s attempt to eliminate physical libraries in favor of an all-digital model. The rest of the day will feature films from student and emerging filmmakers, along with two more documentaries, “The Human Side of Plastic” and “Gone Guys,” before ending the night at the Woolen Mill in Bridgewater with the premiere of “Water Lillies” and an afterparty to follow.
Friday, August 1, will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Town Hall Theatre with a collection of narrative short films, followed by the festival’s comedy feature “New Clothes,” a Vermont-based film following a touring theater company in Brattleboro. Afterwards, attendees are encouraged to head over to the Grange Theatre in Pomfret for a block-party-kick-off and a screening of the comedic blockbuster “Holy Cash” with a standup performance by comedy legend Paul Rodriguez to follow.
Saturday, August 2, will pick up once more at Town Hall Theatre with an array of documentaries and short films, complete with a spritz garden, food trucks, and networking opportunities. That evening, a number of narrative shorts will be screened for the public, including “Stronger Than The Storm,” a feature documentary that follows the story of bodybuilder Ben Lawson, who, after being diagnosed with Stage IV leukemia, fought to return to his prime.
This documentary will be shown alongside “A Moment in Time” and “Displaced,” a film that shines a light on immigration issues while following a young refugee asylum seeker trying to navigate the New York City immigration courts.
Sunday, August 3, will be a day full of closing events as the final round of documentaries and narrative short films will be shown at Town Hall Theatre, and awards will be given to Best Fiction Film, Best Documentary, Best Experimental Film, and Best Animated Film.
Vita, co-founder of the Vermont Film Festival with Doyle, as well as a fellow comedian and actor, told the Standard what he hopes people take away from this festival, saying, “If you see a comedy, I hope you laugh. If you tackle one of the heavier films, I hope it makes you think about others and the world around you. But more than anything, I hope people enjoy themselves and enjoy this festival. Film is such a special art form to share; it is so community-centric, and to be able to share this with the people of Vermont is so wonderful.”
For more on this, please see our July 24 edition of the Vermont Standard.
