Forty-eight feature films and 85 shorts are being screened at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival, which kicks off tonight, Sept. 29, at a mix of indoor and outdoor venues in Woodstock, Kingston, Saugerties and online.
The options are robust and diverse — including several films by women directors, 11 films making their world premiere, and 10 music-centric movies. Where to start? Here’s a cheat sheet of can’t-miss films to catch during the five-day festival, in order of schedule.
Director Alison Klayman explores the origins and legacy of Alanis Morissette’s blockbuster debut album “Jagged Little Pill” in the documentary “Jagged,” which is making its U.S. premiere at the 2021 Woodstock Film Festival.
Courtesy Woodstock Film Festival“Jagged” (U.S. premiere)
Thursday, Sept. 30, 11 a.m., Bearsville Theater in Woodstock
Friday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m., The Lot @ BLUEprint in Kingston
If you’re a “Behind the Music” fan, this is for you. According to news reports, the Canadian singer Alanis Morissette isn’t thrilled about the documentary that explores her breakout fame at age 21 with the 1995 release of “Jagged Little Pill,” the second best-selling album of the 90s. But Morissette gives incredible access to director Alison Klayman — note the trip to her storage unit where the rocker digs through relics of her past, including a sack of old love letters. The film is notable for its sometimes-raw look at a woman’s rise in music with an utterly unique, non-pop style, and painful moments that went along with that stardom, including Morisette’s revelation that she was raped early in her career, when she was 15.
Dr. Kimya Dennis, who appears in the documentary “My So-called Selfish Life” about women who choose to forego motherhood, studies childfree women of the African Diaspora and teaches at Salem College in North Carolina.
Therese Shechter“My So-called Selfish Life” (World premiere)
Thursday, Sept. 30, 4:45 p.m., Bearsville Theater in Woodstock
Friday, Oct. 1, 11 a.m., Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties
Told through a mix of interviews; film, TV and musical clips; and social and historical analysis, this feature documentary by feminist Therese Schechter celebrates the lives of childfree women. The third installment in the filmmaker’s trilogy of films addressing social norms about what it means to be a woman today, “My So-called Selfish Life” is at times both laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartbreaking, such as Marcia Drut-Davis’s telling of her experience appearing on a “60 Minutes” segment in 1974 about not having children and the subsequent fallout.
The feature-length documentary "Ranger" tells the story of a dozen East African women seeking to become wildlife rangers in Kenya, forging a new path for young women in their culture.
One Story Up Productions“Ranger” (World premiere)
Friday, Oct. 1, 8 p.m. at Bearsville Theater, Woodstock
Set in Kenya, this visually striking feature-length documentary captures the year-long journey of 12 young women who buck cultural norms and train as wildlife rangers to become East Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching unit. The experience is as physical as it is emotional, creating some difficult-to-watch moments, as when the trainees field verbal insults in an exercise to build inner courage, en route to triumphantly creating their own version of what it means to be a Maasai warrior. Directed by Austin Peck and produced by Roger Ross Williams, who is the festival’s Honorary Maverick Award recipient this year.
Almost 8 million Americans struggle with PTSD, and military veterans are twice as likely to suffer from the condition than civilians. The film “HERE. IS. BETTER.” by Emmy Award-Winning Director Jack Youngelson documents the stories of four veterans.
Jenni Morello“HERE. IS. BETTER.” (World premiere)
Saturday, Oct. 2, 12:45 p.m., Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, Q&A to follow
Special screening for veterans: Sunday, Oct. 3, 11:30 a.m., Orpheum in Saugerties
A powerful feature documentary exploring the trauma of PTSD as told through interspersed personal stories of four U.S. veterans who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam. Among the veterans who share their stories is Jason Kander, an up-and-coming Missouri politician running for mayor of Kansas City who dropped out of the race to come to grips with his PTSD. The firsthand accounts of life post-combat and feelings of isolation are particularly sobering when viewed against the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic and the difficult U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. Talent attending Saturday screening: Veterans Jason Kander and Teresa Aldridge, Dr. Kathleen Chard, director Jack Youngelson, composer David Baron
The full lineup of screenings, events and ticket sales are available online now. Interested festivalgoers also can visit the box office, located at 13 Rock City Road in Woodstock.
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