The 2nd annual Vermont Film Festival is happening this Thursday through Sunday and is packed full with something for everyone. Because they offer so much, the best deal is the all-access $100 pass. That gets you all three days of films, the welcoming party at Ramunto’s Brick and Brew of Bridgewater with comedic shorts upstairs at the Woolen Mill Comedy Club with a DJ Dave Dance Party Thursday night, an industry event Saturday at Mountain Meadows and the wrap party Sunday night at 506 On The River Inn. They also offer daily passes for $45 each. This year there are numerous world premieres and several films made in Vermont. The film festival is the brainchild of local actor/comedians Collen Doyle and Matt Vita. Those two also started the highly succesful Vermont Comedy festival which is celebrating its third year. That is held the first weekend in December. For more information on the film festival like tickets, schedule, etc. visit vermontfilmfestival.com.
I had the pleasure of interviewing both Doyle and Vita to find out more about the fest. Doyle said, “The Vermont Film Festival is an annual festival held in the Woodstock area that is focused on showing various genres of films from narrative to documentary, both features and shorts. The primary goal is to bring filmmakers and projects from around the country to Vermont for people to be able to not only network and attend industry events but to get inspired by the landscape of Vermont, and the area. The hope is filmmakers will come back and make movies in Vermont. Although it’s called the Vermont Film Festival, it doesn’t take place all over Vermont but in the Woodstock area in what we consider to be the quintessential Vermont setting. If you come to Woodstock you’ll get that Hallmark version of Vermont.” Matt said, “We’re building off the momentum of last year and we’re just growing so we added a couple of new things that we think will make it a better experience for everybody.”
The film festival is partnering with Pentangle Arts to bring the films to the Town Hall Theater in Woodstock. This year, on Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m., there will be food trucks and a bar/beergarden set up behind the theater. Vita said, “Come early, grab some food, a few beers and head in to the theater. We screened some really impactful films last year and we’re doing that again this year. We’re showcasing some pretty awesome films that were made in Vermont but we also have a handful of world premieres that weren’t created just in Vermont but all over, and the first time they’re ever going to be on a screen is at our festival.” Vita was blown away that some of the submissions are premiering at their festival. I went last year, and the selection of films is amazing. I’ll be attending a few this year for sure.
Doyle said, “This year we made some great structural changes. Last year in our inaugural year, we learned that some things work and some things didn’t work so it’s going to be a more streamlined festival. With the food trucks people won’t have to leave to find something to eat, everything will be there. Running two festivals of this size in one year is challenging, but we’re getting better at it. This year it’s bigger and better and there’s a lot of improvements all around.”
This year they added a 48-hour film slam. Filmmakers from all over the country will have Thursday and Friday to film in the Woodstock area. Numerous local businesses have offered up their businesses as locations for the filmmakers. Saturday they’ll edit the films and Sunday they’ll be premiered. It’s part of the Sunday programming before the award’s ceremony. Doyle said, “Part of the logic behind that is bringing these filmmakers to Vermont and having them see how easy it is to film in Vermont. We’re working with the Vermont Production Collective which is the closest thing we have to a film commission. They’re non-profit. They don’t have much to do with the state but they’re going before the House of Representatives and the Senate to talk about what it looks like to make Vermont more friendly for filmmakers, maybe with a tax incentive. What we lack in Vermont in a film commission, we make up for with community support. If you ask a business to film there, they’ll say yes. They’re not going to ask you to sign something and demand money. There’s a tremendous amount of community support behind the arts. The other side is having the public seeing people filming in the area with film crews, etc. By starting the film festival that way, it kind of excites the community. We’re also trying to educate the area on what a film festival is.”
Vita said, “I love the connections you help create while being on this ground level of creation. Film making is such a collaborative process. The foundation for all that is the connection with the people you’re working with. You can make organic connections that can flourish into the next big film, which is really cool.”
It’s a great opportunity to see amazing films you can’t see anywhere else. A film festival is good for both the filmmakers and the public. As a patron, we get to see a wide variety of films, at an affordable price plus you can meet the filmmaker. Many filmmakers don’t get their films to a big screen so it gives them an opportunity to get many eyes on their masterpiece.
Doyle said, “As a filmmaker we often get in this pattern of we make films, we finish them but we don’t necessarily have the opportunity to show them to friends and family on the big screen. With a film festival like this it’s rewarding to have people get together to be able to show their films to an audience that’s extremely interested in seeing them and then to have the discussions afterwards. When film is at its best, it’s prompting us to ask questions to broaden our views of the world. It’s really exciting to give people this opportunity to show these films they’ve put so much time, energy and money into, on the big screen and be able to have an intelligent conversations about them.”
Stay tuned for some Comedy Festival announcements soon. Last year they featured headliner Colin Quinn from SNL and some amazing talented comedians from around the country. This year promises to be bigger and better.
Thursday, July 25
Woolen Mill Comedy Club
7-9 p.m.
“Breaking News”
“No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn”
“We Regret to Inform You”
Friday, July 26
Woodstock Town Hall Theatre:
6-8 p.m.
“Endlessly an Observer: Portrait of a Portrait Maker”
“The Ghost Trap”
8-10 p.m.
“Grafton”
“Mother Father Sister Brother Frank”
10 p.m.-12 a.m.
“Balancing on a Molecule”
“Freeland: A White Grass Story”
“The Hitchhiker Effect”
Saturday, July 27
Woodstock Town Hall Theatre
6-8 p.m.
“As Easy as Closing Your Eyes”
“Ten Minutes to Showtime”
“The Clunker”
“Spring Skiing in Vermont”
“Trophy”
“Ventriculus”
“Viva Extra”
8-10 p.m.
“Therapy Won’t Kill You”
“The Late Game”
10 p.m.-12 a.m.
The Red Raven’s Kiss”
The Yorkie Werewolf”
Sunday, July 28th
Woodstock Town Hall Theatre
10 a.m.-12 p.m.
“Bearing Witness: A Name and a Voice”
“Gone Before Your Eyes”
“Locker Room Talk”
“Love of the Land”
“Mild Oath”
12-2 p.m.
“Breaking News”
“Dammit Lambotte”
“Dolly’s Room”
“Mars Hill Bait and Ammo”
“Whenever You’re Ready”
2-4 p.m.
“Connected”
“I Love You Too”
“The Quietest Year”
4-5 p.m.
“48 Hour Film Slam Videos”
“Awards Ceremony”
