From Honky Tonk Wednesdays to Mariska Hargitay at the Woodstock Film Festival

Oct 14

Written By HVNY

On Wednesday nights during the end of the pandemic, people started to get out of the house and come together at the local VFW in Kingston to “two-step, drink cheap beer, and listen to world-class musicians like Cindy Cashdollar and John Sebastian perform classic country covers. All for ten bucks.”

Launched by Hudson Valley-based musician Connor Kennedy, Honky Tonk Wednesdays has “become more than just a dance night,” the filmmakers of a new documentary say. “It’s a testament to how music and dance can bridge divides and bring a community together.”

Honky Tonk Wednesdays continues this week as part of opening night of the Woodstock Film Festival, with a special screening of the short documentary based on the local dance night, followed by a Q+A with filmmakers Al Markman and Brandon Vestal, along with Cindy Cashdollar, John Sebastian, and a good ol’ fashioned two-step to country classics with DJ Pretty Good. [ Link ]

The 26th annual Woodstock Film Festival takes place Wednesday, October 15 through Sunday, October 19, 2025 at venues in Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston and Saugerties, with exclusive screenings of narratives, documentaries, shorts, and panels, including a conversation with Mariska Hargitay in Woodstock on Saturday (currently, stand-by only).

The festival’s opening night feature film, The Testament of Ann Lee, will screen at the Woodstock Playhouse and will be followed by a Q&A with director Mona Fastvold, star Amanda Seyfried, and choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall.

Additional star power taking part in this year’s festival include a panel with married couple Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton exploring “the pitfalls and the bonuses of working with the ones you love,” an Actor’s Dialogue with Rory Culkin and Michael O’Keefe (who’s starring in the world premiere of the locally-filmed movie, A Break in the Rain), George Clooney and Adam Sandler starring in the latest Noah Baumbach film, Richard Linklater’s newest collaboration with Ethan Hawke, Bradley Cooper’s ‘Is This Thing On?’, The Bend in the River by Rob Moss and executive produced by Joel Coen and Frances McDormand, Hamnet by Chloé Zhao, Steal This Story, Please! by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal with Q&A moderated by V (formerly Eve Ensler), and winner of the Festival Favorite Award at this year’s Sundance, Come See Me in the Good Light, a documentary following poet Andrea Gibson’s battle with ovarian cancer.

As a special tribute this year, the inaugural Laurent Rejto Made in the Hudson Valley Award, named for the late Woodstock Film Festival co-founder and head of the Hudson Valley Film Commission who passed away over the summer, will be presented by Oscar-winning actor Melissa Leo as part of the Maverick Awards at Assembly in Kingston on Saturday night. Filmmaker Ira Sachs (Passages, Little Men, Love is Strange, and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize–winning Forty Shades of Blue ) will also receive the Fiercely Independent Award during the awards ceremony.

“As we celebrate the 26th year of the Woodstock Film Festival, I am honored to welcome an extraordinary slate of filmmakers whose work reflects the urgency, beauty, and complexity of our times,” said Meira Blaustein, Woodstock Film Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director. “The Hudson Valley once again becomes a gathering place where independent voices converge, sparking dialogue, creativity, and community. This year’s festival not only showcases groundbreaking films and emerging talent, but also reaffirms our enduring commitment to the independent spirit that has defined Woodstock from the very beginning.”

For the full schedule, visit https://woodstockfilmfestival.org/