Woodstock Film Festival Names Jessica Edwards Executive Director — SkimNews
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- Jessica Edwards was named executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival on Sunday, replacing co-founder Meira Blaustein, who led the event since founding it in 2000.
- Meira Blaustein received a special Honorary Maverick Award recognizing her visionary leadership; she praised Edwards' background as a filmmaker, distribution consultant, and former publicist.
- Mouse, directed by Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson, won the Gigantic Pictures Award for Best Narrative Feature, with Josephine (Beth de Araújo) receiving an honorable mention.
- Rehearsals for a Revolution, directed by Pegah Ahangarani, won the Leon Gast Award for Best Feature Documentary, while Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller's They're Here took Best Short Documentary.
- Washed Up (Isabel Moncloa Daly) won the Gray Schwartz Ultra Indie Award, and Rain Reign (Erika Burke Rossa) earned both the Laurent Rejto Made in the Hudson Valley Award and the NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing a Narrative Film.
- Edwards outlined a vision in her statement of bringing filmmakers and industry partners 'from around the world' to the Hudson Valley, emphasizing connections that 'support filmmakers and inspire the next generation of cinema lovers.'
- The jury included Aya Cash, Corbin Bernsen, Debra Granik, Ellen Kuras, Bill Horberg, Michèle Stephenson, Marshall Curry, Lori Singer, Robert Stone, Amy Gossels, and Shelby Stone.
Why it matters: The transition marks only the second executive director in the festival's 26-year history, with Blaustein's explicit endorsement signaling continuity rather than reinvention. Edwards' distribution and publicity background — and her stated goal of expanding global filmmaker-industry connections in the Hudson Valley — will shape the festival's next era of independent film programming.
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