New York Women in Film & Television is happy to announce that 15 of our members are involved in films that have been selected for the 26th annual edition of the Woodstock Film Festival.
The 26th annual Woodstock Film Festival takes place October 15 – October 19, 2025. Woodstock screenings and events will take place at venues across the Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston and Saugerties. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased here.
Click to see the full program of films and events at the festival!
We are also delighted to co-present with Woodstock a panel titled, “Creative Control: Censorship, Film Audiences and Free Speech” on Saturday, October 18 at 1:30pm ET. Speakers include Yoruba Richen, Kim A. Snyder, Melissa Leo, and Julie Bacha moderated by NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez. Please join us and buy tickets here.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
CHRISTY
RMS Producer – NYWIFT Member Monica Anderson
Christy Martin (Sydney Sweeney) never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia – until she discovered a knack for knocking people out. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim (Ben Foster). But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it – confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death. Based on remarkable true events from director David Michôd (The Rover, Animal Kingdom), Christy Martin’s story is one of resilience, courage, and the fight to reclaim one’s life.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
CONCESSIONS
Second Assistant Camera – NYWIFT Member Emily Kurdovich
As the beloved Royal Alamo Cinema closes its doors for good, jaded staff, eccentric patrons, and an unhinged manager stumble through one last night at the movies — grappling with busted dreams, bad popcorn, and hard goodbyes. Featuring Michael Madsen in one of his last roles.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
THE FLOATERS
Casting Director – NYWIFT Member Stephanie Holbrook
The Floaters follows struggling musician Nomi who accepts a last-resort job from her overachiever best friend Mara: mentoring misfit campers, the “Floaters,” at their childhood Jewish summer camp.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
ARREST THE MIDWIFE
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
When trusted midwives are arrested in a tight-knit Amish and Mennonite enclave, a quiet community is thrust into turmoil. With their way of life under threat, these women – once expected to stay silent – emerge as unexpected activists, defying tradition and fighting for justice.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
ASK E. JEAN
Executive Producers – NYWIFT Members Ruth Ann Harnisch and Sheila Nevins
E. Jean Carroll won two lawsuits against Donald Trump for defamation and battery. Beyond that, she built a career as a successful magazine writer and authored one of America’s longest-running advice columns.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Sheila Nevins
As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
LOVE + WAR
Supervising Sound Editor – NYWIFT Member Deborah Wallach
Love+War follows Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario as she breaks barriers in the male-dominated world of conflict photography.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
SEEDS
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Leslie Fields-Cruz
A look into the lives of Black generational farmers, unveiling the challenges of maintaining legacy and the value of land ownership.
SHORT NARRATIVES
DEAR SHOP GIRL
Director, Writer, Producer, & Editor – NYWIFT Member Nira Burstein
A struggling vintage shop owner grapples with a distressing call from her landlord as a new customer walks in. After overeagerly offering her services, the customer reveals that he’s looking for the outfit he’ll wear when he kills himself. Despite being thoroughly put off by one another, they decide to explore the store together. As the strangers become closer, a heated moment forces the pair to confront their unspoken tension.
SHORT NARRATIVES
HOLD ME CLOSE
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Jenni Wolfson
Hold Me Close explores the unique power and complexity of the relationship between two Queer Black womxn, Corinne and Tiana. Utilizing audio, the couple self-recorded every day over the course of a season. Corinne & Tiana experience cycles of life’s joys and pains together in the home they share.
SHORT NARRATIVES
SKIN
Producer – NYWIFT Member Nicole Palermo
Kanika, insecure about her dark skin, seeks a consultation for skin lightening at Markandeya Aesthetics. Her sister Ria, a skin tone positivity makeup influencer, vehemently opposes Kanika’s decision. While Kanika is at the consultation, Ria discovers Markandeya’s sinister true purpose during a Livestream. Now, Ria must rush to save her sister before it’s too late.
SHORT NARRATIVES
STALLING
Director & Editor – NYWIFT Member Jasia Kaulbach
When Alex and Julie learn that they’ve been cheated on by the same man, they agree to do the mature thing: meet up and trauma bond. What begins as a bizarre support group in a grungy women’s bar bathroom, snowballs into an unconventional meet-cute that leaves them both enamored with each other.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
ALL THE WALLS CAME DOWN
Director of Photography – NYWIFT Member Jendra Jarnagin
When award-winning documentarian Ondi Timoner left her Altadena, CA home for a shoot in Rome on Jan. 4, 2025, she could not have predicted that she would be leaving it for the last time. Returning to the ruins left by the Eaton Fire, Ondi finds her neighbors, many of whom had their generational wealth wiped overnight, now at risk of being displaced from the only place they’ve ever called home. But the community, led by community activist Heavenly Hughes, is bonded by fire in solidarity, determined to protect one another.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
THE LONG WALK: THE STORY OF THE BHARAT JODO YATRA
Director – NYWIFT Member Shruti Ganguly
This is the story of one of the largest marches and movements that the world has yet to know about where Rahul Gandhi, India’s opposition leader, walked 4000 kilometers – from the Southern tip of the country to the North over 141 days. Millions of everyday Indians participated.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
THE NEW YORKER THEATER: THE TALBOTS’ LEGACY
Producer – NYWIFT Member Cara Yeates
In 1960, the Talbots, with no money or experience, launched The New Yorker Theater on the then-dangerous Upper West Side. Their adventurous and artistic programming turned it into one of the country’s most influential repertory and art house cinemas, sparking a cinematic and cultural revolution. For more than six decades, the Talbots were pioneers in exhibiting and distributing the most artistic cinema from around the globe, changing American film culture forever. This short documentary chronicles the humble beginnings of their remarkable career.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS YOU
Producer – NYWIFT Member Cynthia Kane
In the wake of personal loss, an unexpected sisterhood unites an ambitious New York healthcare worker with a spirited girl from a nomadic tribe in India.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
WOMEN LAUGHING
Executive Producer – NYWIFT Member Ruth Ann Harnisch
In Women Laughing, longtime New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly sets out to explore her lifelong passion for humor and cartooning by speaking, laughing, and drawing with a diverse group of remarkable women who create cartoons for the iconic magazine. Inspired by her acclaimed book Very Funny Ladies and Liza’s own biography, the film will also look back at the fascinating history and evolution of single panel cartoons- from the 1920s, to the present- and reveal how far women have come in a field that has historically been dominated by men.
*Photos courtesy of Woodstock Film Festival
