The 2011 Woodstock Film Festival has announced its 2011 Maverick Award recipient and Closing Night film. The fest’s closer is DETACHMENT, starring Adrien Brody, directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), who will be the 2011 recipient of the HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD.
“Detachment” will screen Sunday, Sept. 25, 6:45pm, at the Woodstock Playhouse.
The Maverick Award Gala will take place, Saturday evening at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY.
“WFF is really thrilled to announce Tony Kaye as the 2011 Maverick recipient, and to be able to screen ‘Detachment’ as our closing night film, ” said Meira Blaustein WFF co-founder and executive director. “This is an incredible film by a singular and visionary talent, and he joins a long line of exceptional filmmakers who have graced the festival’s awards stage.”
The Honorary Maverick Award is given each year to an individual whose life and work is based on creativity, independent vision, and social activism. Previous recipients include Kevin Smith, Christine Vachon, Barbara Kopple, Tim Robbins, Les Blank, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Woody Harrelson, Mira Nair, Steve Buscemi, and Bruce Beresford.
Detachment features Academy Award® winner Brody as Henry Barthes, an educator with a true talent to connect with his students. Yet Henry has chosen to bury his gift. By spending his days as a substitute teacher, he conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form an attachment to either students or colleagues. When a new assignment places him at a public school where a frustrated, burned-out administration has created an apathetic student body, Henry soon becomes a role model to the disaffected youth. In finding an unlikely emotional connection to the students, teachers, and a runaway teen he takes in from the streets, Henry realizes that he’s not alone in his life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world. Anchored by an award-worthy performance from Brody, Detachment also features memorable roles by Christina Hendricks, Academy Award® nominee James Caan, Academy Award® winner Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen and Tim Blake Nelson (who is attending the festival).
Kaye said, “I made America my home in 1991 for one reason only, to work with the great American actors and actresses of this era and to find new ones—to go deeper, to help them go deeper and find the truth within the spectacle. I am praying that this cool honor from Woodstock will give me an opportunity to just work more, to be able to help with what I have learned from my blessed journey so far.”
Tony Kaye’s feature film debut was American History X (1998), a drama about racism starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. Norton was later nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Kaye made the documentary Lake of Fire on the abortion debate in the United States, which opened in Toronto to astounding reviews in September 2006. Lake of Fire made the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences short-list for Best Documentary Film. It was also nominated for Best Documentary Film at the Independent Spirit Awards, Chicago Film Critic Association Awards, and the Satellite Awards.
Kaye is also a singer, songwriter and painter who has made several iconic music videos, including the video for Runaway Train by Soul Asylum, which won a Grammy Award; Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers; What God Wants by Roger Waters; and Help Me and God’s Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash. Kaye is a six time Grammy nominated music video director. He won a Grammy in 2006 for the famous Johnny Cash video God’s Gonna Cut You Down with cameo appearances by Bono, Johnny Depp, Kanye West, Patti Smith, Terrence Howard, Iggy Pop, The Dixie Chicks, Brian Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Keith Richards, Chris Martin, Sharon Stone, Lisa Marie Presley, Flea, Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss, Sir Peter Blake, Sheryl Crow, Dennis Hopper, Mick Jones, and Jay-Z. He also has a book of his artwork called Epicomedy being published by Phaidon Press.
“Detachment” will be released in 2012 by Tribeca Film. The film is produced by Paper Street Films’ Austin Stark, Benji Kohn, Chris Papavasiliou and Bingo Gubelmann, Kingsgate Films’ Greg Shapiro, and Carl Lund. It is executive produced by Brody, Peter Sterling and Andre Laport. Marco Frigeri is co-executive producer.
Rave reviews for DETACHMENT:
“Brody delivers his finest performance since ‘The Pianist’… an award-caliber turn.”– The Hollywood Reporter
“A wrenching and powerful achievement… tremendous cast … I was swept along by the spectacular visual journey.”– Salon.com
About the Woodstock Film Festival
Hailed by Indiewire as “A true American Maverick Among Fests” and praised by actor Ethan Hawke as “among the finest of a dying breed: a festival that isn’t trying to sell you anything, but simply and beautifully celebrating the art & craft of filmmaking”, the Woodstock Film Festival premiers exceptional films, hosts the most talented emerging and established professionals in the movie industry; presents A-list concerts, panels and parties, and creates stimulating, innovative programming year-round.
The Woodstock Film Festival is a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) with a mission to present an annual program and year-round schedule of film, music and art-related activities that promote artists, culture, inspired learning and diversity.
The Woodstock Film Festival celebrates its 12th Annual Festival September 21- 25, 2011, with an extraordinary line-up of fiercely independent films, panels, concerts and special events in Woodstock and the neighboring towns of Rhinebeck, Kingston and Rosendale.
