For the third year running, IndieWire announces the lineup for the 2025 edition of Upstate New York’s Hudson Film Festival. This year’s festival runs Thursday, August 7, through Sunday, August 10, opening with the local premiere of Kate Beecroft’s 2025 Sundance NEXT Audience Award winner “East of Wall.”
Pete Ohs’ Hudson Valley production “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick” (which premiered at SXSW 2025), Rohan Kanawade’s “Cactus Pears” (2025 Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Dramatic winner), and “Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story” from Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee also play the festival.
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Among the expanded 17 films screened and special events throughout the festival, three are free for the community: the festival’s first-ever free Youth Film Workshop, its first-ever free Short Film Showcase, and the return of its popular Free Family Screening.
Cco-founders John Maybee, Sarah Peters, and Sonia Marcela Freeman said, “In its third year, the Hudson Film Festival deepens its commitment to diverse programming, intentional partnerships throughout the community, and accessible arts education.
This year’s lineup showcases an exceptional slate of films representing both the Hudson region and international perspectives, reflecting the festival’s belief in the unifying power of cinema. In launching our first-ever free youth-focused film workshop, the Hudson Valley Film Institute is delivering on its promise to open pathways and provide accessible arts education for young people to consider careers in film & television here in their own community. By fostering collaboration, the festival aims to serve as a bridge — connecting cultural resources and creative networks to deliver a meaningful arts experience for the people of Hudson.”
Rounding out the 2025 slate are acclaimed documentary Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s “Folktales,” a Spotlight screening of Hudson Valley comedy “Between the Temples,” and a free short film showcase. Those shorts include “A Swim Lesson” (dir: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack), “Au Revoir Mon Monde” (dir: Estelle Bonnardel, Florian Maurice, Quentin Devred, Baptiste Duchamps, Maxime Foltzer, Astrid Novais), “Bad for a Moment” (dir: Daniel Soares), “Debaters” (dir: Alex Heller), “Loving Silence” (dir: Nick Perlman), “Marion” (dir: Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine), “My Memory-Walls” (dir: Axel Robin), “Ragamuffin” (dir: Kaitlyn Mikayla), “The Cat Man Eshete” (dir: Laura Checkoway), and “The Reality of Hope” (dir: Joe Hunting).
The festival continues its popular Free Family Film screening with “Encanto,” in partnership with Olana State Historic Site and the Hudson Area Library.
The festival’s new programming will include its first-ever free youth-focused film workshop on Saturday, August 10, in partnership with Stockade Works and Spark of Hudson. The program serves as a hands-on film and television workshop for middle school students (grades 6–8), introducing students to the various below-the-line roles of film and TV craft. By the end of the workshop, each group will have contributed to a short, edited video compilation that will be screened at the festival.
All-Access passes and individual tickets for the expanded 4-day festival are now available at www.HudsonFilmFestival.org/tickets. More details for all screening and events are available at www.HudsonFilmFestival.org.
