Hudson Film Festival Returns: 4 Days of Global Cinema, Local Flavor, and Free Fun

What started as a promising little upstart on the Hudson River has bloomed into a major cultural event. The Hudson Film Festival returns August 7–10 with a robust, genre-spanning lineup that reaches across the globe—and into the heart of the community—with four days of screenings, parties, panels, and free programming aimed at everyone from cinephiles to kindergartners.

Now in its third year, the festival has leveled up—big time. “This year, we focused on expanding the festival into four days, adding more programming, offering more free events to the community, and bringing additional local organizations into the fold,” says co-founder Sarah Peters. A new Short Film Showcase in partnership with Basilica Hudson kicks off the festival with an Opening Night party, offering audiences a sampler platter of international talent with standout shorts like Bad for a Moment, The Reality of Hope, and the exquisitely titled The Cat Man Eshete.

In The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick A tick bite leads to unsettling developments that transform their idyllic retreat into something sinister.

Opening Night’s marquee feature, East of Wall—fresh from Sundance, where it nabbed the Audience Award—is a lyrical, windswept portrait of grief, defiance, and teenaged rebellion set in the Badlands. Directed by Kate Beecroft and starring real-life Lakota cowgirls Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga, it’s the kind of film that puts a lump in your throat—and a boot in your gut.

The festival’s local cred remains strong with the screening of The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, a delightfully unhinged horror satire that skewers rural wellness culture with a wink and a wince. Director Pete Ohs (joined by cast members including Jeremy O. Harris and Zoë Chao) will be on hand for a post-film Q&A before the party continues at The Half Moon.

Meanwhile, Folktales follows a pack of Nordic teens and their sled dogs into the tundra of self-discovery. And for those craving soul with their cinema, Between the Temples, starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane, delivers kvetching, grief, and awkward adult Bat Mitzvah lessons in equal measure.

But the biggest story might be how much of this year’s festival is free. “Our accessible programming also includes our second annual free family screening of Encanto in partnership with the Hudson Area Library and Olana,” says co-founder John Maybee. “These organizations make our expansion possible and support our mission in delivering diverse films, educational opportunities, and free programming.”

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story explores the life of  one of music's pioneering Black trans performers.

One of the festival’s proudest achievements is the debut of the SWAY Youth Film Workshop, led by Stockade Works and presented in partnership with Time & Space Limited. The free, hands-on session introduces middle schoolers to behind-the-scenes film careers like sound, grip, and electric. “By fostering collaboration,” says the founding trio of Maybee, Peters, and Sonia Marcela Freeman in a statement, “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.”

The festival closes on a high note with Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, a stirring documentary on the Black trans soul singer’s meteoric rise, vanishing act, and hard-earned recognition, presented with OutHudson and Basilica.

As Freeman puts it: “We are honored to showcase this year’s diverse group of filmmakers. Their work represents varied experiences, spans several genres, and hails from around the globe—from New York to France, India to Japan, Norway to the Badlands and more.”

In other words: Hudson is the world—and this festival is your passport.