GREENWOOD LAKE – The Hoboken International Film Festival wrapped up its final day this year Thursday evening with a red-carpet awards gala. This marks the conclusion of the festival’s 12th year. Hundreds attended.
At their new home in Greenwood Lake, the film festival brought cinema artists, actors, producers, writers, along with the entire gamut of behind the scenes workers and enthusiasts, to share in a week-long celebration of independent cinema.
Film Festival Chairman Ken Del Vecchio said it was a huge undertaking to facilitate the final awards ceremony, as well as the entire festival itself, but was well worth it.
“It is substantial. It takes a lot of time,” said Del Vecchio. “For what you see at the awards gala ceremony tonight, that’s, literally, a month and a half in the making. Just to put together the reel, that’s got all of the clips for the nominated films, the time it takes to watch the movies, then to pick the nominees, then to select the clips for them and then put it onto a hard drive, the finessing of it, and then rehearsing for the event itself- it’s a major task.”
As far as manpower, the whole festival took over 300 people to realize.
The awards ceremony featured five nominees from each category: Best Narrative Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress and Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Short, Best Pilot, Best Documentary and Best of the Festival.
There were elated winners from each of the categories; but, Del Vecchio thought the local economy may have been the biggest winner.
“The impact on what this has for the local community, which includes Greenwood Lake and Orange County,” Del Vecchio said. “I think, is obvious: its massive economic stimulation when you have this many people coming into the area. People got to get gas, they buy food, they stay in hotels, they go and shop. On top of it, it’s a lot of excitement. Most places across the country, literally close to 100 percent, they’re not used to having events like this; so, to have this kind of star power walking around it’s exciting for people.”
HIFF Excellence in Acting Award Winner and former cast member of “Three’s
Company” Joyce Dewitt, along with the emcee for the evening ceremony
Gilbert Gottfried were enthusiastic about the venue.
“The people here in Greenwood Lake are so sweet,” said Dewitt. “They adopt you the minute you get here. It’s a wonderful, wonderful place. The lake is so beautiful, the town is so precious, the green is so gorgeous. It’s a beautiful part of the state.”
Gottfried added, “…and Jason still wanders around, with his mask, killing campers.”
Dewitt replied, in good fun, “But, not everyone talks about that. We kind of keep that to ourselves.”
The film festival returns to Greenwood Lake next May.
The Festival has a three-year contract to stay in Greenwood Lake. Del Vecchio said he would like to extend that.
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