Film Otsego Announces ‘Made By New York Women Film Festival’

ONEONTA—“A Wonderful Way with Dragons” will kick off Film Otsego’s inaugural “Made By New York Women Film Festival,” which will take place March 7 and 8 at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, 24 Market Street, Oneonta.

“A Wonderful Way with Dragons,” written and directed by Delfine Paolini, will debut locally on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The movie will be followed by a Q&A with Paolini, a Hudson Valley native. There will be an artist meet and greet with all the filmmakers starting at 6:30 p.m., with free food and a cash bar. Tickets are $20.00.

Film Otsego, Otsego County’s film commission, and local production company Otsego Media both helped Paolini during pre-production for a film that ultimately filmed in Jeffersonville, according to a media release.

Saturday is an all-day event, with doors opening at 2 p.m., and the final film beginning at 8 p.m. There will be vending in the atrium, as well as snacks and drinks at a cash bar. There will be a special Q&A with all the filmmakers at 2:30 p.m. All high-school and college students who are interested in filmmaking can get free tickets for both days by registering to attend the Q&A. E-mail alysa@filmotsego.org to RSVP.

At 4 p.m., there will be a documentary block, with screenings of two films: “Twice Upon A Time in America,” directed by Gilbertsville resident Jeri Wachter, and “Cannabis + Creativity,” filmed in New York City by director Elana Frankel. There will be a Q&A with the directors after the movies.

At 6 p.m., there will be a short-film block, with screenings of three films: “Orange,” which was shot in Rhinebeck and produced by Astrid Lark; “Accidental Stars,” written and directed by Brooklyn/Springfield resident Emily Bennett; and “Lovers & Fools,” shot in Washingtonville by actor-writer-director Marie-Louise

Boisnier, who also appears in the new release “Popeye the Slayer Man,” which filmed in Oneonta in 2024. There will be a Q&A with the filmmakers after the movies.

At 8 p.m., locally made horror film, “Ouija Witch” will be screened. The movie will be followed by a Q&A with Film Otsego board members Alysa Blasetti and Cheyenne Phillips, the festival planner and event director, respectively, who met at the film commission’s first women in film event in 2021. Blasetti produced

“Ouija Witch” in 2022, and Phillips had a starring role as Mary Blackwood and the witch.

Tickets are $20.00 each day. Friday’s event includes free food with cash bar. Tickets can be bought at https://foothills.ticketleap.com/the-madeby-ny/ or at the door both days.

The festival is the second women in film event the film commission has staged and the second film festival, following the successful October 2024 event, Shock-toberfest.

Film Otsego will announce a third film festival, scheduled for the fall, at the March event.

“Film Otsego and our individual board members have been doing great work, and we’re really excited to stage another women in film event,” Film Commissioner Greg Klein said. “Alysa and Cheyenne and the festival sub-committee have worked very hard to make this a special weekend, and I can’t wait.

“We were thrilled with the quality and quantity of the submissions we received for a first-year event,” he continued. “I know we are all looking forward to ‘A Wonderful Way with Dragons,’ and the other films look great, too.”

Vendors and sponsors are needed for the event. E-mail greg@filmotsego.org for more information.