The 2026 Woodstock Film Festival revealed its Maverick Award winners on Sunday and two top documentary contenders for the 2027 Oswcars were among the spotlighted titles. Pegah Ahangarani’s Rehearsals for a Revolution won the festival’s Best Feature Documentary prize, while Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller’s They’re Here was named Best Short Documentary. Both films are expected to make the shortlists in those respective categories when the Academy’s documentary branch unveils its selections later this year.
Set for an Oscar-qualifying release in December followed by a wider theatrical rollout in January, the Sony Pictures Classics-released Rehearsals for a Revolution presents a highly personal account of the various political and societal upheavals that have roiled Iran since the 1970s. Juxtaposing news reports, protest footage, and home movies shot by herself as well as friends and family members, Ahangarani offers an intimate look at how the country’s tumultuous past informs its unsettled present.
They’re Here depicts a crisis point closer to home with Poitras and Mueller filming on the streets of Minneapolis in the wake of the anti-ICE protests that resulted in the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. The 25-minute short will also screen at Doc NYC, as part of the festival’s Short List: Shorts program.
On the narrative side, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Mouse received WFF’s Best Narrative Feature award. Due in theaters in November, the follow-up to the duo’s acclaimed 2024 feature, Ghostlight, stars Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo as a mother grieving the sudden loss of her teenage daughter — a death that leaves the girl’s best friend (played by Katherine Mallen Kupferer) equally adrift. The Woodstock jury also awarded an honorable mention to Beth de Araújo’s Sundance-winning Josephine, which is seeking to join the Oscar conversation.
Two other buzzy Sundance titles received recognition from Woodstock juries as well. The documentary Nuisance Bear won the Best Cinematography prize, while the medieval fable Wicker — starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård — was awarded Best Editing.
A special Honorary Maverick Award was also presented to WFF’s outgoing executive director, Meira Blaustein, who co-founded the festival 26 years ago. Jessica Edwards will step into that role starting with the 2027 edition.
“To call this a dream job would be an understatement,” Edwards remarked in a statement obtained by Gold Derby. “I’m honored to build on the founders’ legacy and help shape the festival’s future. Woodstock’s history is shaped by its creativity, innovation, and independent spirit. I want to carry that spirit forward by bringing filmmakers and industry partners from around the world together with audiences here in the Hudson Valley. My vision for the festival is to create opportunities for people to meet, share ideas, and discover films together — connections that I hope will support filmmakers and inspire the next generation of cinema lovers.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Jessica at the Woodstock Film Festival over the past few years, and I have nothing but the greatest respect for her,” Blaustein remarked in her own statement. “As a filmmaker, a distribution consultant, and a former publicist, Jessica brings with her deep understanding, creative vision, and vast and strong contacts in the film industry. … I can’t wait to see what the next few years will bring.”
See the full list of Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Award winners below
Best Narrative Feature
Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson
Honorable Mention: Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo
Best Feature Documentary
Rehearsals for a Revolution, directed by Pegah Ahangarani
Made in the Hudson Valley Award
Rain Reign, directed by Erika Burke Rossa
Ultra Indie Award
Washed Up, directed by Isabel Moncloa Daly
Best Short Documentary
They’re Here, directed by Laura Poitras and Rachel Lauren Mueller
Honorable Mention: One Last Order, directed by Sam Soko and Lauren Defilippo
Best Short Narrative
Dongmei, directed by Rubing Zhang
Best Animation
Saba, directed by Liron Topaz
Honorable Mention: Virgin Fandango, directed by Marcy Page
Changemaker Award
Seized, directed by Sharon Liese
Best Cinematography
Nuisance Bear, directed by Jack Weisman & Gabriela Osio Vanden
Honorable Mention: The Great Experiment, directed by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar
Best Directing a Narrative Film
Rain Reign, directed by Erika Burke Rossa
Best Directing a Documentary Film
Our Dark Horse, directed by Grace Barry
Honorable Mention: Re/Pair, directed by Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Best Editing, Narrative
Wicker, edited by Sofi Marshall, ACE
Best Editing, Documentary
To Hold a Mountain, edited by George Cragg
Honorable Mention: Rehearsals for a Revolution, edited by Arash Ashtiani
Best Student Short
Bless the Telephone, directed by K.D. Chalk
