How to Attend 5 Film Festivals Virtually This Fall Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close

You Can Virtually Attend the Season s Best Film Festivals

Find out how to sign in to watch from the best seat in your house

metamorworks/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images , 51, declared at last week's Venice Film Festival press conference. Urging her audience and industry members to be courageous despite their pandemic fears, the surgical-mask-wearing Blanchett arrived at the Lido to head this year's jury at the festival, Europe's oldest and one of the “Big Five,” along with Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Toronto. International film festivals have long been out of the reach of the average American moviegoer. And yet, while this streaming era has been challenging for those for whom dinner and a movie has been central to their weekly routine, there is a silver lining. For AARP's avid movie watchers, the collateral benefit is that many domestic festivals have responded to the by migrating large parts of their programs online for the very first time. Home viewers have new access to elite and far-flung film festivals from their television consoles. Movie lovers from Poughkeepsie to Tulsa to Tempe can now access, for the price of admission, links to film offerings that might not have made it to their local cineplexes or art houses until deep into the fall prestige film season, if ever. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

Here s how to connect to five fantastic fall festivals in the U S br

New York Film Festival Sept 25 to Oct 11

Now in its 58th season, and boasting a vividly colored, irony-drenched film poster by the legendary John Waters, 74, the prestigious Gotham-based event has taken the lead in streamlining programming and migrating much of its content online for this social distancing era. Highlights: Frances McDormand, 63, makes another play for Oscar in Nomadland, written and directed by Chloe Zhao (The Rider), while Michelle Pfeiffer, 62, returns to the screen to close the festival with French Exit. Both are American premieres that won't open theatrically until December and early 2021. Online HQ: How to fest: General public tickets for . For a set fee, festival film links will be available to those in the United States and its territories for a specific time window. There's even a detailed support page with and an email help line. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Highlights: Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, the director of the 2016 creative biopic , which reaped a best actress nomination for star Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, returns with opening nighter Ema. The film, which will also play at the Toronto International Film Festival, pairs Gael Garcia Bernal (Neruda) and breakout Mariana Di Girolamo in the title role as a choreographer-dancer couple coping with an adoption gone awry set against a reggaeton backdrop. Online HQ: How to fest: Access to festival films is currently . Viewers have two options: a full festival pass at $150 for general admission or individual title links. While all films will be available via links, a minority will be available only to residents of Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland, where the festival is based.

Woodstock Film Festival Sept 30 to Oct 4 br

The self-described “fiercely independent” upstate New York event is a hipster destination for movie mavens — its annual prize is called the Maverick Award, and honorees have included Frida and The Glorias director , 67, who brought The Lion King to Broadway. Highlights: The 21st annual festival continues the trend of powerful documentaries of women in politics with Abby Ginzberg's Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks for Me. Sen. Cory Booker, the late Rep. John Lewis, actor Danny Glover and author Alice Waters are among those chiming in on camera in praise of the California congresswoman. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe How to fest: The festival has long played by its own rules and, rather than offering links to specific movies, has chosen to offer packages . For $150, access is provided to the entire festival, available virtually; $125 purchases films only, while just panels of speakers are $50.

The Hamptons International Film Festival Oct 10-14

In recent years the Hamptons festival has developed a reputation as a desirable destination on the awards circuit, with a history of programming the best picture Oscar winner (The Shape of Water, , ) months before it receives the statuette. (Full disclosure: I'm on the advisory board and have been attending since 1996.) This year, the festival has expanded to a seven-day virtual edition — fewer parties but more public access. Highlights: The Spotlight film The Father pairs , 80, and Olivia Colman as a dad and daughter coping with the cantankerous old man's declining mental capacity. A new documentary about the “Cats in the Cradle” and “Taxi” singer, Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something, includes concert footage and interviews with , 70, Pat Benatar, 67, and Billy Joel, 71. Online HQ: How to fest: For a fee, ticket purchasers will have access to a 48-hour window in which to watch the lion's share of the festival's features and shorts, as well as celebrity and filmmaker Q&A's. Individual tickets for virtual links to the general public will go on sale at the end of September. Keep an eye on things and make your plans, .

Montclair Film Festival Oct 16-25

Now in its ninth year, the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey postponed its March event due to COVID-19 and is repositioning itself in the packed fall season with virtual offerings. Highlights: This is the hometown festival of New Jersey resident and active participant Stephen Colbert, 56, whose wife, Evelyn, is president of the organization's board. In the past, Colbert has interviewed Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 59, and Meryl Streep, 71, at live festival benefits. Online HQ: How to fest: The full program will be announced Oct. 2. Montclair Film members will get first dibs on Oct. 5, and the general public can purchase access to links on Oct. 8. Keep an eye on things via the link, . More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS