Screenings for the festival will take place at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts and the historic Palace Theatre.

This year’s program includes over 20 feature films and 30 short films, all of which showcase the diverse cinematic achievements of filmmakers around the globe and in upstate New York.

The festival kicks off with a special 30th anniversary of the sports comedy “Cool Runnings.” Jon Turteltaub’s heartwarming film about the first Olympic Jamaican bobsled team will be introduced by Chris Stokes, the president of the Jamaican Bobsled Federation and one of the original members of the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team and Olympic bobsled announcer John Morgan as they reflects on the rich history of the Olympic Games in the Lake Placid community. The festival will also host 50th anniversary celebrations of “The Exorcist” and “Charlotte’s Web.”

The Festival Circuit Hits selection is headlined by the upstate New York premiere of “The Old Oak.” Ken Loach’s final film focuses on the patrons of an English pub who find their lives changed by the introduction of Syrian refugees in their community.

The festival will also host the upstate New York premiere of Nick Broomfield’s music documentary, “The Stones and Brian Jones.” Additional films in this selection include Ally Pankiw’s “I Used to be Funny,” starring Rachel Sennott; Federick Wiseman’s Michelin Star documentary, “Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros”; and Germany’s 2023 International Film Oscar entry, lker Catak’s “The Teachers’ Lounge.”

The festival will also celebrate the works of filmmakers in New York. This program includes the world premiere of Candice “Candy” Cain’s latest holiday tale of found family, “Christmas for Three.” Cain, along with many of the cast and crew, will be in attendance for the screening of this Hallmark-inspired film.

Selections in this program also highlight upstate New York filmmaking, such as the “518 Network Shorts Block,” which celebrates the next generation of upstate filmmakers. Additional selections include Spencer Sherry’s adaptation of the Stephen King short story, “The Monkey,” as well as Pedro Chaves’ exploration of family traditions, “The Cookbook” and a special work-in-progress screening of Denis Mueller’s touching documentary of festival founder and writer, “Russell Banks: I Write in Order to be a Better Person.”

The full slate of films for the festival can be found at adirondackfilm.org.