Meira Blaustein is preparing to leave the Woodstock Film Festival after 26 years spent building it from a four-venue gathering into one of the Hudson Valley’s signature cultural events.

“It feels to be the right time,” Blaustein said. “We had a great run and the festival is only going to continue to grow from here.”

The festival said Wednesday that Blaustein, its co-founder, executive director, and head programmer, will step down at the end of 2026. She intends to remain an adviser while consulting with other film festivals and producing movies.

Who will take her place remains undisclosed, although Blaustein suggested an announcement won’t be far off.

“A wonderful new successor will be announced well before the end of the year,” she said.

Asked whether someone had already been selected, Blaustein demurred.

“Everyone is just going to have to wait to find out,” she said.

The festival launched in 2000 and has expanded under Blaustein’s leadership from four venues in Woodstock to screenings and events across the region. Each fall, it draws filmmakers and moviegoers to theaters, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses.

“Meira defined and redefined Ulster County’s place as a mecca for creators, and her focus on what is unique, different, and passionate has indeed become foremost in people’s minds when they think of Ulster County,” said Lisa Berger, director of Ulster County Tourism and the Ulster County Film Office.

Born and raised in Israel, Blaustein developed an interest in movies as a teenager. Blaustein worked at the Poughkeepsie-based Hudson Valley Film Festival from 1995 to 1999 before deciding to start a festival of her own. She initially considered New Paltz as its home but eventually developed relationships in Woodstock that helped launch the event with her then-husband, the late Laurent Rejto.

Since its debut at four Woodstock venues, the festival has expanded to Saugerties, Rosendale, Rhinebeck, and Kingston, where its awards ceremony has also been held. The inaugural festival received 200 film submissions. More than 3,000 films were submitted for this year’s festival, scheduled for Oct. 14 to 18.

The event attracts nearly 10,000 filmmakers and moviegoers annually, according to the festival. It has rented numerous venues over the years, including Bearsville Theater, Utopia Studios, Colony Woodstock, Tinker Street Cinema, and the Woodstock Playhouse.

The festival has also helped establish the region as a destination for filmmakers, some of whom later moved to the Hudson Valley. David Becker was among them.

Becker attended the 2006 festival for a screening of “Shut Up & Sing,” a documentary about the Dixie Chicks, now known as The Chicks. He worked on the film, which Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple co-directed.

Taken with the area and its film community, Becker moved to Saugerties a few years later. The move helped set the stage for “To Be Forever Wild,” a documentary he directed about the Catskill Mountains.

“Meira was always so supportive of the project,” said Becker who now lives in Las Vegas but returns to Woodstock annually.

Under Blaustein’s leadership, the festival attracted prominent actors, filmmakers, and musicians, including Natalie Portman, Lucy Liu, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Adrian Grenier, Kopple, Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon of Phish, and U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr.

One encounter Blaustein is unlikely to forget involved Peter Gabriel. The musician attended the 2004 festival, which began four days after Blaustein broke her arm in a car crash. A pickup truck had struck her vehicle after failing to stop at a red light at the intersection of routes 28 and 375.

“I had a cast for the festival,” she said. “Peter Gabriel signed my cast. Everybody who was there signed my cast. It was very valuable. I did not want to get rid of it.”

John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.