The Lake Placid Film Forum is an annual event which, like a film festival, exhibits a series of films and often features the filmmakers and cast members who attend the screenings.  As a “forum,” the atmosphere of the event engenders reflection and contemplation of the medium.  Unfettered by the extraneous farrago of paparazzi and set in the picturesque and secluded Adirondack Mountains, the Film Forum is a unique event where industry professionals can come together.  Here the public find the films and their representatives accessible, and students and emerging artists are provided educational opportunities.

The LPFF was co-founded in 2000 by author Russell Banks, former New York Daily News Critic Kathleen Carroll and artist Naj Wikoff.  The non-profit organization “The Adirondack Film Society” was formed that year with the LPFF as its annual and principal program.  The films are selected by Artistic Director Kathleen Carroll, with artistic support from Russell Banks, the counsel of a Board of Directors, and Project Specialist T J Brearton.  Regional films are submitted for a showcase called North Country Shorts.  In 2006, the LPFF introduced a 24 hour Student Filmmaking Competition called “Sleepless in Lake Placid,” which has become a great ancillary success.