WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
AIDAN PETERSON
COMING SOON
TRAILER
The Woodster is a film about waiting a moment. The beauty of sitting through the sunset as the bugs become unbearable. The tragedy of not visiting a friend one final time. The film contends with the nerves of getting it wrong. What if you waited too long? What if you rushed through it?
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
AIDAN PETERSON
From LeftFront Media and Insert Society Here (ISH) comes The Woodster, written and directed by Aidan Peterson, starring Casey Peterson and Elijah Olachea.
Grieving the passing of his father, Charlie volunteers to take his girlfriend’s estranged dad to a wedding on what should be a 10 hour drive. Woody, compensating for a wasted life of big dreams and bigger failures, agrees to go on one condition: he drives.
The two embark on a perilous journey of ever increasing misjudgments, pitfalls and other self-induced predicaments. It is an action packed introspective on facing up to your fears. Comedic moments, rich thoughtful dialogue, and tender confessions are accompanied by beautiful original music and sweeping cinematography that nods to classic westerns.
Director Aidan Peterson wrote the script for The Woodster at just 19. Laura Cobas produces. The film was crewed exclusively by current students and recent graduates of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
CHARACTERS
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
The Woodster is a film about waiting a moment. The beauty of sitting through the sunset as the bugs become unbearable. The tragedy of not visiting a friend one final time. The film contends with the nerves of getting it wrong. What if you waited too long? What if you rushed through it?
Originated from a regret to have one last moment with my beloved high school cinema studies teacher, and inspired by an uncomfortably long entrapment with my girlfriend’s grandfather inside a Starbucks, the film is a road trip we’ve all been on before.
I set out to make a film that captured how long one more hour can feel on the wrong road. To make us question the times we’ve shunned our parents’ conversation in a car. Perhaps to make you consider that silence is an appropriate conversation.
We aimed to create a patient camera that feels like you’re sitting in the backseat. We stayed wide to emphasize the vastness of the world and the relative size our problems can have. Most of all, we set out to craft a film that would make you want to text your parents, and I hope that text is to plan a hike.
WRITER AND DIRECTOR
AIDAN PETERSON
JAN. 2026
In such a vast world, The Woodster exists within the relationship of two people, connected by seemingly nothing other than their misfortunes. It encourages us to slow down, cherish our moments with one another, and be present. It asks us to travel, to explore, and to find peace in our surroundings. It reassures us to push through our nerves and to give ourselves grace in our mistakes. And it is absolutely a scenic route worth the turn.
