Elliot Tiber is a struggling artist living in New York City in 1969. He receives a call from his parents, who own a motel in Bethel, New York, asking for financial assistance as their business is failing. Elliot returns to his hometown, where he learns that a proposed music festival in nearby Wallkill has been denied permits by the town board.
Desperate for business, Elliot contacts the organizers of the festival and offers his parents' motel as a venue. He becomes the liaison between the festival organizers and the town, navigating conflicts with local officials and business owners while trying to keep peace with his conservative Jewish parents. He also begins a romantic relationship with a Vietnam veteran named Billy, who has come to Bethel to find peace and escape from societal pressure.
As the festival approaches, it becomes clear that it will be much larger than anticipated. The roads leading to Bethel become gridlocked with traffic, and the festival-goers begin to set up camp on the surrounding farmland. Elliot and his family are swept up in the chaos and the spirit of the festival, which becomes a defining moment for the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
Taking Woodstock features a cast of notable actors, including Demetri Martin as Elliot Tiber, Eugene Levy as his father, and Imelda Staunton as his mother. The film is directed by Ang Lee, who won an Academy Award for Best Director for his work on Brokeback Mountain. It is based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.