IndependentFilm.com

New York, NY (October 5, 2010) – Today the Nantucket Film Festival (NFF) announced an expanded schedule for the 16^th edition of the popular island program, which will run from June 22-26, 2011, a week later than previous years. "We’ve been thinking about this move for a long time as a way to attract more families and take fuller advantage of the Nantucket High School,” said Executive Director Colin Stanfield. “Having the festival take place after the school year is complete will enable us to utilize the high school auditorium more effectively, bolster our destination appeal for traveling families and enable us to bring back our student filmmaking program, which in the past competed with the busy last week of school." 

 

The new schedule comes as NFF expands its Board with four recent additions: Chris Matthews and Kathleen Matthews, Donick Cary, Mark Famiglio, and Tom Scott.  Chris Matthews is best known as host of MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and the nationally syndicated “Chris Matthews Show.” His wife, Kathleen, is a corporate communications executive and former news producer, reporter and anchor for ABC-7 News in Washington, DC.  Donick Cary is an Emmy Award winning writer and producer and currently a co-executive producer on the HBO series “Bored to Death.” Mark Famiglio is the co-founder, owner and managing member of CopyTalk and is engaged in a triumvirate of business enterprises within the fields of real estate, information technology and aviation. Tom Scott is co-creator of Nantucket Nectars, founder of Plum TV, and co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series “The Neistat Brothers.”

 

For the sixteenth edition of the festival, the returning Teen View Filmmaker Program will focus on teaching high school students the fundamentals of great storytelling by employing digital technology and methods.  “Helping students cultivate an interest in storytelling through film is an important part of our mission,” said Artistic Director Mystelle Brabbée.  “NFF attracts some of the most talented storytellers from around the world, and the students get to work with them in creating their own short films. We’re thrilled to be offering this rare opportunity to teens on the island once again.”

 

Speaking about the impact the festival’s date move will have on the local economy, restaurateur Angela Raynor—who’s been an active supporter of NFF since the beginning—thinks it spells better things all around. “I was thrilled to learn the Nantucket Film Festival will re-introduce their Teen Program. My daughter Jacq participated with NFF as a teen juror several years ago and loved the experience,” said Ms. Raynor. “Every step the Festival takes toward involving more Island youth is a major win for our entire community, and drawing more attendees to the festival is imperative for our Island economy.”

 

Special guests who attended NFF 2010 included Academy Award winning winners Barry Levinson, Michael Arndt, Davis Guggenheim; Emmy Award winners Ben Stiller, Andy Samberg, Sarah Silverman; Academy Award nominees Elisabeth Shue and Steven Haft; Emmy Award nominee Stephanie Davis; Grammy Award winner Fiona Apple; Zach Galifianakis, Jonathan Ames, Brian Williams, Chris Matthews, Casey Neistat, Joana Vicente, Richard Corliss, Jess Cagle, Cody Gifford, and many more.

 

NFF was founded in 1996 to spotlight screenwriters, screenwriting and storytelling in today's cinema. The festival takes place every June on the idyllic island of Nantucket, MA. Now in its sixteenth year, NFF has become a prestigious annual event within the international film industry. The festival is a significant attraction that draws over ten thousand attendees, screenwriters, producers, agents and development executives each year.

 

For more information please visit our website at www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.

 

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