Nantucket Film Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary

Boston Globe

7 days ago

Brabbée said this year's festival feels like both a celebration and reunion as past festivalgoers, talent, staff members, filmmakers, and community members prepare to return to Nantucket.
'We're really excited to have so many people who have been part of the festival's fabric over the years be woven back in,' she said. 'And of course, the audience, we're really excited to just share what we've created for them.'
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For over a year, Brabbée and her team have planned numerous events to celebrate NFF's three decades of storytelling. One of those is this year's seaside garden soiree, '
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Elin Hilderbrand
Nantucket Film Festival
Brabbée also highlighted an event where journalist Lesley Stahl will lead a discussion with historian Nathaniel Philbrick
and filmmaker Ken Burns
about Burns's new 12-hour documentary series, '
After a seven-year hiatus,
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The heart of the festival, of course, is film.
The week kicks off with a pre-festival screening on June 24 of NFF's centerpiece film, '
The documentary celebrates the film's cultural impact with never-before-seen footage from director Steven Spielberg. It'll be followed by a panel discussion of the film's effects on the industry and the public's perception of sharks.
Then on the festival's official first day, NFF has two films lined up.
There's the documentary '
from 2017 to 2023 as she navigates national crises and motherhood.
For those interested in a more narrative film, there's '
Film still of Jacinda Ardern working from home with her baby from "Prime Minister."
Nantucket Film Festival
Basil Tsiokos, NFF's senior programmer, said figuring out an opener for a festival can be challenging because it's about getting a sense of what audiences want to see while considering the tone being set for the rest of the festival.
'I think that's one of the reasons why we did two films for opening night, is to kind of capture the complexity of a festival that celebrates not only screenwriting fictional, but also storytelling in the sort of documentary sense,' Tsiokos said. 'So, both of those films are incredibly strong and so we thought it was a great way to kick things off.'
Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney in "Twinless."
Nantucket Film Festival
Outside of the documentaries and features, Anita Raswant, NFF's lead programmer, highlighted the shorts programming as a great selection that allows audiences to take in strong stories in shorter segments.
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With so many offerings, the NFF team emphasized festivalgoers' ability to personalize their experiences, so they can get the most out of their trips to Nantucket and enjoy the festival community.
'It is important to gather people together to watch film,' Tsiokos said. 'Films open up the world to audiences and, yes, you can get access to films down the line, on streamers and on whatever, which is great, and that's part of the ecosystem as well, but there's something to be said for being in person.'
NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL
June 25-30. Single screening tickets start at $20. For more information, including films, locations, and screening times, visit