Ben Stiller and Mike Birbiglia to Co-host 2018 Screenwriters Tribute; Adam Driver and Garrett Hedlund to Present
June 20 – 25, Island of Nantucket
Over the past twenty two years on the beautiful Island of Nantucket, the Nantucket Film Festival
(NFF) has mixed highly anticipated awards contenders with the fi lms of talented emerging and
established filmmakers. NFF has brought together the film industry’s most recognized screenwriters
and storytellers, including Tom McCarthy, Oliver Stone, Steve Martin, Judd Apatow, Tom McCarthy,
Beau Willimon, Kathryn Bigelow, Sarah Silverman, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Diane Keaton,
Robert Towne, Glenn Close, and Aaron Sorkin. NFF has also produced the All-Star Comedy
Roundtable Presented by Ben Stiller, and the insightful conversation series In Their Shoes With…®,
which has included Robin Wright and Beau Willimon with Chris Matthews, Tom McCarthy with
Bobby Cannavale, Molly Shannon with Michael Ian Black, and Bradley Whitford with Chris Matthews.
NFF’s star-studded six days of non-stop, jam packed special jewel in its crown is the Screenwriters Tribute held on Saturday, June 23, 2018. It’s the ticket not to be missed.
Actor, writer, director and producer Ben Stiller (THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), TROPIC THUNDER, MEET THE PARENTS) and actor/comedian Mike Birbiglia (DON’T THINK TWICE, TRAINWRECK) will
co-host.
Actor Adam Driver (STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, Jim Jarmusch’s PATERSON, Spike Lee’s BLACKKKLANSMAN) will present the Screenwriters Tribute Award to Oscar®-nominated writer/director Noah Baumbach. Driver has appeared in Baumbach’s THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), WHILE WE’RE YOUNG and FRANCES HA, and recently completed shooting Baumbach’s latest feature opposite Scarlett Johansson.
Actor Garrett Hedlund (MUDBOUND, BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK) will present Andrew Heckler with the New Voices in Screenwriting Award. Hedlund stars alongside Forest Whitaker and Andrea
Riseborough in Heckler’s Sundance Audience Award-winner BURDEN, which will screen at the Festival.
There’s always great anticipations of the opening night fi lm selection. For the 2018 festival it’s Sony Pictures Classics’ BOUNDARIES, written and directed by Shana Feste. The film tells the story of single mom Laura (Vera Farmiga) who is forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing father Jack (Christopher Plummer) from Seattle to LA after he is kicked out of a retirement home. The comedy also stars Bobby Cannavale, Peter Fonda, Christopher Lloyd, and Kristen Schaal.
CNN Films’ LOVE, GILDA, directed by Lisa D’Apolito will close the festival. The documentary reveals the personal side of iconic comedian Gilda Radner through rare personal recordings and journal entries.
Morgan Neville’s (2018 NFF Honoree) WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? will screen as the festival’s centerpiece film. The documentary depicts the life and legacy of the late Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and a longtime Nantucket resident.
For the ninth year in a row, NFF will screen a Disney• Pixar film on opening day. This year the
studio will showcase the anticipated animated feature INCREDIBLES 2, with Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson, John Ratzenberger, and director Brad Bird reprising their characters from the first film.
Returning programs at this year’s Festival include In Their Shoes…®, a conversation between MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Noah Baumbach, Adam Driver, and Ben Stiller; as well as the daily Morning Coffee With…®, a daily kick-off discussion between attending writers, directors, and new host Tom Cavanagh (The Flash, Ed).
Also returning is Women Behind the Words, sponsored by Lifetime, which had its inaugural event in 2015, focused on gender inequality in the entertainment industry. Following a year of new conversations and developments in the wake of #MeToo and the Time’s Up movements, NPR’s Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg will moderate a conversation to discuss what comes next. Guests include actresses Jeanne
Tripplehorn (Big Love, WE ONLY KNOW SO MUCH) and Alysia Reiner (Orange Is the New Black, EGG), television writer/producer Sera Gamble (Lifetime’s upcoming You, The Magicians), and actress, director, and producer Miranda Bailey (SWISS ARMY MAN, YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY).
Additional film programming announced as part of the 2018 Festival includes a special screening
of documentary feature BALLET NOW, directed by Steven Cantor, and executive produced by Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and actress Elisabeth Moss, on the fi nal day of the Festival, Monday, June 25. Cantor will also be present for a post-screening conversation.
This intimate documentary provides a candid behind-the-scenes look at the world of ballet, following New York City Ballet’s Prima Ballerina Tiler Peck, the first woman to curate the Music Center’s famed BalletNOW, as she attempts a fresh new approach by merging the worlds of ballet, tap, and hip-hop together through a groundbreaking one-of-a-kind performance. Throughout the film, as Tiler faces the demands of an incredibly challenging production, she is driven to show young people the beauty,
possibilities and freedom of dance and expression. Executive Producer, Paul G. Allen has always had a passion and commitment for the classical arts, and hopes that showcasing the ballet world and the arts as a whole will continue to inspire and engage younger audiences, while affecting enthusiasts.
Also revealed were six Short Film Programs, including Miguel Alvarez’s ATLANTIC CITY featuring Raúl Castillo, Ross Kauffman’s BOY BOY GIRL GIRL featuring Katie Holmes, Pete Lee’s DON’T BE A HERO featuring Missy Pyle, and Tom Cavanagh’s TOM AND GRANT featuring Cavanagh and Grant Gustin, his costar
from The Flash; as well as a new program putting the spotlight on some of the year’s most-honored shorts.
The Short Film groupings and descriptions will lead you to want to see each of them; COMEDY, REMIXED: Humorous stories showcasing comedy in all its shades; EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT:
In these narrative shorts, when things are going wrong, you can wait for the tide to turn or fix it yourself; IT’S ALL TRUE: Nonfiction stories – animated, interviewing, reminiscing, probing, reporting, observing, and illuminating; KIDS SHORTS: Live-action and animated stories for children ages four and up; LIFE CHAPTERS: Two true stories of women asserting their rights during the Sexual Revolution and terminally-ill patients claiming their power in their last days; and SHORTS OF THE YEAR: A collection of official selections and jury winners from the best film festivals around the world. Pre-game your
Oscar Shorts selections here.
Finally, the third edition of Enter the Story: Virtual Reality Experiences has been unveiled, including MY AFRICA, narrated by Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o; TAKE EVERY WAVE: LAIRD IN VR featuring Laird Hamilton; and immersive titles straight from the VR arcades at SXSW and Tribeca: DINNER PARTY, FIRE ESCAPE, and MY JOURNEY
The Nantucket Film Festival was founded by brother and sister team Jonathan and Jill Burkhart in 1996 to promote the cultural awareness and appreciation of the fine art of screenwriting in the world of cinema. Since then, NFF has become one of the premier destination film festivals in the world. Visitors come from all over the world to experience the preview screenings, unique signature programs, and stand out hospitality on a magical island rich with history, a friendly atmosphere, and beautiful sandy beaches. In addition to screening over one hundred fi lms across six days, NFF presents the Screenwriters Tribute, In Their Shoes…®, our daily Morning Coffee With…®, and other Signature Programs.
The 23rd Annual Nantucket Film Festival runs from June 20-25, 2018. Festival passes and ticket packages are currently on sale now on the NFF’s website (www.nantucketfilmfestival.org).
