The New Hampshire Film Festival
Annual Event Now Attracts 6,000 Visitors, Screens More than 50 Films
Dec 23, 2008
With a lineup that includes films from Sundance, Berliner, and Cannes, the New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF) is emerging as a major annual event, bringing thousands of fans to the historic Seacoast city of Portsmouth.
The NHFF’s mission is to celebrate the art of filmmaking by uniting students, filmmakers, and screenwriters with industry experts, educators, and film aficionados for a weekend of discovering and discussing films.
Films screened at NHFF have gone on to receive critical acclaim and national distribution. Last year's Grand Jury Award Winner, On Broadway and Best Feature Film Winner, The Sensation of Sight, went on to earn theatrical releases, while The Trials of Darryl Hunt, the 2007 Grand Jury Award Winner, and the short film Binta and the Great Idea received Academy Award Nominations.
2008 New Hampshire Film Festival Highlights
Highlights from the 2008 festival included visits by former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, profiled in the documentary, “Bill Spaceman Lee: High and Outside;” and “I.O.U.S.A” director (and “Super Size Me” producer) Patrick Creadon.
The panel discussion for “I.O.U.S.A.,” a documentary that examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences, was a festival highlight. The talk included US senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire), who was also featured in the film
Another memorable segment was the screening of the origami documentary “Between the Folds,” which was followed by a demonstration by Michael Fosse, one of the film's featured artists.
The 2008 festival also saw the launch of the Van McLeod Award, named in honor of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources commissioner, recognizing a significant contribution to film or TV industry. The inaugural award went to Chase Bailey, general manager for Left Bank Films (Paris, Portsmouth), executive producer of “The Libertine” and “Drunkboat.”
2008 New Hampshire Film Festival Winners
- Best Short Comedy: “Cutlass,” directed by Kate Hudson
- Best Short Drama: “Centigrade,” directed by Colin Cunningham and Madison Graie
- Best Animation: “The Magistical,” directed by John Cernak and Danny Oakley; written by John Cernak
- Best Student Award: “The Abattoir,” written and directed by T.J. Volgare
- Best Documentary Award: “I.O.U.S.A.,” directed by Patrick Creadon
- Grand Jury Award: “The Life Before Her Eyes,” directed by Vadim Perelman, written by Emil Stern Best Best Feature: “The Unknown Woman,” written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
- Best Screenplay: “The Stunning Box,” by David Bertoni
- Audience Choice: “Between the Folds,” a feature-length documentary directed by Vanessa Gould.
New Hampshire-related Awards
- New Hampshire Documentary Film Award: “Communities and Consequences,” director/writer Jay Childs
- New Hampshire Film of the Year Award: “Sick Sex” directed by Justin Nowell, co-written with Thomas Nowell.
- Van McLeod Award: Chase Bailey, Left Bank Films, Portsmouth.
Portsmouth is an ideal setting for a weekend festival, enabling visitors stroll through art galleries, shop at high-end boutiques, eat at gourmet restaurants, and imbibe the city’s 400-year past through its historic sites and architecture.
The NHFF is a nonprofit corporation. Contact festival director Nicole Gregg (603.647.6439) for more information.
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