by Carl Oscar Olson
This year, the Nantucket Film Festival will be one for the books. With programs and events, films, features, and fun for every age and taste, everyone on-island can enjoy a night at the movies.
Take it all in at The Dreamland and beyond, from short films for the kids, fun and fascinating documentaries, independent films featuring your favorite screenwriters, directors, and actors, and a whole lot more. From June 22 to the 27, the Nantucket Film Festival is pulling out all the stops for 2022.
Now in its 27th year, the Film Festival was founded in 1996 by siblings Jill and Jonathan Burkhart. The two lived on Nantucket year-round and knew there was no better way to express not only their love for film, but for the entire island community. In 1997, Mystelle Brabbée joined the team and today serves as the Executive Director. NFF continues to thrive each year by always remaining true to its mission of honoring screenwriters and storytelling.
Over the quarter century it’s been held, Nantucket Film Festival has become one of the premier destination film festivals in the world. Visitors flock from all over to experience preview screenings, Signature Programs, and standout hospitality on Nantucket, where between the many festival events, they can enjoy our island’s rich history, fine dining, pristine nature, and beautiful beaches.
Wake up this week with the Film Fest’s Morning Coffee with… where you can start your day downtown with celebrity chat sessions at 9am with writers, actors, directors, and producers. As of press time, there are ticket available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings.
The Special Presentations for 2022 feature a wide range of unique and interesting films—from Fire of Love, a documentary delving into a story about a couple’s love for each other and their passion for volcanology, to the animated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a story stemming from a series of viral videos about 1-inch tell shell eking out an existence with his grandmother and their pet lint. The films Linoleum and Lightyear both explore space in very different ways, and 892 is a story about one man’s struggles with life after wartime.
This summer’s Spotlight Films are equally as eclectic, with showings of Cha Cha Real Smooth, a coming-of-age story about a party planner and unexpected love, and Emily the Criminal, with Aubrey Plaza as an art student struggling to make ends meet. Really Good Rejects follows Los Angeles luthier Reuben Cox and his famous followers, and Spin Me Round tells the story of an aspiring chef and her vacation from hell.
On Saturday, June 25 at 2:30 pm, enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime conversation with John Turturro and Ben Stiller following a Special Screening of the television show Severance, a sci-fi series about a surgical experiment that separates memories between one’s work and personal lives. Saturday evening, the Screenwriters Tribute will include distinguished hosts and presenters, including Ben Stiller, John Turturro, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Ramin Bahrani, Dakota Johnson, Cooper Raiff, Ophira Eisenberg, and Bethany van Delft.
New this year is a program initiative: Green Carpet Cinema. The Festival has a long history of going into the deeper reaches of film and using their platform to showcase its focus on the environment. As Nantucket continues to face increasingly severe impacts from sea level rise and stronger storms, Green Carpet Cinema opens the door for more active participation in the conversation. Be a part of this discussion by hearing the stories that our planet is telling us. Part science and part storytelling, this event weaves together the themes around climate change, sustainability, and the environment.
There are dozens of Feature Films to take in, all of which will be showing at The Dreamland Theater on South Water Street. What’s more, there are more than 20 unique Short Film Programs providing a quick laugh, a quick cry, and everything in between.
Levity Out Loud and It’s All Relative, both narrative programs, are sure to make you smile, think, and discover certain truths through family and fiction. Real Talk, centering on documentaries, honor heroes and traditions with true stories. And let’s not forget the kids: Kids’ Shorts show tales perfectly suited for the younger audience
For detailed schedules, showtimes, and details on all the festival events, visit nantucketfilmfestival.org. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 646-480-1900, or in-person at Festival Headquarters located across from the Atheneum Park at Zero India Street.
