Mahon About Town Nantucket Blog

The 12th Annual Nantucket Film Festival will run from June 13 to 17th this year, Here’s a first look.

According to Executive Director Jill Burkhart and Artistic Director Mystelle Brabbée, the opening film will be Evening, directed by Lajos Koltai and adapted by Susan Minot and Michael Cunningham from Ms. Minot’s best-selling novel. The mother-and-daughter-themed feature stars Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Mamie Gummer, Eileen Atkins, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. Several of the actors will be in attendance for the showing. Evening opens in nationally on June 29th.

The closing film will be the high school comedy Rocket Science, written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Other films will include the Centerpiece film Son of Rambow, written and directed by Garth Jennings; and I Am An Animal.

Academy Award winning screenwriter Robert Benton will be the NBC Universal Screenwriter Honoree this year, to take place on Saturday, June 16th. Benton has created classic films such as Bonnie and Clyde (as co-screenwriter), Kramer vs. Kramer (as director/screenwriter), and Places in the Heart (as director/screenwriter). His newest film The Feast of Love, will be released this fall.

A newly established Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award will, in conjunction with The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, award a cash prize annually to a promising female writer/director at the Festival. The foundation was founded by the late filmmaker’s husband, Andy Ostroy, to honor her and support the artistic achievements of female writers, directors, and actors through scholarships and grants.