The Nantucket Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its 18th iteration, running from June 26-30, opening with Morgan Neville’s documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” and closing with David Lowery’s Sundance hit “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
Just as “Brave” opened last year’s festival, Disney/Pixar’s upcoming “Monsters University,” has been set as this year’s traditional opening day film, while “In A World…” will be the centerpiece film. The four spotlight films selected are “Running From Crazy,” “Blackfish,” “Girl Most Likely,” and the recent SXSW standout “Drinking Buddies.” In addition to the spotlight films, this year’s program has been expanded from last year’s including the return of their Beach Screening series, with screenings of”The Princess Bride” and “Winged Migration.”
Speaking on the expanded lineup, Programming Director Daniela Bajar stated, “With a record-breaking number of submissions, this year’s film selection was particularly challenging, but we are incredibly proud of the wide range of distinct perspectives that we were able to include in the final film lineup.”
Meanwhile, David O. Russell, Lake Bell, and Barbara Kopple have been named as the recipients of the 2013 Screenwriters Tribute on June 29th.
“At the core of each year’s Festival is the Screenwriters Tribute, which gives our audience an inside look at the works of today’s finest film storytellers,” said Festival Director Mystelle Brabbée. “We are especially pleased with our three honorees this year. Writer/director David O. Russell’s singular vision has made a significant impact on American cinema, Barbara Kopple is one of the all-time great documentarians, and Lake Bell brings a refreshing new voice to comic screenwriting.”
Take a look at the full press release and lineup on page 2…
FILM LINEUP
A.C.O.D.
Director: Stuart Zicherman
Featuring a superb comic ensemble, A.C.O.D. is a sharp commentary on the idiosyncrasies of modern families.
Though Carter has been caught in the crosshairs of his parents’ bitter divorce for much of his life, he is
seemingly well-adjusted—until he discovers that he was featured in the definitive book on children of divorce.
He decides to set the record straight, and ends up proving to hilarious effect that we may grow up, but we never
escape our childhoods.
AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS
Director: David Lowery
Ain’t them Bodies Saints, a triumphant tale of estranged love, tells the story of Bob Muldoon
and Ruth Guthrie, an impassioned young outlaw couple on an extended crime spree, are finally
apprehended by lawmen after a shootout in the Texas hills. Although Ruth wounds a local officer,
Bob takes the blame. But four years later, Bob escapes from prison and sets out to find Ruth
and their daughter, born during his incarceration, while Ruth—compelled by the responsibilities
of motherhood and her evolving relationship with the deputy she shot—remains haunted by
her intense feelings for Bob. A poetic and stunningly shot film driven by powerful performances
that follows the lines of outlaw classics the likes of Bonnie and Clyde.
ANITA
Director: Freida Mock
In 1991, young, brilliant African American Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence
Thomas of sexual harassment during Senate hearings and ignited a firestorm about sexual
harassment, race, power, and politics. For the first time, in this riveting documentary Anita
Hill speaks on-camera about her experience and her impact on issues of gender, workplace
rights for women and men, social justice, and equality. Anita is stirring as both a personal and a
sociological document.
AUTENLAND
Director: Jerusha Hess
Austenland is a delightful and light-hearted romantic comedy about 30-something and single
Jane Hayes, a seemingly normal young woman with an unhealthy obsession with all things
Jane Austen. When she decides to spend her life savings on a trip to an English resort catering
to Austen–crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency–era gentleman
suddenly become more real. A smart and literate treat for Austen lovers.
BLACKFISH
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
One of the most talked about films at the Sundance Film Festival, Blackfish takes a close look at
orcas—majestic, friendly giants that are capable of killing viciously—and one orca in particular.
Unlike any orca in the wild, performing whale Tilikum has taken several lives while in captivity.
What went wrong? This wrenching story challenges humans’ relationship with nature and reveals
how little we have learned from these intelligent and sentient fellow mammals.
BLOOD BROTHER
Director: Steve Hoover
Winner of the Audience and Grand Jury Awards at Sundance, Blood Brother is an incisive
documentary—a transformative experience for audiences and filmmakers alike. Hoping to clear
his mind, Rocky traveled to India as a tourist. He visited an orphanage for children with HIV and
after a couple of months of repeat visits decided to stay and devote his life to them. Rocky’s
playful spirit and determination prove invaluable in the face of despair and formidable challenges.
C.O.G.
Writer/Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez
The first film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, C.O.G. is a smart study of convincingly
complicated characters. A cocky young man fresh out of Yale travels across the country to work
on an Oregon apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle picked apart by the eccentric
locals who cross his path. With nowhere else to go, though, he must swallow his pride and create
a place for himself.
CONCUSSION
Writer/Director: Stacie Passon
Concussion focuses on Abby, a forty-something married lesbian housewife who—after suffering
a blow to the head from her son’s baseball—confronts a mounting desire for something beyond
her suburban life. Walking the city streets, Abby recalls what it feels like to be sexy, and her pent-
up libido shakes off its inhibitions, inaugurating a double life as a high-end escort. Sensual and
contained, Concussion is a keen observation of the complicated contours of a midlife crisis.
CRYSTAL FAIRY
Director: Sebastian Silva
Largely entertaining, vigorously filmed odyssey hinges on a group of friends who decide to travel
north into the Atacama Desert to find the legendary San Pedro cactus that yields the mescaline
celebrated by Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception. Jaime, an obsessive and self-
absorbed American living in Chile, invites a complete stranger to come along failing to realize that
this free-spirited woman, Crystal Fairy, is ready and willing to accept any invitation that comes her
way challenging her male companions in ways they cannot predict. Michael Cera delivers one of
his best’s performances yet.
CUTIE AND THE BOXER
Director: Zachary Heinzerling
This candid New York story explores the 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing painter” Ushio
Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Ushio, now 80, is struggling to establish his artistic legacy, while
Noriko at last earns recognition for her own art—a series of drawings entitled “Cutie” that depict
her turbulent history with Ushio. Cutie and the Boxer wrestles with the eternal themes of sacrifice,
disappointment, and aging, against a background of lives dedicated to art.
DRINKING BUDDIES
Director: Joe Swanberg
In this sweetly sexy relationship comedy, Kate and Luke, who work together at a craft brewery,
have a friendship that feels like it could be more. But Kate is with Chris and Luke is with Jill—and
Jill wants to know whether Luke is ready to talk about marriage. The answer becomes clear when
Luke and Kate unexpectedly find themselves alone for a weekend. Drinking Buddies is a funny
and light-hearted film filled with superb performances.
FIRST COMES LOVES
Director: Nina Davenport
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage. For filmmaker
Nina Davenport, the nursery rhyme didn’t go as planned. Still single at age 40, she decides
to have a baby on her own–or rather, with the help of her best friend Amy as birth partner and
her gay friend Eric as sperm donor- documenting the process along the way. This honest, often
hilarious and extraordinarily brave documentary discusses basic human relationships: mother and
son, daughter and father, husband and wife, and how the modern family is being re-imagined.
GIDEON’S ARMY
Writer / Director: Dawn Porter
This powerful documentary follows Travis Williams, Brandy Alexander, and June Hardwick, three
young public defenders who represent the poor and disenfranchised in the Deep South. These
idealistic lawyers challenge the assumptions that drive the criminal justice system, reminding us
that the accused are innocent until proven guilty. They also live paycheck-to-paycheck, working
long hours and handling staggering caseloads. Stirring and eye-opening, Gideon’s Army won
a Grand Jury Prize and an Audience Award at the Miami Film Festival.
GIRL MOST LIKELY
Director: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
When wannabe New York socialite Imogene attends a bridal shower, she becomes frustrated
that her live-in boyfriend has still not yet proposed to her. She and her friends devise a plan to
manipulate him into marrying her, but the plan backfires and instead, he announces that he’s
leaving her. Desperate to win him back, Imogene plots to fake her own suicide as a ploy for
sympathy. But instead of winning him back, her eccentric mother Zelda and the rest of her family,
kidnap her and take her back to her home town in this comedy about love, family and finding your
roots.
GOD LOVES UGANDA
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Through vérité interviews and hidden camera footage, God Loves Uganda takes viewers inside
the evangelical movement in Uganda, where American missionaries have been credited with both
creating schools and hospitals and promoting dangerous religious bigotry. Shocking, horrifying,
touching, and enlightening, the film raises complex issues about religion and its meaning.
GOOD OL’FREDA
Writers: Jessica Lawson, Ryan White
Director: Ryan White
Freda Kelly was a shy Liverpool teenager when she was hired by a local band hoping to make
it big. That band was the Beatles, and loyal Freda would be the group’s secretary for 11 years.
In Good Ol’ Freda, one of few films with the support of the living Beatles and featuring original
Beatles music, she tells her stories for the first time, offering an insider’s perspective of the band
that changed music history.
HAITI REDUX
Director: Fredric King
With vivid footage of post-earthquake damage, Haitians who are struggling but coping, and
renewal projects that are moving ahead, Haiti Redux shows that there is hope. Urban planners
hear residents voice their ideas on how to rebuild their city. Engineers demonstrate low-cost
ways of collecting and filtering water. Artists and architects create light and airy residences and
community centers. A much-needed school is repaired. Land is acquired for a cramped urban
orphanage to move to a beautiful agricultural community. Shot in the span of three years, Haiti
Redux shows a country where progress is slow, but real.
I LEARN AMERICA
Directors: Jean-Michael Dissard, Gitte Peng
One High School, One School Year, Five New Americans. I Learn America is a fascinating
documentary that takes place at the International High School, a NYC public high school
dedicated to newly arrived immigrants from all over the world. Through the lives of five vibrant
teenagers we witness how they strive to master English, adapt to families they haven’t seen in
years, cope with a new culture while trying to maintain their own identity, and create a future of
their own. Amidst the complexity and diversity of American life in and out of school, they open
their lives, stories and struggles to the cameras while coming of age in a new land.
IN A WORLD…
Director: Lake Bell
Lake Bell shows her multiple talent as a writer-director-actor in her delightful feature debut In
A World…Clever, sweet and full of comedic grace, the film follows Carol Solomon, a struggling
vocal coach, who musters the courage to pursue her secret aspiration to be a voice-over
star after years living under the shadows of the reigning king of movie-trailer voice-over artists;
her father. Encouraged by sound technician and not so secret admirer Louis, Carol goes
after her first voice-over gig against not other than his father and industry raising star Gustav
Warner. Amidst pride, sexism, and family dysfunction, Carol sets out to fight the odds and finally
finds her voice.
LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM
Director: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine
When Sam was diagnosed with Progeria, an extremely rare and fatal disease characterized
by accelerated aging symptoms, Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns were told to simply enjoy
their son while they could. The doctors refused to believe this was the answer spearheading a
campaign to save Sam and the other children in the world who share his disease. In less than a
decade, their extraordinary advances have led to amazing discoveries and Sam is turning 16 this
year. Life According to Sam is an inspiring film about the power of family and how we make the
most of our lives in the time we are given.
LILY
Director: Matt Creed
Diagnosed with breast cancer and nearing the end of her treatment, Lily turns her focus to the
rest of her life with newfound clarity. Wandering through atmospheric New York City streets,
she reevaluates what she has built for herself, including her life with an older boyfriend and
her feelings about her long-absent father. Lingering in intimate, charged moments with Lily
during this vulnerable period, the film delivers a delicate and heartfelt portrait that deals with
life after cancer. Loosely based on the real-life experiences of co-writer and lead actress
Grantham, Lily is a mature, stylish character piece reminiscent of classic French New Wave.
LOST FOR LIFE
Director: Joshua Rofé
America is the only country that allows juvenile offenders to be sentenced to Life Without Parole,
currently there are more than 2,500 child lifers in the US. Lost for Life is an uncompromising
and urgent look at what it is to lock up a kid for life, both the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving’,
what that means for the kids, for the adults who have lived behind bars since childhood. And
what it says about us as a nation and a culture that we still wield this form of punishment on the
unformed. Are there alternatives for kids like these? Or do we simply throw them in the box and
dispose of them?
MAIDENTRIP
Director: Jillian Schlesinger
In the wake of a yearlong battle with Dutch authorities that sparked a storm of media scrutiny, 14-
year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest
person ever to sail around the world alone. Maidentrip depicts the young sailor’s brave, defiant
voice through video and voice recordings and intimate vérité footage from locations including the
Galápagos Islands, French Polynesia, Australia, and South Africa.
MONEY FOR NOTHING
Director: Jim Bruce
Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been
greater. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful financial institution on
earth. Money For Nothing is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of
their policies on our lives. Current and former Fed officials debate the decisions that helped lead
the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008, and why we might be headed there
again. This must-see documentary is filled with wonderful narrative and fascinating images that
capture the world of finance throughout the Twentieth Century.
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
Director: Dan Scanlon
Full of laughter and heart, Monsters University tells the story of Mike Wazowski, who since
he was a little monster has dreamed of becoming a scarer—and the best scarers come from
Monsters University. During Mike’s first semester there, he crosses paths with James P. “Sulley”
Sullivan, a natural-born scarer. The pair’s out-of-control competitive spirit gets them kicked out
of the university’s elite Scare Program. They need to work together, and with a bunch of misfit
monsters, to make things right.
MUSCLE SHOALS
Director: Greg “Freddy” Camalier
The town of Muscle Shoals in Alabama has been the unlikely breeding ground for some of
America’s most outstanding music. At the heart of Muscle Shoals is Rick Hall, who overcame
poverty and tragedy to found FAME Studios and bring black and white together to create music
that would endure for generations. Bono, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Percy Sledge,
Jimmy Cliff, Clarence Carter, and other major musical talents bear witness to the magnetism of
Muscle Shoals in this heartfelt account.
NEWLYWEEDS
Director: Shaka King
A Brooklyn repo-man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should
be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark ballad
of chemical dependency—part coming-of-age romance, part hallucinatory adventure. The
convincing performances and chemistry of the main characters deliver a truly authentic feel to this
beautifully layered, clear-eyed portrait of life in contemporary Brooklyn.
NORTHERN BORDERS
Director: Jay Craven
Northern Borders tells the story of ten year-old Austen Kittredge, who is sent by his father to
live on his grandparents’ Vermont farm, where he experiences wild adventures and uncovers
long-festering family secrets. It’s 1956 and the farm becomes a magical place for Austen, full of
eccentric people and his stubborn grandparents, whose thorny marriage is known as the Forty
Years War. A humorous and sometimes startling coming-of-age story, Northern Borders evokes
Vermont’s wildness, its sublime beauty, a haunted past, and an aura of enchantment.
OUR NIXON
Director: Penny Lane
Throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, three of his top White House aides—H.R. Haldeman,
John Ehrlichman, and Dwight Chapin—obsessively documented their experiences with Super 8
home movie cameras. A few years later the once idealistic trio would be in prison. This unique
visual record was seized by the FBI during the Watergate investigation, then filed away and
forgotten for almost 40 years. Our Nixon is a uniquely constructed all-archival documentary and
an intimate portrait of the Nixon presidency.
PASADENA
Director: Will Slocombe
Presided over by eminent scholar and patriarch Poppy, the Turner’s clan Thanksgiving holiday
turns into a disastrous weekend when black sheep daughter Nina pays her first visit home
in 15 years. Nina immediately clashes with stepmother, Deborah, and competes with her
siblings for Poppy’s affection – and money. The family gradually disintegrates over who will get
Poppy’s money – only to discover Poppy has his own bad news to share… With outstanding
performances by Peter Bogdanovich, this dysfunctional family drama explores how a family deals
with honesty, love, and deception.
RUNNING FROM CRAZY
Director: Barbara Kopple
Hailed as one of the most distinguished families in American literature, the Hemingways
have always exposed both their bright brilliance and their harrowing secrets. Running From
Crazy follows actress Mariel Hemingway, a granddaughter of the legendary writer Ernest, as she
explores her family’s disturbing history of mental illness and suicide. Evocative home movies
shot by Mariel’s supermodel sister, the late Margaux Hemingway, shape the actress’ courageous
journey of acceptance.
SHORT TERM 12
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at
SXSW, Short Term 12 is the touching and uplifting story of Grace, a twenty-something social
worker who has channeled the demons of her own troubled past into a passion for helping
at-risk teens. Her newest ward, Jayden, forces Grace to relive her own difficult upbringing
just as she and her boyfriend Mason are on the cusp of making a decision that will change
their lives. Funny, moving and surprising, the film delivers an emotional powerhouse through
tremendous performances and a smart script.
SOME GIRL(S)
Director: Daisy Von Scherler Mayer
Based on his play by the same name, Neil LaBute’s script follows a successful writer who, on
the eve of his wedding, travels across the country to meet up with ex-lovers in an attempt to
make amends for past relationship transgressions. Crisscrossing from Seattle to Boston, he
reunites with high school sweetheart Sam, sexually free-spirited Tyler, married college professor
Lindsay, his best friend’s little sister Reggie, and “the one that got away” Bobbi. An astute and
provocative film about the journey of a man stumbling through a familiar landscape to most of us –
messy breakups.
THE COLD LANDS
Director: Tom Gilroy
When Atticus’ mother dies unexpectedly, the eleven year old flees the authorities to survive
on his own in the forests of The Catskill Mountains. Wandering the woods in shock, relying on
what meager food and shelter he comes across, his grasp of reality wears thin. Atticus latches
onto the eccentric Carter, a scruffy wildman who lives out of his car, chain-smokes pot, and
sells handmade necklaces on the music festival circuit. A wary alliance forms, with each of them
dependent on the other, but neither sure he’s making the right decision. An original, thoughtful
and beautifully shot coming of age film imbued with a strong spirit of place, independence and
personal choice.
THE CRASH REEL
Director: Lucy Walker
The Crash Reel takes an exhilarating ride through the life of Kevin Pearce, the American
snowboarding champion. While preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and
challenging the dominance of his friend and rival Shaun White, Pearce experienced a life-
changing crash. This moving portrait shows how an extraordinary family came together to help a
gifted athlete rediscover himself as a brain injury survivor and find purpose and meaning in the
wake of a lost dream.
THE DIRECTOR
Director Christina Voros
An intimate portrait of Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini, The Director spans 18 months
behind the walls of the legendary Italian fashion house, exploring the intricacies and inspiration
of the quietly brilliant power woman, whose own evolution as the brand’s creative force is as
nuanced as that of the fashion house itself. Produced by multitalented James Franco, The
Director features unprecedented access to Giannini’s creative process from the selection of
fabrics, the casting of runaway models, and her search for inspiration in the fashion house’s rich
archive, the cinema, and life.
THE HUNT
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
The Hunt is a riveting depiction of gossip, doubt, and malice igniting a witch-hunt that threatens
to destroy an innocent man’s life. Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award at the 2012 Cannes
Film Festival for his penetrating portrayal of Lucas, a former schoolteacher starting over after a
divorce and the loss of his job. Just as things are looking up, an untrue remark throws his small
community into a collective state of hysteria.
THE SHORT GAME
Director: Josh Greenbaum
The Short Game follows the lives of eight of the best 7-year old golfers in the world as they
train for and compete in the World Championships of Junior Golf, alongside 1500 young golfers
from 54 different countries to determine who will be crowned golf’s next phenom. In its course,
the eight stories entwine to form a fascinating and often funny portrait of a group of very young
athletes and their families, in which the narrow-focused, peculiar and highly competitive junior golf
subculture becomes both a window into contemporary global society.
THE SPECTACULAR NOW
Director: James Ponsoldt
In this funny and poignant coming-of-age tale, an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed
snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth. Sutter Keely, a charming high
school senior with a flask full of Seagram’s and a quip always at hand, just lets life happen.
After being dumped, he unexpectedly falls in love with a “good girl.” The film won U.S. Dramatic
Special Jury Award for Acting at Sundance.
TOUCHY FEELY
Writer / Director: Lynn Shelton
With great performances by a remarkable ensemble cast, Touchy Feely examines massage
therapist Abby, who develops an uncontrollable aversion to body contact. Meanwhile, rumors of
her brother Paul’s “healing touch” miraculously begin to invigorate his flagging dental practice,
as well as his life outside the office. As Abby navigates her way through an identity crisis, her
formerly skeptical brother discovers a whole new side of himself.
TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM
Director: Morgan Neville
Twenty Feet From Stardom shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers
behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking,
the film is both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music and
a reflection on the conflicts, sacrifices, and rewards of a career spent harmonizing with others.
TWO WHO DARED: THE SHARPS’ WAR
Director: Artemis Joukowsky III
During WWII, Reverend Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha battled political and social blockades,
broke laws to get imperiled individuals exit visas, and laundered money on the black market in
order to enable the clandestine transportation of refugees. Over the course of two missions: in
Prague (1939), and in Southern France (1940), the Sharps, and their underground confederates,
played a vital role in saving hundreds from persecution. Through the inspiring true story of
Waitstill and Martha Sharp, Two Who Dared: The Sharps’ War reveals a timeless lesson of
personal sacrifice and courage to be shared with future generations.
WADJDA
Writer / Director: Haifaa Al Mansour
Ten-year-old Wadjda desperately wants a bicycle to race her friend Abdullah. But Wadjda’s
mother fears repercussions from a society that sees bicycles as dangerous to a girl’s
virtue. Wadjda’s only chance is to win a Koran recitation competition at her school for a cash
prize. The first film shot in Saudi Arabia by a female director, Wadjda is a charming story that
unveils the everyday frustrations Saudi women shoulder, while offering hope of change for the
next generation.
WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL
Director / Producer: Ben Nabors
In his native Malawi, 14-year-old William Kamkwamba teaches himself to build a power-
generating windmill from junk parts and successfully rescues his family from poverty and
famine. Celebrated in the developing world, he meets American entrepreneur Tom Rielly, who
becomes his mentor and helps him imagine a new future. Fame, opportunity, stress, and isolation
follow. William and the Windmill won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW 2013.
WOOD / SAIL / DREAMS
Writer / Director / Producer: John Stanton
Forty years ago, the rise of fiberglass boats nearly pushed wooden sailboats to the brink of
extinction. Wood/Sails/Dreams examines the resurgence of wooden boats, and the way of life
that was built alongside those boats, through the stories of the men and women whose days were
spent chasing the romantic notion of repairing wooden boats to live on and to charter.
The 18th Annual Nantucket Film Festival will take place this year from June 26 – 30. For further
information on the 2013 Nantucket Film Festival, please visit www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.
ABOUT THE NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL
The Nantucket Film Festival was founded by brother and sister team Jill and Jonathan Burkhart
in 1996. The Burkharts lived on the island year round, and with their love of movies and the
community, they knew it was the perfect place to begin a film festival. In 1997, Mystelle Brabbee
joined the team and today serves as the Festival Director. NFF continues to thriller, always
remaining true to its mission. These days, NFF has become one of the premiere destination film
festivals in the world. Visitors come from all over to experience our preview screenings, signature
programs, and stand out hospitality on a magical island rich with history, a friendly atmosphere,
and beautiful sandy beaches.
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