NH Film Festival put these vital stories on display
By Meagan Wisecarver, news@seacoastonline.com
Oct 21, 2019 at 3:15 AM Oct 21, 2019 at 7:53 AM
PORTSMOUTH — There was chemically-induced love in a small town, an expensive opal purchase at the center of a gambling scheme, plenty of teenage angst, stomachs full of hotdogs, athletes struggling for acceptance, bees just trying to have a good day, horror in a lighthouse, unexpected friendships, varied perspectives on the fishing industry, and many more stories told through cinema as this year's 19th annual New Hampshire Film Festival came to a close yesterday.
The weekend provided audiences and filmmakers with an opportunity to learn highs and lows of movie production, what it takes to get to a final cut, and what effects a film might have after its release.
The creators of "Mass Hysteria" told movie-goers about their grueling overnight shooting schedules conflicting with their full-time day jobs. ESPN producer of "The Good, The Bad, and the Hungry," Gentry Kirby, talked about the responsibility of respecting the very real people at the heart of any documentary, saying "They're still living their lives. A lot of times, when we do documentaries on people, it's hard when it's still so close. You'd think ten years, or twelve years isn't that close, but it really is."
Sunday, the final day of the four-day weekend, started with the presentation of the festival's coveted "Granny Awards" at The Press Room. In addition to the superlative title and general bragging rights, winners received a 10-pound granite trophy, the "heaviest award in the film industry," according to festival documents, to place on their shelves.
"Thank you for having us. This has been a new venue this year, and we couldn't be more thrilled to be here. … It really has been a very special weekend for all of us here. The community, the filmmakers, the jury members, all of the businesses and sponsors. Everyone comes together for this amazing celebration. We wouldn't have anything to celebrate if it weren't for the filmmakers, so thank you to all of you guys for doing what you do, and for giving us a reason to do the film festival here in Portsmouth," stated Nicole Gregg, executive director of the New Hampshire Film Festival.
Prior to distributing the festival-wide awards, event moderators presented a recap of Thursday's New Hampshire Day and Night award recipients.
New Hampshire Filmmaker of the Year, Michael Barnett, spoke about the important work being done by Sarah Rose Huckman, a subject in his film, "Changing the Game."
"I couldn't be more proud of our state. We captured a really important moment in this film. A 17-year-old transgender girl wrote the antidiscrimination laws that passed last year," Barnett said.
Daniel Keith, co-director of "Love in Kilnerry" also expressed gratitude to the state and specifically the city of Portsmouth, where the movie was filmed, for the Best New Hampshire Feature Narrative win.
"The whole thing has been surreal for us. We shut the town down two years ago and everyone embraced us. ... Sitting in that theater with 600 people Thursday night, watching them see their own town, and tons of people they knew, because they were the residents of Kilnerry, it became very interactive to watch one another," Keith said.
The festival, jury and grand jury awards were then given out. Dan Hannon, co-founder of the film festival, explained the importance of a grand jury award win, saying, "The films that are eligible to go into this pool of voting for the grand jury are films that, as of submission time or invitation, did not yet have a distribution deal with anybody established. Part of the prize for the grand jury winners is an industry meeting with a distributor to potentially find a home for their film. We're very happy to partner with Factory 25 and Oscilloscope Laboratories to deliver that awesome prize as part of this award, in addition to this amazing piece of granite."
The 2019 New Hampshire Film Festival awards were given to the following winners:
Grand Jury Award - Documentary: "Kifaru" (directed by David Hambridge)
Grand Jury Award - Narrative: "South Mountain (directed by Hilary Brougher)
Jury Award - Short Animation: "The Coin" (directed by Siqui Song)
Jury Award - Short Documentary: "On the Bit" (directed by Ashley Brandon)
Jury Award - Short Live Action: "Fit Model" (directed by Myna Joseph)
Best Feature Narrative: "Mickey and the Bear" (directed by Annabelle Attanasio)
Best Feature Documentary: "All I Can Say" (directed by Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy, and Shannon Hoon)
Best Short Drama: "Milkshake" (directed by Brittany Snow)
Best Short Comedy: "Engaged" (directed by David Scala)
Best Student Film: "Above the Influence" (directed by Garrett McGale)
Audience Choice - Documentary: "Fish & Men" (directed by Darby Duffin and Adam Jones)
Audience Choice - Narrative: "Ham on Rye" (directed by Tyler Taormina)
Closing night ceremonies included recognition to the Young Filmmakers Workshop participants and a screening of the feature narrative "Little Joe."