The 2024 Nantucket Film Festival has announced its lineup, and it includes Josh Margolin’s Thelma and Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
The 29th annual festival takes place from June 19 – 24, 2024 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Thelma, the opening night film, follows 93-year-old Thelma Post as she sets out on a quest for justice after being scammed out of $10,000. It follows June Squibb, the late Richard Roundtree, Clark Gregg, Fred Hechinger, and Parker Posey.
The closing night film will be Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. It tells the story of Reeve’s astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, including his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down, but catalyzed his activism for disability rights.
Other highlights include a Centerpiece screening of Netflix’s Skywalkers: A Love Story. Directed by Jeff Zimbalist chronicles the visually stunning documentary which tells the nail-biting story of a daredevil couple journeying across the globe to clandestinely film themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper.
Continuing a thirteen-year-long tradition, the opening day of the festival will also include a screening of a Disney and Pixar film. This year’s selection is Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann with a screenplay by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, follows Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who have been running a successful operation by all accounts for 13 years; however, when Anxiety shows up, they aren’t sure how to feel—and Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment soon follow.
The full lineup includes more than 60 features and shorts including Sony Pictures Classics’ Between the Temples directed by Nathan Silver and co-written with C. Mason Wells; Focus Features’ DÌDI (弟弟) written and directed by Academy-Award-nominee Sean Wang; IFC Films’ Ghostlight written and directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and co-directed with Alex Thompson; Juno Films’ Girls Will Be Girls written and directed by Shuchi Talati; Metrograph Pictures’ Good One written and directed by India Donaldson.
More highlights include In the Summers, written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza; Sony Pictures Classics’ Kneecap written and directed by Rich Peppiatt; Los Frikis written and directed by Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson; Vertical Entertainment’s Widow Clicquot written by Erin Dignam and directed by Thomas Napper; and Winner written and directed by Susanna Fogel and co-written by Kerry Howley.
“This year’s slate of films continues to celebrate bold and independent voices close to home and across the world,” said senior programmer Basil Tsiokos and lead programmer and Anita Raswant. “We invite our audiences to explore a wide range of work that honors the power of storytelling — and in turn, our shared humanity over the course of our six-day, highly curated festival.”
This year’s honorees include Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated writer and producer Kerry Ehrin who will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Oscar, Emmy, and Peabody award-winning director, producer, and writer Roger Ross Williams who will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award; Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Meredith Scardino who will receive the New Voices in Television Writing Award.
Also Read: Furiosa: George Miller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth on Medicine and Madness
See the Full Lineup of the 2024 Nantucket Film Festival Below:
OPENING NIGHT FILM
THELMA
Narrative Feature
Writer/Director: Josh Margolin
Producer: Zoë Worth, Chris Kaye, Karl Spoerri, Viviana Vezzani, Nicholas Weinstock, Benjamin Simpson
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell
OPENING DAY FILM
INSIDE OUT 2
Animated Feature
Writers: Dave Holstein, Meg LeFauve
Director: Kelsey Mann
Producer: Mark Nielsen
Disney and Pixar’s INSIDE OUT 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust.
CENTERPIECE FILM
SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
Documentary Feature, NextGen
Director: Jeff Zimbalist
Producers: Jeff Zimbalist, Maria Bukhonina, Chris Smith, Tamir Ardon
To save their career and their relationship in wartime, a Russian couple endeavor to illegally climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a daring acrobatic stunt on the spire.
Winner: Documentary Audience Award, Miami Film Festival
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
Documentary Feature
Directors: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Producers: Ian Bonhôte, Robert Ford, Lizzie Gillett, Erin Sayder
Never-before-seen home movies and extraordinary personal archives reveal how Christopher Reeve went from unknown actor to iconic movie star as the ultimate screen superhero. He learned the true meaning of heroism as an activist after suffering a tragic accident that left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator to breathe.
FEATURE FILM PROGRAM
THE BATTLE FOR LAIKIPIA
Documentary Feature, Green Carpet Cinema
Directors: Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi
Producers: Toni Kamau, Daphne Matziaraki
Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.
BETWEEN THE TEMPLES
Narrative Feature
Writers: Nathan Silver, C. Mason Wells
Director: Nathan Silver
Producers: Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Nate Kamiya, Adam Kersh, Taylor Hess
A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult bat mitzvah student. Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly de Leon, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel, Madeline Weinstein, Matthew Shear
DAUGHTERS
Documentary Feature
Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
Producers: Natalie Rae, Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft
Four young girls prepare for a special daddy-daughter dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, DC, jail.
Winner: US Documentary Audience Award & Festival Favorite Award, Sundance Film Festival
DEVO
Documentary Feature
Director: Chris Smith
Producers: Danny Gabai, Anita Greenspan, Chris Holmes, Chris Smith
An exploration of the new wave band Devo, who took their concept of “de-evolution” from a cult following to near-rock star status, all while preaching urgent social commentary.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: WOMAN IN CHARGE
Documentary Feature
Directors: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Trish Dalton
Producers: Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Tracy Aftergood, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Sean Stuart
Child of a Holocaust survivor, princess by marriage, and founder of a fashion empire, the many faces of fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg are revealed in this captivating and glamorous documentary portrait, featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Marc Jacobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and more.
DÌDI (弟弟）
Narrative Feature
Writer/Director: Sean Wang
Producers: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, Sean Wang
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Cast: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua
Winner: US Dramatic Audience Award & Special Jury Award for Ensemble, Sundance Film Festival
ELIZABETH TAYLOR: THE LOST TAPES
Documentary Feature
Director: Nanette Burstein
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Nanette Burstein, Sean Stuart, Glen Zipper, Bill Gerber, Rachel Rusch Rich
Newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor and unprecedented access to the star’s personal archive reveal the complex inner life and vulnerability of the groundbreaking icon.
ENO
Documentary Feature
Director: Gary Hustwit
Producer: Jessica Edwards
The definitive documentary about visionary musician and artist Brian Eno—a groundbreaking generative film that’s different every time it’s shown.
EVERY LITTLE THING
Documentary Feature, Green Carpet Cinema
Director: Sally Aitken
Producers: Bettina Dalton, Oli Harbottle, Anna Godas
Amid the glamor of Hollywood, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness.
GHOSTLIGHT
Narrative Feature
Writer: Kelly O’Sullivan
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson
Producers: Ian Keiser, Alex Wilson, Pierce Cravens, Eddie Linker, Chelsea Krant, Alex Thompson
When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life. Cast: Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen, Dolly De Leon
GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
Narrative Feature
Writer/Director: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Shuchi Talati, Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne
In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself. Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron
Winner: World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award & Special Jury Award for Acting, Sundance Film Festival
GOOD ONE
Narrative Feature, NextGen
Writer/Director: India Donaldson
Producers: Diana Irvine, Graham Mason, Wilson Cameron, India Donaldson
On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend. Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
IN THE SUMMERS
Narrative Feature, NextGen
Writer/Director: Alessandra Lacorazza
Producers: Alexander Dinelaris, Rob Quadrino, Fernando Rodriguez-Vila, Lynette Coll, Sergio Alberto Lira, Cristóbal Güell, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Janek Ambros, Stephanie Yankwitt
On a journey that spans the formative years of their lives, two sisters navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Cast: René Pérez Joglar, Sasha Calle, Lío Mehiel, Leslie Grace, Emma Ramos, Sharlene Cruz.
Winner: US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize & Directing Award, Sundance Film Festival
KNEECAP
Narrative Feature, NextGen
Writer/Director: Rich Peppiatt
Producers: Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling
In post-Troubles Belfast, three hedonistic Irish language speakers form hip-hop group Kneecap, becoming the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue. Cast: Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender
Winner: NEXT Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival
LOS FRIKIS
Narrative Feature, NextGen
Writers/Directors: Michael Schwartz, Tyler Nilson
Producers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz, Rebecca Karch Tomlinson
In a coming-of-age story set in early ‘90s Cuba, brothers Gustavo and Paco, desperate to keep their punk band together, come up with a remarkable solution. Cast: Adria Arjona, Héctor Medina, Eros de la Puente, Lus Alberto García, Jorge Perugorría
Winner: Marimbas Grand Jury Award, Miami Film Festival
LOVE MACHINA
Documentary Feature
Director: Peter Sillen
Producers: Brendan Doyle, Peter Sillen
Futurists Martine and Bina Rothblatt commission Bina48, a humanoid AI, as an early sketch of potential digital consciousness and as a vehicle to explore the couple’s quest to be in love forever.
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH
Documentary Feature
Director: Dawn Porter
Producers: Trish D. Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, Leah Smith
The film chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso. Using a wealth of rarely-seen archives, Luther tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends and musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson, and Roberta Flack.
MAYA AND THE WAVE
Documentary Feature, Green Carpet Cinema
Director/Producer: Stephanie Johnes
World champion surfer Maya Gabeira overcomes mounting challenges as she attempts to break a world record in Portugal.
NEVER LOOK AWAY
Documentary Feature
Director: Lucy Lawless
Producers: Matthew Metcalfe, Tom Blackwell, Lucy Lawless
The unbelievable, yet entirely true, story of an incredible woman — Margaret Moth, a pioneering news camerawoman dedicated to documenting the civilian impact of war, who stared death in the face but refused to look away.
PORCELAIN WAR
Documentary Feature
Directors: Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev
Producers: Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Camilla Mazzaferro, Olivia Ahnemann
Under roaring fighter jets, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey choose to stay behind. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it’s easy to make people afraid, it’s hard to destroy their passion for living.
Winner: US Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN
Documentary Feature
Director: Benjamin Ree
Producer: Ingvil Giske
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life—but then they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.
Winner: World Cinema Audience & Directing Awards, Sundance Film Festival
STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING
Documentary Feature
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Producers: Alisa Payne, David Teague, Roger Ross Williams
Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book to life, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.
SUGARCANE
Documentary Feature
Directors: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Producers: Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn
An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Winner: US Documentary Directing Award, Sundance Film Festival
WAR GAME
Documentary Feature
Directors: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber
Producers: Todd Lubin, Jesse Moss, Jack Turner, Mark DiCristofaro, Jessica Grimshaw, Nick Shumaker
A bipartisan group of US defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations participate in an unscripted role-play exercise in which they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military, in the wake of a contested presidential election.
WIDOW CLICQUOT
Narrative Feature
Writer: Erin Dignam
Director: Thomas Napper
Producers: Christina Weiss Lurie, Haley Bennett, Joe Wright
After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Cast: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Anson Boon, Leo Suter, Ben Miles
WINNER
Narrative Feature
Writers: Kerry Howley, Susanna Fogel
Director: Susanna Fogel
Producers: Julie Goldstein, Scott Budnick, Ameet Shukla, Amanda Phillips
Reality Winner, a brilliant, sarcastic, gun-lovin’, vegan CrossFit fanatic, becomes an unconventional whistleblower when she is prosecuted for exposing Russia’s hacking of the 2016 election. Cast: Emilia Jones, Zach Galifianakis, Connie Britton, Kathryn Newton, Danny Ramirez
SHORTS PROGRAMS
COMEDY SHORTS: DARE TO LAUGH
Between puppies, summer camp, and an alternate dimension, these comedic short films remind us to not take life too seriously.
PUPPY LOVE (Writers: Daniel Rashid, Elizabeth Valenti | Director: Daniel Rashid)
SHUT UP JACK (Writer/Director: Alec Bewkes)
GOLDEN CHILD (Writer/Director: Hannah Levin)
BETA LOVE (Writers: Sam Katz, Adam Pliskin, Stuey Pliskin | Director: Stuey Pliskin)
TERMINALLY ILL (Writer/Director: Chris Cole)
WE MET AT CAMP (Writer/Director: MC Plaschke)
4TH DEMENTIA (Writers: Ally Condrath, Kyle Miller, Jake Mann, Ian Wexler | Director: Ian Wexler)
NARRATIVE SHORTS: TOUGH STUFF
A mysterious wire trap, an abandoned baby, and strained family dynamics all lend a hand in amping up the tension in these dramatic short films.
I CAN’T BE SORRY (Writers: Robert Machoian, Elizabeth Overton | Director: Robert Machoian)
KEEPERS (Writer: Eric Stumpf | Director: Paul Emile)
OH, CHRISTMAS TREE (Writer: Mark Duplass | Director: Katie Aselton)
THEREBY HANGS A TALE (Writer: Brynn Byrne | Director: Aaron Yeger)
IN OUR OWN WAY (Writer/Director: Jason Headley)
LYRICAL (Writer/Director: Carter M. Stewart)
FAVOURS (Writer/Director: Agnes Skonare)
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: PERSEVERANCE UP CLOSE
Stories on personal and collective resilience setting new precedents for generations to come.
KOWLOON! (Directors: Mona Xia, Erin Ramirez)
JUMPMAN (Director: Tom Dey)
THE UGANDAN QUIDDITCH MOVEMENT (Director: Ben Garfield)
JARDINES (Director: Alfredo Torres)
KIDS SHORTS: IMAGINE A WORLD
Short films on connection, nature, and creativity, suitable for children ages 5-10.
THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS (Writer/Director: Ciara Leinaala Lacy)
BOUQUET (Writer/Director: Cécile Robineau)
THREE TREES (Writers/Directors: M.R. Horhager, Aaron Hong)
CAT CAFÉ (Writer/Director: Ottilie Collingridge )
TODAY WE CLIMBED A HILL (Writer/Director: Gordon LePage)
SHELTER (Writer/Director: Julie Daravan Chea)
NUBBINWOOD (Writer/Director: Tim Granberg)
RICE BALL (Writer/Director: Kristina Pringle)
A TINY VOYAGE (Writer/Director: Emily Worms)
LITTLE FAN (Writers/Directors: Sveta Yuferova, Shad Lee Bradbury)
BATTERY MOMMY (Writer/Director: Seungbae Jeon)
UPSIDE DOWN (Writer/Director: Dace Rīdūze)
VIEWS FROM NANTUCKET
Short films that offer intimate glimpses into the unique landscapes, stories, and characters found on the picturesque island of Nantucket.
IN THE CARDS (Directed by Teen View Students Lizzy Aguilar, Lucy Bell, Hadley Cooke, Rex Dixon, Shayquan Francis, Jeremiah Nustar, Saraiah Nustar, Anna Popnikalova and Marley Viselli)
LOST IN NEVERS LAND (Director: Penny Dey)
THE DILDO FROM NANTUCKET (Writer/Director: Michael McGuirk)
THE WATER CONNECTION
Through the lens of professional athletes and photographers, these two short films showcase the impact of climate change on water both locally and globally while highlighting the need for vocal environmental justice advocates.
CHASING TIME (Directors: Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Sarah Keo)
SHAPED BY WATER (Director: Dean Leslie)
Main Image: SUPERMAN, Christopher Reeve, 1978. ©Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection
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