We’re pleased to introduce you to long-time Festival friend Jay Craven, Writer/Director or NFF18′s Northern Borders, as well as Program Director of NFF’s Teen View Programs and Writing Labs.

The Nantucket Film Festival’s Teen View program this year launches an innovative new documentary program for its 2013 installment with “intensive learning that enlarges meaning through the shared experience of joint action.” The new round of Teen View Labs brings Nantucket teens together for a series of weekend workshops that will invite them to discover a non-fiction story, seek out characters, shape on-screen relationships, and plot dramatic action. For production, students work and rotate in a variety of roles, as directors, cinematographers, sound recordists, editors, and more.

Continuing his interest in hands-on education, Northern Borders was uniquely produced with 20 filmmaking professionals and 34 students and recent grads from 15 colleges. The film tells the story of 10-year-old Austen Kittredge, who is sent by his father to live on his grandparents’ Vermont farm. It’s 1956, and Austen sees the farm as a magical place populated by eccentric people, including his stubborn grandparents, whose thorny marriage is known as the Forty Years’ War. A humorous and sometimes startling coming-of-age story starring notable actors such as Bruce Dern (Coming Home, Hitchcock’s Family Plot) and Jessica Hecht (Sideways, Seinfeld), the film evokes Vermont’s wildness and sublime beauty, a haunted past, and an aura of enchantment.

Learn more from Jay about his approach to teaching and filmmaking below, and check out Northen Borders at NFF18!

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You may have combed through the exciting list of NFF18 features, but have you explored our shorts?

We spoke with the filmmakers of both Dotty (Shorts Program I, Dir: Mick Andrews) and Crazy Love (Shorts Program II, Dir: Alexandra Brodsky) to learn more about their films.

Both stories deal with connection: Dotty is the story of a stubborn old lady who struggles to send a text message to her daughter, and Crazy Love tells the story of a young couple in love, their very different ideas about the future, and a pirate’s party.

Dotty‘s Mick Andrews:

NFF: Is this short based on your own life and/or family?

Andrews: Not directly, no.  Although I had definitely experienced the frustration that comes with teaching an older person (OK fine, my Mum) to use technology.  When I wrote this, Brett and I had just finished a third draft of a TV pilot set in a nursing home so old people were wandering about in my head at the time – trying desperately to find an exit.

NFF: Do you think the way we communicate now enhances or changes intimacy?

Andrews: Hmmm, that’s deep.  I personally think the more we communicate with each other over the internet instead of face to face the more likely we are to become alienated, disconnected and lonely.  I read a study recently that found that teenagers who spend more time on the internet are more prone to depression.  Call me a luddite, but I think there’s no substitute for a beer and a bit of banter.

NFF: Do you have any plans to turn this short into a feature?

Andrews: That would be one heck of a magic trick.  Yeah, Brett and I are currently generating ideas for a feature film set in a nursing home.  It’s bringing up a lot of exciting themes and layered characters for us to explore.

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As reported by Indiewire, a slew of NFF18 films are being looked at by the industry as potential summer break-out hits.  Catch them at NFF18 first – you may not be able to see them anywhere else!

Fruitvale Station: Already generating early Oscar buzz, this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner is the debut feature film from 26 year-old Ryan Coogler. Based on true events, the drama follows the last events of a young man’s life before he is fatally gunned down by police in California in 2009.

The Spectacular Now: The follow-up to director James Ponsoldt’s successful previous feature Smashed, and by the writers of (500) Days of Summer, this coming-of-age tale centers on a high school couple and the insecurity and confusion of adolescence. Read More