The Nantucket Film Festival® (NFF), presented by Bank of America® today announced its lineup, honorees, and Signature Programs for its 30th anniversary edition, which will run from June 25 – 30, 2025. NFF’s mission is to celebrate the vast diversity of human experience through the art of screenwriting and storytelling. Additional guests and programming to be announced in the coming weeks.
NFF will open on June 25th with both fiction and nonfiction features, both Audience Award winners at the Sundance Film Festival: Roadside Attractions’ TWINLESS, written, directed, and produced by James Sweeney, who also stars opposite Dylan O’Brien in a story about two young men who meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely friendship; and PRIME MINISTER, directed by Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz, which offers an inside look at the life of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, capturing her through five tumultuous years in power and beyond as she redefined leadership on the world stage. On June 30th, the Festival will present SPEAK. as its Closing Night film. Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman, the documentary follows ambitious teen orators honing their craft through dedication and artistry as they prepare to showcase their talents on the ultimate stage. Screening as NFF’s Centerpiece selection is National Geographic’s JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau and in partnership with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Documentaries, Nedland Media, and Wendy Benchley, the documentary shares an authorized look inside the story of JAWS. From Peter Benchley’s epic novel to Spielberg’s film, JAWS continues to influence pop culture, cinema and shark conservation.
More than 50 features and short films will screen as part of NFF’s 2025 film lineup. Narrative features include THE BALTIMORONS, written by Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner, and directed by Jay Duplass; DJ AHMET, written and directed by Georgi M. Unkovski; Sony Pictures Classics’ EAST OF WALL, written and directed by Kate Beecroft; FANTASY LIFE, written and directed by Matthew Shear; FORGE, written and directed by Jing Ai Ng; LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Eugene O’Neill, directed by Jonathan Kent; LOST AND FOUND IN CLEVELAND written and directed by Marisa Guterman and Keith Gerchak; MAGIC HOUR, written by Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton, directed by Katie Aselton; MEET THE BARBARIANS, written by Julie Delpy and Matthieu Rumani, directed by Julie Delpy; Sony Pictures Classics’ OH, HI!, written and directed by Sophie Brooks; OMAHA, written by Robert Machoian, directed by Cole Webley; READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN, written by Marjorie David, directed by Eran Riklis; THE SUMMER BOOK, written by Robert Jones, directed by Charlie McDowell; and SUNFISH (& OTHER STORIES FROM GREEN LAKE), written and directed by Sierra Falconer.
Documentary features include A24’s ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT, directed by Tony Benna; COEXISTENCE, MY ASS!, directed by Amber Fares; Apple TV+’s COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT, directed by Ryan White; THE DATING GAME, directed by Violet Du Feng; FOLKTALES, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY, directed by Amy Berg; THE LIBRARIANS, directed by Kim A. Snyder; Kino Lorber’s MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE, directed by Shoshannah Stern; MIDDLETOWN, directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine; MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN, directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, NOBU, directed by Matt Tyrnauer; and MTV Documentary Films’ PREDATORS, directed by David Osit.
“This year’s slate of films continues to celebrate bold and independent voices close to home and across the world,” said Basil Tsiokos, Senior Programmer, and Anita Raswant, Lead Programmer. “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.”
Academy Award®-nominated writer, director, and producer Tony Gilroy will be honored with the Visionary Storyteller Award, recognizing his over three-decade long career. Gilroy serves as the creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner of the Emmy-nominated series Andor and co-wrote 2016’s ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. In 2024, he was honored with the Writers Guild of America East’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement, recognizing his enduring contributions to the craft of screenwriting. Gilroy’s past credits also include writing the original BOURNE film and the succeeding installments in the franchise as well as his Oscar®-nominated work as writer and director of MICHAEL CLAYTON. Past recipients of the award have included Noah Baumbach, Nicole Holofcener, Barry Jenkins, Nancy Meyers, Tom McCarthy, Judd Apatow, Barry Levinson, and Charlie Kaufman.
Academy and Emmy® Award-winning director Alex Gibney will be honored with the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling. Gibney is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker known for his incisive storytelling and fearless exploration of complex subjects. His award-winning work spans topics from politics and corporate corruption to human rights and technology, in films such as ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, GOING CLEAR, and CITIZEN K. Widely regarded as one of the most influential documentarians of our time, Gibney continues to challenge audiences and spark critical conversations through his powerful and thought-provoking films. Previous award recipients include Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, Ramin Bahrani, Barbara Kopple, Liz Garbus, Rory Kennedy, Morgan Neville, Davis Guggenheim, and Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady.
Emmy® Award-nominated writer, director, and producer Joanna Calo will receive the Special Achievement in Television Writing Award to celebrate her dynamic storytelling and innovative contributions to television. As co-creator and showrunner of The Bear, she has garnered widespread acclaim, earning multiple awards including a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. Her diverse portfolio also includes work on BoJack Horseman, Hacks, and Beef. Past recipients of this award include Kerry Ehrin, Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel Palladino, David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik, and Beau Willimon.
The 2025 Nantucket Film Festival will feature its popular Signature Programs, including the previously mentioned Screenwriters Tribute, honoring Tony Gilroy, Alex Gibney, and Joanna Calo, and hosted by comedian and actor Michael Ian Black; the All-Star Comedy Roundtable presented by Emmy® Award-winning multi-hyphenate Ben Stiller and featuring comedian and actress, Iliza Shlesinger, a force on stage and screen with her new Prime Video comedy special Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal and scripted projects GOOD ON PAPER; groundbreaking host and writer of Peacock’s Emmy-nominated The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin, known for her incisive and boundary-pushing take on politics, race and culture; along with comedian, actor, and screenwriter, Mae Martin, the award-winning creator of Feel Good, who offers an intimate and genre-bending approach to comedy, blending stand-up and storytelling, and Zach Cherry, the scene-stealing star of Apple TV+’s Severance and Netflix’s You, whose offbeat charisma and flawless timing have made him one of comedy’s rising forces; Late Night Storytelling, featuring a group of handpicked storytellers who share lively personal tales highlighting this year’s anniversary theme, DIRTY THIRTY, hosted by comedian Ophira Eisenberg; and Morning Coffee With…®, where Festival audiences begin their day alongside some of the most talented writers, actors, directors, and producers in the film industry.
This year, NFF will also host a series of Deep Dive Screening + Talk Presentations. Featured events include JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY, with a screening followed by an on-stage conversation with Wendy Benchley, widow of JAWS author Peter Benchley, and Justin Falvey, producer of JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY; a live podcast recording of The Backroom with Andy Ostroy & Alex Gibney, which offers a humorous, honest take on politics and pop culture; THE LIBRARIANS, with a screening followed by an on-stage conversation with filmmaker Kim A. Snyder, producer Maria Cuomo Cole, and New Jersey Librarian of the Year 2023 Martha Hicks; and a conversation between Oscar-nominated writer/directors Tony Gilroy (Andor) and Scott Frank (the upcoming Netflix series Dept Q), where both acclaimed filmmakers will delve into their careers from film to their recent success on television.
Acclaimed filmmaker and past NFF honoree Ken Burns returns to the Festival with an exclusive first look at The American Revolution, his forthcoming six-part, 12-hour documentary series premiering November 16 on PBS. Directed by Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, the highly anticipated series delves into the nation’s founding struggle and the eight-year War for Independence. Following the preview, Burns will be joined in conversation by bestselling author and historian Nathaniel Philbrick to discuss the making of the series and the enduring impact of the American Revolution.
In addition, the festival will present Flipping the Script: Bestsellers to Screen with Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket Stories, a special garden brunch event celebrating the beloved author’s deep ties to the island and the expanding world of screen adaptations drawn from her bestselling novels. The event will spotlight The Five-Star Weekend, currently in development as a series at Peacock starring and executive produced by Jennifer Garner, as well as The Perfect Couple—a Netflix limited series whose first season premiered in 2024 and whose second season is currently in development—and Winter Street, the author’s cherished holiday tale, also in development at Netflix. Joining Hilderbrand for the conversation are key creative voices behind these projects, including award-winning screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter (This Is Us, Maid), UCP Executive Vice President Jen Gwartz (Ted, Suits: LA), NBCUniversal’s President of Scripted Content Lisa Katz (Poker Face), and Sue Naegle, founder of Dinner Party Productions and former President of HBO (Game of Thrones, Girls). Also joining are Jenna Lamia, showrunner and writer of The Perfect Couple Season 1 and Winter Street, and Joanna Calo, co-creator of The Bear and showrunner/writer of The Perfect Couple Season 2. Set in the sun-drenched garden of a private Nantucket residence, this event offers a behind-the-scenes look at the journey from page to screen through the lens of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket universe.
“For our 30th anniversary, we wanted to create a program that not only celebrates the craft of screenwriting and storytelling but also reflects the moment we’re living in—bold, urgent, and deeply human,” said Mystelle Brabbée, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival. “From Tony Gilroy to Joanna Calo, JAWS to PRIME MINISTER, the fearless comedy of Amber Ruffin and Iliza Shlesinger to the timeless storytelling of Elin Hilderbrand, this year’s lineup is a dynamic tribute to storytelling’s power to entertain, challenge, and connect us all. We can’t wait to share this year’s program with our audiences.”
Bank of America returns as a Presenting Sponsor of the Festival. NFF is also supported by long time partner White Elephant Nantucket as a Major Sponsor; and A&E IndieFilms, Amazon MGM Studios, and Delta Air Lines as Signature Sponsors.
The 30th Annual Nantucket Film Festival runs from June 25 – 30, 2025. Festival passes and ticket packages are currently on sale on the NFF website (www.nantucketfilmfestival.org).
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