2009 NH DAY & NIGHT WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

“Crooked Lane” & “Mito-Kids” Honored.

NH Film Festival kicked off Thursday with a packed house at The Music Hall to see Marc Dole’s “Mito-Kids: Documenting Life” win NH Documentary Film of the Year and Chase Bailey’s “Crooked Lane” win NH Film of the Year. Both awards were determined by the NH Jury.

NHFF 2009 Screenplay Competition Judge and renowned playwright Ernest Thompson also was awarded the Van McLeod Award for his contributions to the state’s film or television industry. Named for the current commissioner of NH’s Dept. of Cultural Resources, the award honored NH resident Thompson for his long, Oscar-winning career, including “On Golden Pond.”

In “Mito-Kids,” Dole, the owner and founder of Hatchling Studios, told the story of his four teenage daughters who have grown up with disabilities that stem from mitochondrial disease, a chronic, genetic disorder that occurs when the mitochondria of the cell fail to function properly.

When Bailey’s name was called for “Crooked Lane,” the entire cast and crew joined him on stage, including stars Ann Cusack (“The Informant!”), Brett Cullen (“Lost”), Eliya-Quaye Constance, 9, of Brentwood; Noa Siegel, 11, of Exeter; executive producer Mark Constance and co-producer Bethany Constance (parents to Eliya-Quaye).