C&J Red Carpet welcome at the NHFF Opening Night Ceremonies
As if the festival wasn’t already in full swing, Friday night’s opening ceremonies really took things up a notch. With the help of one our sponsors, C&J Bus Lines, attendees of the Opening Night Ceremonies walked the red carpet into the Music Hall, where they were greeted by a friendly mob of photographers. Attendees posed for the paparazzi-like scene, making for a truly grand entrance into the venue.
“The Nicoles,” as we call them—Nicole Gregg (Executive Director) and Nicole Galovski (Programming Director)— along with Co-Founder Dan Hannon, each 
took a turn on stage to welcome the crowd to what is now the 14th Annual New Hampshire Film Festival.
In traditional NHFF style, the Opening Night Ceremonies wouldn’t have been complete without a few special surprises. Tom Bergeron and Tommy Chong might not have been able to make it to this year’s festival, but that didn’t stop them from joining in on the fun. A short video clip from them welcomed attendees of the festival and left the crowd in roaring applause and laughter.
The Super Secret Project, more commonly known as SSP, also joined in on theevening’s festivities. Known for their song Granite State of Mind, a parody of Jay Z’s Empire State of Mind, the group lead an entertaining mashup of music and video that all centered around the great state of New Hampshire.
Last, but certainly not least, up to the stage was the great Mike O’Malley.O’Malley, a New Hampshire native and UNH ’88 Alum, has a lot of pride for the New Hampshire Film Festival and the community that it brings together. His own debut as an actor was in 1984, right in Portsmouth’s Prescott Park—as the dentist in their production of Little Shop of Horrors. “The spirit of this festival is unlike others,” he said of the New Hampshire Film Festival. “It’s unique, it’s genuine.”
John Herman followed O’Malley’s act (a tough one, he noted), with the introduction of the Young Filmmaker’s Workshop. The YFW brings together aspiring young filmmakers for the weekend. While attendees of the festival are off watching films, the young filmmakers are hard at work—by the end of the weekend, they will have created an original film, completely made up, created, filmed—the whole nine yards—on their own. We are continually impressed by the talent that we see emerge each year through the YFW and cannot wait to see their original film premiere at Sunday night’s Sheraton Portsmouth Closing Night Ceremonies. It’s an event you don’t want to miss!
There’s another two full days ahead at the NHFF, and plenty more to see. For a full listing of this year’s NHFF picks, check out the Festival Schedule. Still need tickets? Head over to the Box Office.