NHFF Holds the First ever Coffee Block with Award-Winning Panelists

The New Hampshire Film Festival kicked off Saturday morning with a new event, an intimate coffee hour in the Moffatt-Ladd House barn. After enjoying local coffee and pastries, a small group was treated to a panel discussion with film makers, producers, and screenwriters, all of whom have work featured in the festival.

Former New Hampshire Congressman and Councilor for the National Endowment for the Arts, Paul Hodes, moderated the event, and led lively conversation about inspiration, exploration, and what it takes to make great films.

Panelists included screenwriter and director Michael Almereyda; Gursimran Sandhu, winner of the 2017 NHFF Screenplay Competition and staff writer for HBO’s Game of Thrones; Michael Almereyda, award-winning director of Marjorie Prime (playing again at The Music Hall Sunday night at 7PM); Gursimran Sandhu, who is best known for his work with Game of Thrones; Pacho Velez, director of The Reagan Show (playing again tonight at 3S Artspace at 5:35PM); Sean Price Williams who is also known for his work with Marjorie Prime; Zefrey Throwell, the director and writer of Flames; and Amy Greene the co-producer of Woodshock (showing tonight at The Music Hall at 7:10PM), starring Kristen Dunst.

The panel discussed the dedication and sacrifices required of filmmakers, the nature of love and relationships in film, and much more, and overall the coffee block embodied the incredible diversity of the people and pieces featured in this years’ festival. Films discussed in the hour featured A-list actors such as John Hamm and Kirsten Dunst, while others follow everyday people on a subway platform. Shooting locations stretched from Northern California to Shanghai, China, and in addition to making powerful films, the members of the panel were teachers, stunt coordinators, television writers and more.

Filled with laughter, candid advice, and touching stories, the first ever NHFF Coffee Block was both entertaining and informative, and a perfect way to start off the third day of this years’ festival.

By Abbi Sleeper