New Hampshire Film Festival to feature dozens of films

Resident pass will give Granite Staters access to all events.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. —The New Hampshire Film Festival will kick off its 22nd year next week, and organizers have released a trailer compilation of all the films people can expect to see.

Films will be shown next weekend at five locations, including The Music Hall. Organizers said one thing that sets the New Hampshire Film Festival apart from other festivals is how close and walkable all the locations are to each other.

“It’s a blend of focusing on New Hampshire films, but it also has an international reach as a film festival,” said Tina Sawtelle, president and CEO of the festival. “Each year, we’re getting a range of around 1,600 to 1,800 submissions. And then that is curated down to around 100 films.”

A wide range of films are being shown, from feature length to shorts to animations and documentaries.

“There is nothing like the kind of feedback you get from an audience that you are sitting in while your film is showing,” said New Hampshire filmmaker Jeff Stern.

Stern’s film “Dottie,” is one of the featured shorts this year. It depicts the point of view of a woman dealing with dementia.

It’s not Stern’s first film to debut at a festival. He said there’s nothing like being there with the audience as they watch it for the first time.

“You don’t make a lot of money, necessarily, as a short filmmaker like myself,” he said. “So really, that film festival experience is kind of what it’s all about.”

This year, some of the films will have big Hollywood names on and off the screen. Actor Alan Ruck is a featured speaker at one of the Q&A sessions, and panels and workshops are planned to learn more about the film industry.

“The New Hampshire Film Festival really puts a spotlight on the creative process that goes into making these films,” Sawtelle said.

This year, the festival is offering a New Hampshire resident pass that gets residents of the state into all the screenings, parties and workshops.