Wrapping Up NHFF17: NH Young Filmmakers Shorts and the Granny Awards
The 2017 Annual New Hampshire Film Festival wrapped up Sunday night at Portsmouth’s historic Music Hall–where it all began four days prior.
The closing ceremonies began with a reception in the lobby that was catered by Row 34, which featured scallop dishes and fine cheeses that left everyone smiling. After festival goers filled their stomachs, they filed into the great hall for the premiere of the NH Young Filmmakers shorts, and the NHFF Granny Awards, presented by Dan Hannon, co-founder of NHFF.
On behalf of all the films shown, and all those who helped put the festival together, Hannon expressed his sincere thanks. He said “it’s been an amazing four days…I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”
To see the names of everyone involved, be sure to check out the last page of your NHFF booklet. It should come to no surprise that it takes a volunteer army to bring you the most exciting weekend the seacoast has hosted for the last seventeen years.
Kicking off the night, Hannon welcomed John Herman, leader of the NH Young Filmmakers Workshop, to the stage to intrude the workshops’ students and their films saying, “While you’re all experiencing the present of cinema, I get to work with the future of cinema.”
The young filmmakers presented four short films: Guardian, Chasing Change, Dying for a Charge, and Church of the Carrot, all of which garnered boisterous laughs from the audience with their wit and creativity.
Before the awardees were presented, Hannon introduced a NHFF montage of photos showcasing highlights from the weekend that included the Red Carpet, panels, and more. Hannon said, “The NHFF is an international tour de force,” He explained, over the years, the festival has become more and more competitive with the immense amount of talent that submits each year. After accepting an applause, Hannon presented this year’s Granny award recipients.
And the Granny Winners are…
- Best Screenplay: Gursimran Sandhu
- Best Student Film: Rabbits, directed by Patrick Clement
- Best Short Drama: Houseplants, directed by Prashanth Kamalakanthan
- Best Short Comedy: You and Me and Her and Them, directed by Jon Branden
- Audience Choice Narrative: Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks, directed by Josh Crockett
- Audience Choice Documentary: Maineland, directed by Miao Wang
Narrative Grand Jury: Robert Eggers, a Writer and Director, Danielle McCarthy-Boles, Director of Regional Publicity and Magnolia Pictures, and Timothy Rhys, Editor-in-Chief of Moviemaker Magazine.
Documentary Grand Jury: Jared Owen, Executive Arts Editor for WGBH, Matt Grady, the founder of Factory 25, and Michael Williams, Producer and Co-Owner of Scout Productions.
New Hampshire Jury: Jay Childs, Founder of JBC Group and JBC Communications, Paul W. Hodes, Councilor, National Endowment for the Arts, and Angie Lane, the Executive Director of Red River Theaters.
And the Jury Winners are…
- Jury Award – Animation: Negative Space, directed by Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter
- Jury Award – Documentary: The Rabbit Hunt, directed by Patrick Bresnan
- Jury Award – Live Action: Fry Day, directed by Laura Moss
- Best Feature Documentary: Flames, directed by Zefrey Throwell & Josephine Decker
- Best Feature Narrative: Sollers Point, directed by Matthew Porterfield
- Grand Jury Award – Documentary: In the Waves, directed by Jacquelyn Mills
- Grand Jury Award – Narrative: Automatic at Sea, directed by Matthew Lessner