The 30th annual Nantucket Film Festival® (NFF), presented by Bank of America®, today announced the Audience Award winners for this year’s festival. THE BALTIMORONS, written by Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner and directed by Jay Duplass, about the unlikely connection that forms between a newly but precariously sober man and his emergency dentist, won the Narrative Feature Audience Award. Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s MIDDLETOWN, about a 1990s upstate New York high school class that exposed a local environmental pollution scandal involving organized crime, was the recipient of the Documentary Feature Audience Award. SNOW BEAR, directed by Aaron Blaise and Nicholas Burch, about a lonely polar bear, received the Narrative Short Film Audience Award. Charlotte Cooley’s LAST DAYS ON LAKE TRINITY, which follows three Florida women in search of new homes after their trailer park is slated for closure by its corporate owner, took home the Documentary Short Film Audience Award.
Audience Award runner-ups included MEET THE BARBARIANS, written by Julie Delpy and Matthieu Rumani and directed by Julie Delpy (Narrative Feature), COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT, directed by Ryan White (Documentary Feature), THE MUSIC STORE, written and directed by Joe Gillette (Narrative Short), and CAMP WIDOW, directed by Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin (Documentary Short).
THE BALTIMORONS, written by Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner and directed by Jay Duplass; and EAST OF WALL, written and directed by Kate Beecroft; were named NFF’s Best of Fest selections and were granted special repeat screenings due to popular demand.
Shoshannah Stern’s MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE took home the Maria Mitchell Visionary Award, presented to a female filmmaker who demonstrates vision and innovation. All feature films written, produced, and/or directed by women are eligible for this prize. Sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association, the award comes with a $5,000 grant in the name of Maria Mitchell, the first female inducted into the Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Nantucket native.
The Festival also announced the winner of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Excellence in Filmmaking Award, a $5,000 grant recognizing the achievement of a female filmmaker, and named in honor of the late actor and director. This year’s award went to Kate Beecroft’s EAST OF WALL, which follows a rebellious horse trainer who, following the death of her husband, grapples with financial hardship and unresolved grief while taking in a group of troubled teens at her crumbling ranch in the Badlands.
The Children’s Resilience in Screenwriting Award presented by Shine Global is a new prize given to a film with outstanding storytelling that effectively portrays the resilience and strength of children. DJ AHMET, written and directed by Georgi M. Unkovski, received the award, which included a prize of $2,500 and an invitation to participate in Shine Global’s upcoming 2025 Resilience Awards events. The award-winning non-profit media company Shine Global’s annual Resilience Awards honor exceptional films that center around the resilience of children and further the organization’s mission of improving children’s lives by harnessing the power of storytelling.
NFF also announced the winners of the prestigious Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, which recognizes the best unproduced screenplays and television pilots submitted to the festival by emerging writers. Alex Murawski received the top prize as the winner of the Feature Screenplay Competition for WALKING IN IOWA. The Episodic 60 Minute Screenplay Competition nod went to Maxwell Gold for 19 KM FROM KYIV, the 30 Minute Episodic Screenplay Competition was won by Devi Snively for THE TEMP, and the Short Screenplay Competition winner was HOMBRE by Chris Martinez. These four awards total $5,000 in cash and several other prizes. The winner of the Feature Screenplay Competition is invited to participate in a month-long writer’s retreat on Nantucket in October through NFF’s sister organization, Almanack Screenwriters.
This year’s Tony Cox Screenplay Jury for the Feature and Short categories includes Katie Silberman, screenwriter and producer of BOOKSMART and DON’T WORRY DARLING, New York magazine/Vulture film critic Allison Willmore, and producer Jeffrey Soros, whose recent films include MAGAZINE DREAMS and ROB PEACE.
The Tony Cox Screenplay Jury for Episodics includes actress and director Justine Lupe, recently featured in Netflix’s hit series NOBODY WANTS THIS, IndieWire’s senior TV writer Proma Khosla, and producer and previous US Global Head of TV Development at Amazon Studios, Marc Resteghini.
The Teen View Jury Award, selected by a group of Nantucket seventh and eighth-graders as the most inspiring out of all of NFF’s short films, went to co-directors Aaron Blaise and Nicholas Burch for SNOW BEAR.
“This year’s festival was a vibrant celebration of cinema and storytelling over the last thirty years! From ground-breaking independent features to thought-provoking documentaries, we are proud to continue offer the Nantucket audience diverse stories that reflects the tapestry of the island.” said Mystelle Brabbée, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival, and Anita Raswant, Lead Programmer of the Nantucket Film Festival.
Comedian, actor, and writer Michael Ian Black hosted the Screenwriters Tribute from the ‘Sconset Casino on Friday, June 27th. Oscar® and Emmy nominated director, producer, and writer Tony Gilroy (MICHAEL CLAYTON, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, ANDOR) accepted the Visionary Storyteller Award, presented by Oscar® award nominated screenwriter Scott Frank. While at the festival, Gilroy and Frank partook in a Deep Dive conversation moderated by IndieWire’s Proma Khosla.
Emmy® Award-winning writer, director, and producer Joanna Calo (THE BEAR, BOJACK HORSEMAN, HACKS) was honored with the Special Achievement in Television Writing Award, presented by THE BEAR actor Lionel Boyce.
Academy and Emmy® Award-winning director Alex Gibney (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, GOING CLEAR, and CITIZEN K.) received the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling, presented by philanthropist Wendy Schmidt.
Special guests who attended NFF 2025 included Donald Glover, Dana Bash, Michael Ian Black, Ken Burns, Lionel Boyce, Joanna Calo, Kaitlan Collins, Ophira Eisenberg, Alex Gibney, Tony Gilroy, Justine Lupe, Nathaniel Philbrick, Amber Ruffin, Lesly Stahl, Ben Stiller, James Sweeney, Christine Taylor, Zoë Winters, and more.
NFF was supported by Bank of America as a Presenting Sponsor; long time partner White Elephant Resorts as a Major Sponsor; and A&E IndieFilms and Delta Air Lines as Signature Sponsors. For more information about this year’s festival, please visit www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.
ABOUT THE NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL
The Nantucket Film Festival® was founded in 1996 by siblings Jill and Jonathan Burkhart. The Burkharts lived on the island year-round and knew it was the perfect place to begin a festival that combined with their love of film and community. In 1997, Mystelle Brabbée joined the team and today serves as the Executive Director. NFF® continues to thrive each year by remaining true to its mission. These days, NFF has become one of the premier destination film festivals in the world. Visitors flock from all over to experience our preview screenings, Signature Programs, and stand out hospitality on a magical island rich with history, a friendly atmosphere, and beautiful sandy beaches.
For more information about NFF, visit www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.
