Nantucket Film Festival
Unlike other cake-eater film festivals, the Nantucket Film Festival, now in its 12th year, follows the year-round conventions of the people who live here: It gets caught up in the housing shuffle, and off-island people assume it has money to toss into the harbor. It happens to everyone who lives here, and you'd just as soon change these things as you would change the direction of the tide by kicking into it. Sucks to your auntie, that's just how this island works.

On the other hand, the festival has also inherited positive traditions, like this island's gift of gam. Similar to the yarn-spinning and limerick-swapping that occurred between sailors in the 19th century, a few beers and the opportunity to tell a story here nowadays can lead to the formation of a new professional ally. It happens so casually you might miss it if you lean over to knock the sand out of your shoes.

"That is the essence of the Nantucket Film Festival. That's what happens more than the buying and selling of films; it's those relationships. We always go away hoping that those kinds of connections continue," said NFF Artistic Director Mystelle Brabbee, who offered as an example last year's short film competition winner, Sophie Barthes, who is making a feature-length film this year with Paul Giamatti because of the professional relationship the two formed at last year's festival.

"It starts and ends with the screenwriter, storyteller aspect," Burkhart said. "That colors every aspect of this festival and how we do it. We have a lot of integrity, because we remain true to what our mission is."

The Nantucket Film Festival has gained a national reputation for being a foil to the entertainment dog-and-pony shows out west.

"In a world where there are literally hundreds of film festivals, it's tough to stand out if you are not a Sundance or Cannes. The Nantucket Film Festival has been able to distinguish itself with an fantastic locale and its focus on screenwriting," said "Variety" senior editor Sharon Swart, who is also serving as a Jury member for the festival. "Few festivals are dedicated to the writer, and I think the fact that Nantucket is just a short plane ride from New York helps lure some incredible literary guests. They seem to have had great participants over the years - Charlie Kaufman, Alexander Payne, the Farrelly brothers - and this year should be exciting with writers like Michael Cunningham and Anthony Swofford in the mix."

Actor and writer Steven Weber- whose "Filthy, Dirty, Twisted Lust" will have a staged read by local actors and festival stars - called the Nantucket Film Festival "classy, intelligent and concerned with the art."

"The Nantucket Film Festival seems to be a place that hasn't yet been turned into a slick bazaar swap meet," Weber said. "So much of the festival circuit has undergone a mallification. It's about buying and selling and profits. Nantucket Film Festival still has a kind of a purity to it. It's a place where artists can go without having their souls lost by being sold to the profiteers that are everywhere."

The program reflects this "purity." The events are narrative- or discussion- driven, the venues unusual for people who don't live here. (Who sees an R-rated movie in a church basement?) That's par for the course here, though. Without the Dreamland again this year, the festival has again been "venue-challenged." Late Night Storytelling on Friday and the NBC Universal Screenwriter's Tribute honoring Robert Benton on Saturday have both been moved to new venue, under the tent at Jetties Beach.

But despite going through the Nantucket shuffle, the Nantucket Film Festival has "hit its stride," Brabbee said. With a solid foundation and a 35 percent increase in ticket sales from last year, NFF is even looking to broaden its base of island support.

"There's no question that the festival has a sturdy foundation and will continue," Brabbee said.

Burkhart added, "Now, it's about studying the machine and making it a better machine."

For tickets and a complete, current schedule, go to www.nantucketfilmfestival.org, or stop by the American Legion Hall at 21 Washington St.

+ Directed by Lajos Koltai, "Evening" opens the festival with a stacked cast: Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Mamie Gummer, Eileen Atkins, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close. (According to the NFF organizers, several of the actors will attend the showing.) Adapted by Susan Minot and Pulitzerwinner Michael Cunningham ("The Hours") from Minot's best-selling novel, "Evening" is the story of a dying, reminiscent mother and the two daughters trying to reconcile themselves with their impending, tragic loss.

+ Academy award-winning writer and director Robert Benton ("Kramer vs. Kramer," "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Human Stain") will receive the NBC Universal Screenwriters Award. Benton recently completed directing "The Feast of Love," an exploration of love in its various forms, as shared by a group of friends in Oregon. "It is a great honor to receive the NBC Universal Screenwriters Award, especially when I think of the past recipients: screenwriters of the stature of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Walter Bernstein or Ring Lardner Jr.; writers who are as innovative as Charlie Kaufman or James Schamus or Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor," said Benton.

+ NFF's Writer/Director Award Jury this year will include William Monahan (writer of "The Departed" screenplay), Lee Daniels (producer of "Monsters Ball") and Rachel Grady (director and producer of "Jesus Camp"). The Screenplay Competition Jury includes Donna Giolotti (producer of "Shakespeare in Love"), Anthony Swofford (author of "Jarhead" and producer of the upcoming "Semper Fi") and "Variety" senior editor Sharon Swart. Also scheduled to appear at the festival are "Canvas" star Joe Pantoliano as well as Pulitzer-winning author Michael Cunningham, cowriter of the film "Evening," which opens the festival at the hands of presenter Ralph Lauren.

+ This year, the festival will launch the Adrienne Shelley Excellence in Filmmaking Award, which gives a cash prize to an exceptional writer/director female at the festival."We dedicated this year to female filmmakers, the number one reason being the Adrienne Shelly Award. We were honored that they came to us," Burkhart said. "That was bittersweet, a nice validation that they would ask us to create an award in Adrienne Shelly's honor. That's something we'll have every year." (See story, page 37.)

+ Critic Janet Maslin goes one-on-one with Oscarwinning filmmaker Robert Benton ("Kramer vs. Kramer," "Places in the Heart," "The Human Stain") - recipient of the NBC Universal Screenwriting Award - for the festival's "In their Shoes" event.

+ Oscar winners Monahan, Giolotti and Grady will interview one another for this year's Iconoclasts, moderated by Swart on June 14.

+ Anne Meara and Peter Farrelly return this year to host the slightly slushy and always fun Late Night Storytelling, which will solicit stories from Nantucketers and five surprise guests at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 15.

+ The high school comedy "Rocket Science," written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, will close the festival. Also a Sundance nominee, "Rocket Science" is the story of a stuttering teenager who joins the high school debate team to win the girl.

+ Other highlighted films include Garth Jennings' excellent and comedic "Son of Rambow: A Home Movie" - about two little boys and one big video camera during a 1980s summer - and the Saturday Night Spotlight feature "I Am An Animal."

- Marli Guzzetta Independent Arts Editor