Craig Johnson’s dark comedy The Skeleton Twins will open the 19th Nantucket Film Festival in Massachusetts. Kisten Wiig (Bridesmaids) and Bill Hader (Superbad) star as estranged siblings who cheat death on the same day in this Lionsgate and Roadside Attraction’s film.
For the festival at large, the sci-fi/romance/mystery I Origins will be the centerpiece film. Written and directed by Mark Cahill, this movie is about a molecular biologist, who makes revolutionary discoveries that have the potential to change some assumptions about the world. Cahill is receiving the New Voices in Screenwriting Award, adding to hardware he started picking up for the picture at the Sundance Film Festival (you can see a trailer for the film at that link as well).
In addition to Cahill, the festival will also honor Academy Award nominee Steve James (Hoop Dreams) with the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award. James will be showing his documentary Life Itself, a Roger Ebert bio based on the late critic’s autobiography. The film debuted at Sundance. Lastly, Aaron Sorkin was rewarded this years Screenwriter Tribute for…well, being an all-around great writer (the award is of the lifetime/career achievement variety).
Founded in 1996, the Nantucket Film Festival specifically highlights the art of screenwriting. The Nantucket Film Festival was started by a brother and sister duo, Jill and Jonathan Burkhart. Some notable films shown at last year’s fest include Dan Scalon’s Monster’s University (2013), Steve Hoover’s Blood Brother (2013), and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish (2013).
The 2014 Nantucket Film Festival will also present Disney and Pixar short films to open the festival, including Ralph Eggleston’s Oscar-winner For the Birds (2000), Bud Luckey’s Oscar-nominated Boundin (2004), and Doug Sweetland’s Oscar-nominated Presto (2008).
There are about 45 films lined up to be showcased at this film festival, three of which were premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (Goodbye to All That, An Honest Liar, and Gabriel).
The highly anticipated Richard Linklater’s (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight) new coming-of-age film Boyhood will close the Nantucket Film Festival on June 30 (you can read our review here). The 2014 Nantucket Film Festival will take place from June 25 to June 30.
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