For Film Buffs: NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL’S SHOWTIME TONY COX AWARD FOR BEST SCREENWRITING IN A FEATURE FILM IS AWARDED TO DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON FOR SHORT TERM 12

NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL’S SHOWTIME TONY COX AWARD FOR BEST SCREENWRITING IN A FEATURE FILM

IS AWARDED TO

DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON FOR SHORT TERM 12

THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM GOES TO

LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM

DIRECTED BY ACADEMY AWARD® WINNING DIRECTORS

SEAN FINE AND ANDREA NIX FINE

BEST WRITER/DIRECTOR AWARD

PRESENTED BY VIMEO

IS AWARDED TO

RYAN COOGLER FOR FRUITVALE STATION

Nantucket, MA (July 1, 2013) – The 18th annual Nantucket Film Festival (NFF) announced the winners of the prestigious Showtime Tony Cox awards, which recognizes emerging talent's new screenplays.  Destin Daniel Cretton's SHORT TERM 12 was awarded Best Screenwriting in a Feature Film and WHAT DO WE HAVE IN OUR POCKETS? was honored as the Best Screenwriting in a Short Film.

The Nantucket audiences awarded Academy Award© winning directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine and their film LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM the Audience Award for Best Feature and FRESH GUACAMOLE by PES for Best Short.

There was a tie for Audience Award Best Feature runner up between THE SHORT GAME directed by Josh Greenbaum and SHORT TERM 12 directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

The Vimeo award for Best Writer/Director has been awarded to Ryan Coogler for his film FRUITVALE STATION.

"This year's festival brought out our film going community in record numbers." said Festival Director Mystelle Brabbee. "We are honored to have hosted such a diverse group of storytellers and talent. We look forward to continuing to bring the best that film has to offer to the island throughout the year."

The Festival also awarded the seventh annual Adrienne Shelley Excellence in Filmmaking Award, which bestows a cash prize to a female filmmaker in honor of the late director. The award was presented to Penny Lane, for her film OUR NIXON.

The festival previously announced that the winner of the Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition for Feature Film was the screenplay CAKE, by Patrick Tobin. Short Screenplay was awarded to THE BRAVEST, THE BOLDEST by Moon Molson & Eric Fallen.  The Hour-Long TV Pilot award went to THE MESSIAH PROJECT by David Bauqnon and the Half-Hour TV Pilot award, TIME OUT by Ian McWethy.

The feature screenplay competition jury was comprised of
Allison Williams (Co-lead in HBO’s Girls),
David Edelstein (Chief film critic at New York Magazine),
and Dylan Leiner (Sony Pictures Classics’ Executive Vice President of Acquisitions & Production).

This year, the Short Film jury awarded Best Short Film to Mick Andrews and Brett O' Gorman for their film DOTTY. The jury also awarded a special mention for Cinematography to ATLANTIC AVENUE, directed by Laure de Clermont.

The Teen View Jury Award went to FORTUNE HOUSE, by Matthew Bonifacio.

For the first time this year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented a young filmmaker outreach program with Oscar® winners Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine who screened their film LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM and INOCENTE and participated in a roundtable discussion with the students and the filmmakers.

This year’s festival hosted the returning All-Star Comedy Roundtable presented by Ben Stiller and filmed by EPIX network to air in the fall.  Host Michael Ian Black interviewed Ben Stiller, Mike Myers and Seth Meyers in the auditorium of Nantucket High School.

NBC’s News Anchor Brian William hosted the Screenwriters Tribute Awards from the Siaconset Casino.  David O. Russell accepted the Screenwriting Tribute, which was given to him by six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close. New York Daily News Film Critic Joe Neumaier presented the New Voices In Screenwriting Award to Lake Bell. Barbara Kopple accepted the A&E Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award, presented to her by Thelma Adams, film writer Yahoo Movies.

Special guests who attended NFF 2013 included Festival co-founders Jill & Jonathan Burkhart, Judith Hill, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller, Lake Bell, Mike Myers, Seth Meyers, Michael Ian Black, Chris Matthews, Brian Williams, Allison Williams, Barbara Kopple, David O. Russell, Jace Alexander and many more.

ABOUT THE NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL

The Nantucket Film Festival was founded by brother and sister team Jill and Jonathan Burkhart in 1996 to promote the cultural awareness and appreciation of the fine art of screenwriting in the world of cinema. These days, NFF has become one of the premiere destination film festivals in the world. Visitors come from all over to experience the preview screenings, unique signature programs, and stand out hospitality on a magical island rich with history, a friendly atmosphere, and beautiful sandy beaches.

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