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New Hampshire Film Festival Is Bigger, Broader This Year

The 14th annual New Hampshire Film Festival kicks off in Portsmouth. Nicole Gregg is the Director of the event and spoke with us about how it’s grown and what to expect this weekend.

How does this festival compare to prior years?

This year we expect our highest number of filmmakers in attendance…

With over a hundred films, what are some you’re most excited about?

We have our big opening night feature- Men, Women and Children staring Adam Sandler, Jenifer Garner, Emma Thompson- so we’re excited to bring that to Portsmouth. We also have an incredible horror film called The Babadook… and our family screening of The Book of Life, a big animated feature as well. Then of course we have powerful documentaries… we have the E Team… this has James Foley as a contributing cinematographer and it won the cinematography award at Sundance. Our program runs the gamut to documentaries, short films, big indie films, family films… we’re at about 138 films this year.

How important is it to have some big names for the festival?

It’s about creating a good mix and knowing your audience… they’re not always going to see something as edgy as some lesser known indie films are… but if you incorporate names and subject matter they’re comfortable with then it’s an opportunity to introduce the lesser known works.

What’s your take on the film-making scene in the Granite State?

It grows every year; we see it in the submissions for the New Hampshire program. We have a festival within the festival that culminates in its own awards.

What special guests can we expect this weekend?

We’re really excited to host Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He will be attending with a film he helped produce… called Low Down. We also have Mike O’Malley  returning… he’s a UNH alumnus and has been on Glee and stars in Eat Pray Love… this year he comes back with a new TV series he wrote and directed. So we have a great line up and great guests and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.

For many radio listeners throughout New Hampshire, Rick Ganley is the first voice they hear each weekday morning, bringing them up to speed on news developments overnight and starting their day off with the latest information.

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