NEWBURYPORT – For its 21st year, the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival returns to inform, uplift and entertain from Sept. 26 to 28, featuring 35 films from local, national and international filmmakers.
A record 24 filmmakers will attend to interact with the audiences.
This year’s Work-in-Progress program will showcase two local voices. Kim DiVencenzo will present Labor of Love, about the Graves Lighthouse in Boston Harbor, and Tim O’Donnell will share The Last Yztari, which follows an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician in Iraq. Both projects will invite audience feedback.
The festival’s “innovative format enables them to engage directly with audiences, fostering a dynamic dialogue that is both enlightening and essential for the development of their projects,” wrote Peter Carzasty with the festival’s Steering Committee.
The YES Award (Young Emerging Filmmakers Showcase) will also return, with two of the five finalists focused on Massachusetts stories. Anna Carroll’s film highlights “The POMtastics,” a dance group of women ages 65 to 85, while Aaron Johnson’s The 17% tells the story of Collette Divitto, a Boston entrepreneur with Down syndrome who founded Collettey’s Cookies.
Other festival highlights include the opening night screening of Checkpoint Zoo, the mid-festival feature Come See Me in the Good Light, and closing night’s Memories of Love Returned, with filmmaker Ntare Mwine in attendance.
Founded in 2004, the festival has screened more than 600 films, with several going on to national acclaim.
Tickets and full schedules are available at nbptdocufest.org. ♦
