Provincetown International Film Festival Announces Fundraising Weekend with Lainie Kazan May 18 -22

This spring Cape Cod audiences of all ages can enjoy the multi-talented Lainie Kazan with her full weekend of events to benefit the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF). What you love about award-winning singer and actress Lainie Kazan may very well depend on your date of birth. Some will remember Kazan’s stunning beauty in Playboy, a look that inspired more than a few comic book heroines. Others will remember her countless appearances on the Dean Martin Show, while an entirely new generation fell in love with her as Maria Portokalos, mother of the bride in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

It all begins Friday May 19 with 7:30 p.m. dinner and meet and greet at the Red Inn, followed by screenings of two of her films, Lust in the Dust and My Big Fat Greek Wedding with Q&A on Saturday, May 20 at Waters Edge Cinema. That night Lainie will perform her Las Vegas cabaret show at Fishermen’s Hall (at Provincetown High School) and at the Cotuit Center for the Arts in Cotuit on May 22. Also, on Sunday, May 21, Kazan will attend preview screenings of feature films from this year’s upcoming  film festival and a live fashion show from 12:05 design company. For full tickets and information visit ptownfilmfest.org.

Contrasts:  Varying Visions from Six Master Photographers at Cape Cod Museum of Art Opening Reception this Saturday, May 6, 5:30 – 7 p.m.

This new exhibition, running May 4 through June 25 at the Cape Cod Museum of Art (CCMoA), juxtaposes contrasting styles and techniques in photography through a series of works from six New England photographers who are recognized internationally for their artistic mastery in this medium.

From Massachusetts and Maine, the photographers are: Fran Forman, Cig Harvey, Andrew K. Howard, Lou Jones, Sean Kernan, and Karin Rosenthal.  Their work highlights the diversity of emotionally compelling images, techniques, and approaches being developed in our photographic world today.

Fran Forman’s imaginary world of dream-like photo paintings; Cig Harvey’s photographs that explore longing and belonging in a world of wonder; Andrew K. Howard’s expressions of his spiritual connection to the timeless landscape of the Southwest; Sean Kernan’s images that delve deeply into the act of perception itself; Lou Jones’ photojournalism that explores day-to-day life in his Pan African Series; Karin Rosenthal’s images of the body as landscape in nature

Founded by artists in 198l, the Cape Cod Museum of Art preserves and celebrates the distinctive artistic heritage of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.  CCMoA is a major center of cultural growth and creativity offering year-round in-depth art exhibitions, educational programs and social events. The museum is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.

CCMoA is located at 60 Hope Lane, just off Route 6A, on the same campus as the Cape Cinema and the Cape Cod Playhouse in Dennis, MA. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 pm on Sunday.. Admission is $9, $7 for seniors and students 19+ with school ID, $5 for students 13 to 18, and free for children 12 & under. For more information, call (508) 385-4477.

This is an ArtSpring Cape Cod event responding, in part, to the theme of “Freedom of Expression.” The reception is free and open to the public.

Nantucket Film Festival Announces This Year’s Honorees

The Nantucket Film Festival announced the honorees who will be celebrated at this year’s Screenwriters Tribute. For the first time, the Festival assembled a jury of four esteemed writers to bestow its top award.  The Screenwriters Tribute Award Jury is comprised of some of the most gifted storytellers, each bringing their own approach to writing and each having made an impact on American Cinema and culture. The jury includes Barry Levinson (2012 NFF Screenwriters Tribute Award Recipient), Ben Stiller (NFF Board Member and Presenter of the All-Star Comedy Roundtable at NFF), Nancy Meyers (2010 NFF Screenwriters Tribute Award Recipient), and Nathaniel Philbrick (recipient of the National Book Award for Nonfiction for In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex).

The 2017 Screenwriters Tribute Award will be presented to screenwriter/director Tom McCarthy. McCarthy’s most recent film Spotlight was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture and won him (and his co-writer Josh Singer) an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. McCarthy’s other films include The Station Agent, starring Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, and Michelle Williams, and The Visitor, for which he won the Spirit Award for Best Director. He also shared story credit with Pete Docter and Bob Peterson on the award-winning animated feature Up.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield will be presented with the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award. The BAFTA-winning filmmaker is best known for his celebrated work spanning over forty years, including Kurt & Courtney, Biggie and Tupac, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, and Tales of the Grim Sleeper. His latest documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me, co-directed with Rudi Dolezal, tells the story of Whitney Houston’s extraordinary life and tragic death.

The Creative Impact in Television Writing Award will be presented to writing partners Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane. Crane and Klarik are co-creators of the four-time Emmy-nominated Showtime series Episodes, starring Matt LeBlanc. David Crane is best known as the co-creator of the long-running comedy series Friends. He also co-created Veronica’s Closet, The Powers That Be, and the HBO series Dream On. Jeffrey Klarik’s work on the hit comedy Mad About You earned him a Golden Globe as well as an Emmy nomination. Klarik and Crane also co-created the award-winning CBS comedy The Class.

The 22nd Nantucket Film Festival (NFF) will take place June 21-26, 2017, and celebrates the art of screenwriting and storytelling in cinema and television. The Screenwriters Tribute will take place on Friday, June 23. Award presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. For additional information and tickets, visit nantucketfilmfestival.org.