Above, Best NH Performance – Actress Elle Shaheen for Live Catch, directed by New Castle’s Harry Pont. Jason Corkum photo

Portsmouth, NH – Juried awards have been announced for NH Day at the New Hampshire Film Festival. The first entire day of the four-day festival is dedicated to filmmakers, producers, or actors who have a connection to the Granite State. This year’s “Granny” winners were presented with an engraved granite block award. 

The winners are:

Best NH Performance – Actress Elle Shaheen for Live Catch, directed by New Castle’s Harry Pont. Shaheen grew up in Portsmouth and currently lives in LA.

Best NH Feature Narrative –  Eephus

The poignant story of a group of middle-aged men plays their last rec baseball game before their field gets torn down. Director Carson Lund grew up in Nashua.

Best NH Short Film of the Year – 109 Below

109 Below is a film about a 1982 rescue on Mount Washington.

Best NH Short Documentary  – The Power of Water

The documentary follows the story of Bob King, an entrepreneur based in New Hampshire, whose life’s work has been rehabilitating old, abandoned dams to produce clean energy. 

Best NH Feature Documentary – The Ride Ahead

Dan and Samuel Habib are a father/son filmmaking team who are based in Concord, NH. They share a firsthand experience of what it’s like for Samuel, who uses a wheelchair, to find his way to independence.

Best NH Short Narrative –   Keepers

Paul Emile, director of KEEPERS, grew up in Grantham, NH and graduated from high school in Newburyport, MA. His nautical folktale centers on a mysterious underwater experience for a young lobsterman. 

NH Filmmaker of the Year –  Ian Scura, Director of A Handmade Life and Liquid, Fragile, Perishable

A Handmade Life is a documentary that focuses on a diverse group of makers and artists who share their creative processes and lives. Liquid, Fragile, Perishable was directed by both Ian and his brother Ryan Scura. It’s an intimate exploration of their mother’s commitment to family as seen through her 17 years of baking holiday cookies for their extended family.

25 old Elle Shaheen, a graduate of Portsmouth High School, is making a career acting, writing and producing in Los Angeles. She starred in the short sci-fi film called Live Catch, directed by fellow Portsmouth High classmate Harry Pont. The 16 minute film is the story of a robot that live-streams surveillance footage of her real-self to satisfy a voyeuristic audience. Says Shaheen, “It’s a privilege to grow up in a community that celebrates the arts. So receiving this recognition feels like a full circle moment. Harry had a very specific vision, which made my performance much easier because he was able to give me clear direction. The challenge for me was to play an AI-generated character who doesn’t have much emotion. But I loved it and feel honored to receive this award.”

NH Filmmaker of the Year award recipient Ian Scura grew up in Concord, New Hampshire and works at Windwood Productions based in Concord. Says Scura, “Winning NH Filmmaker of the year is so special because while it might seem like an award for an individual, I think it truly celebrates all of the amazing people and filmmakers I work with regularly. The two films I presented this year were both very different in style. I view this award as an honor I share with all of the incredible teams with whom I worked including my brother Ryan, my dear friend Dylan, and the Windwood team.”

Says Concord filmmaker Dan Habib, “The New Hampshire Film Festival has hosted nearly all of our major films, but we’ve never won best NH Feature Documentary. We especially appreciate that the festival worked with us to make sure our disability-centered film was hosted in a venue that was welcoming and accessible to people of all abilities. We had a packed house and an engaged audience for our screenings and discussion – and the award is icing on the cake!”

The NHFF is an Academy Award qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Festival runs from October 17-20 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Over a hundred independent films are screened at four different venues. In addition, there are panels, workshops and social events throughout the festival. The NHFF is managed by the nonprofit Music Hall.