All Massachusetts writers are invited to submit their best work to this year’s Marblehead Festival of Arts writing contest. An annual tradition for over 50 years, our festival celebrates the best of the arts in a weeklong series of events and arts competitions honoring our state’s cultural traditions. The literary component of the festival celebrates Massachusetts-based authors of distinction through lectures, panels, and other initiatives.
By entering our writing competition, you are supporting the festival’s mission to promote and foster the arts in Marblehead and surrounding communities. As in years past, the contest will recognize the strongest submissions, as deemed by our esteemed judges, with first and second place cash prizes and honorable mentions in each category (fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry).
For more information on the writing contest and how you can submit your work, click here!
We invite both aspiring and seasoned filmmakers to submit films for our 2019 Short Film Festival.
The Marblehead Festival of Arts is considered by many to be the finest July 4th celebration of the arts on Boston’s North Shore.
The Film Festival is an outdoor event that will hold its screenings at Crocker Park and Abbot Public Library during the 54th celebration of the Marblehead Festival of Arts. The premiere screening will be on Wednesday, July 3rd at 9:00pm at the stunningly beautiful Crocker Park. There will be a second showing at the Abbot Public Library, Saturday, July 6th at 10:30am at 235 Pleasant St., Marblehead.
Films selected will be eligible for cash and other prizes. The selected films may also be screened at the Festival’s Winter Short Film Festival in February 2020.
Film genres considered: Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Animation, Music Video
Films must not exceed a 15 minute running time
Films should be produced within the past two years
Entries should be submitted on an online screener
Adult Division submissions include ages 19 and up
Student division includes youth and students to grade 12 and up to 18 years old
Adult submissions must be accompanied by an entry fee of $20 per film. There is no entry fee for students or youth.
Submission deadline: Friday, April 26, 2019
Adults – Submission format options – Withoutabox Online Form only
Youth/Student – Submission format options – MFoA Online Form only
For more information and instructions on how to submit your films, please go to - https://www.marbleheadfestival.org/film-festival2/
Mid-winter blues getting you down? Here is your opportunity for a fun local night out and to see some great films. And it is close by and free...
The evening’s lineup includes pieces that were screened during the 2018 Summer MFoA Short Film Festival as well as additional thought-provoking original short films.
The screening will take place at 6.45pm on Wednesday, February 20th in the Virginia Carten Galley/Public Meeting Room at Abbot Public Library.
Popcorn and drinks will be available to put you in the right movie atmosphere... and admission is free... but as always, donations are welcome.
We have invited the filmmakers to speak and have a Q&A about their films after the 90 minute show.
Film Festival works are intended to show the many ways that film and video can be used as an art form to inform and express. They are not commercial films of the sort that you can find in your standard multiplex. Although some of these works can certainly be enjoyed by children, not all of the films may be understood by them. Parents should review the lineup and decide if the films are appropriate for their younger children.
WHAT: Long Winter Short Film Festival
WHERE: Abbot Public Library Virginia Carten Galley/Public Meeting Room
WHEN: Wednesday February 20, 2019 6.45 – 9:00 pm
Film Festival Committee:
Co-Chairs: Mike Evers, Laurie Stolarz
Committee: April Alario, Steve Krom, Lisa Fowler, Bill Smalley, Paulina Villarroel Cruz
Roadside Assistance - Kathy McNeal 4:55 Minutes
The story of a girl who gets into a car accident and is rescued by the unlikeliest of heroes. Kathy McNeal is a graduate of San Jose State with a BFA in Animation and Illustration. Her film is based in part on her own experience and part on her wish for “a little more magic in the world.”
Mail.Man - William Aydelott 15:00 Minutes
A local mailman learns how the value of his work affects his community. David Graves, the writer and producer of this film, is a Boston-based filmmaker and a former resident of Marblehead. This won the Festival’s Adult Honorable Mention award.
Status - Harrison Davis 7:19 Minutes
Overly entitled teens journey into an unfamiliar neighborhood in search of the Mother of all acne creams. Harrison Davis made this Twitterama in connection with Raw Arts Real to Reel Film School in Lynn MA. This won the Festival’s Student Outstanding Work award.
Art of the March - Emily Gordon, Ellie Lacourt, Connor Lewis 6:05 Minutes
Three local filmmakers created a short documentary of a project that commemorates the outburst of creative work that accompanied the Boston Women’s March on January 21, 2017. The filmmakers, affiliated with Northeastern University, won the Mass Reality Check’s Best Short Award at last year’s Salem Film Fest. This won the Festval’s adult Outstanding Work award.
Waiting for Hassana - Ifunanya Maduka 11:00 Minutes
“Hassana” is a documentary that recounts the harrowing story of a young Nigerian schoolgirl and her classmate Hassana, both of whom were captured by the extremist group Boko Haram in 2014 in northeast Nigeria. NOTE: Although Ms. Maduka’s film alludes to violent acts, no violence is actually shown. The film’s director is currently Director of International Films at Netflix.
Girls Level Up - Anne Edgar 8:37 Minutes
The subject of this documentary is Leila Shabir, who grew up in the United Arab Emirates and came to the US to study video gaming and who formed Girls Make Games, a summer camp devoted to teaching girls how to make video games. We see Ms. Shabir, a knowledgeable and sympathetic presence, working with her charges. Anne Edgar is a Co-Founder of Artifact Studios, a producer of documentary projects.
Collect - Amire Razael Kumalabad 4:00 Minutes
The filmmaker, a student at Cambridge Rindge High School, describes her unusual hobby and explains how it affects her view of the world.
Fanny Pack - Uttera Singh 10:07 Minutes
The eponymous bag provokes an unanticipated crisis in this comedy about the conflicting dreams of an Indian-American father and his equally stubborn daughter. Uttera Singh is an MFA graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Fanny Pack was intended as a concept for a half hour TV show. This won the Festival’s Adult Best of Show award.
Joy Joy Nails - Joey Ally 18:00 Minutes
This fictional film follows the experiences of a group of Asian manicurists living in Flushing, Queens and working in a suburban nail salon. Writing in the New Yorker, Jonathan Rothman called the film “an eighteen-minute day-in-the-life, by turns enraging, funny, and moving.” Joey Ally was a child actor who went to Amherst intending to become a lawyer, but turned to filmmaking instead. NOTE: The film is intended to be a raw, realistic portrayal of a segment of immigrant urban life. Some may be uncomfortable with the language of a few of the characters and the portrayal of certain situations.
To Be Fiona - Fiona Lu 5:22 Minutes
In this animated film, the adult Fiona is visited by her eight year old self who has somehow transported herself to help in dealing with her adult personal issues. Fiona Lu is a first time filmmaker who in 2017 won an Outstanding Achievement in Animation Production Design in the Dusty Film Festival in New York City.
Weeds - Kevin Hudson 2:30 Minutes
Our concluding film is an animation dedicated to anyone who dares to wish for a better life. Kevin Hudson, an American visual effects artist and director, works on the team at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Weeds was created by a group of Disney animators on their own time.
The Marblehead Festival of Arts is proud to announce that Kristen Nyberg of Marblehead is the winner of the 2019 Logo Contest. Nyberg’s design bested the 58 entries, being named one of three finalists by a panel of three judges and then earning the most votes of the more than 1100 cast by the public in locations in and around Marblehead.
Kristen’s logo was of Abbot Hall and was chosen by her because of the significance of Abbot Hall to the town and to the Festival.
The first time Kristen submitted a design to the MFoA logo contest (unsuccessfully) was in 1980, when she was in 10th grade at Marblehead High School. This year she finally got around to submitting again.
Nyberg, a native of Marblehead, earned a BFA in Illustration and Design from Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), worked as a freelance illustrator and eventually moved into architectural sign design. In 2005 she formed Nyberg Design, which provides design services to the industry, as well as branding and illustration services to individual clients.
Over the years Nyberg gained a deep appreciation for vintage sign design, researching its art and history, and began documenting vintage signs in the Boston area in 2003, leading to a 2010 solo photography exhibition entitled Signs and Wonders. In 2015 she resumed oil painting as a way to entice viewers to pause and consider how these elements enhance our living spaces and to see the argument for preservation. In 2018 her vintage sign paintings were exhibited in the solo show Modern Moonlight at the Marblehead Arts Association. She is currently working on a group streetscapes exhibition for late 2019.
This summer’s 54th Arts Festival will be held July 4-7, Thursday through Sunday, at locations all around Marblehead. Four days of engaging activities are designed to provide a fun and enriching experience for visitors of all ages, coming from town, the region, the country and the world. Details will be posted on the Festival website, www.MarbleheadFestival.org.