"Nantucket" Premier at Children's Beach

This Friday, July 1, the Nantucket Historical Association will premiere an original short film, written and produced by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, that showcases the island’s natural beauty and unique history.  To celebrate the official premiere of the film, the NHA will host a magical community event at Nantucket’s Children’s Beach, starting at 5 pm.  All are invited to an afternoon of family activities, crafts, games, community art projects, trivia, photo booths, live music, face-painting, all free of charge.  As the sun goes down, the first public screening of this film will be shown on a large outdoor screen under the stars. 

Nantucket has a rich and fascinating history.  Illustrating Nantucket’s original Wampanoag Native American population and early Quaker culture to its historical significance as the whaling capital of the world and eventual rebirth as an art and resort colony, the film educates viewers about the island’s past and serves as an entertaining gateway experience for the present-day Nantucket visitor.

“Nantucket will soon have an experience that captures, in a transformative way, its historic essence,” said William Tramposch, Executive Director of the Nantucket Historical Association.  “Ric Burns has woven the story of this ‘elbow of sand’ so those legions who will see it at the Whaling Museum will know... that this place has international historic ramifications.  The film catapults viewers into our town, armed with a greater sense of why this entire island is now a National Historic Landmark.”
To compile the film about the island, Burns accessed the extensive NHA archives and collections. 

Much of the full-length documentary’s establishing shots were filmed on the ground, in the air, and on the sea, which Burns characterized as being inhabited by the “fourth-dimension” of history. 
“The story of Nantucket resonates far and wide,” said Ric Burns. “It is so much more than a summer playground, and my goal with this film is to offer every island visitor an opportunity to truly understand the global role that the island has played throughout history.”

After the July 1 premiere, the 51-minute film will be shown twice daily at the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street, throughout the summer and beyond.