(photo credit: National Geographic)
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – The New Hampshire Film Festival will begin by honoring Durham native and multi-Emmy Award-winning director Matt Renner.
Renner, vice president of production for National Geographic Partners, will be given the Van McLeod Award, awarded annually to New Hampshire natives and residents who have made significant contributions in film and television.
The award is named after the former Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources who was a passionate, lifelong advocate of the arts. Past recipients include Ken Burns, Ernest Thompson, Mike O’Malley, Lisa Muscat, Paul Lazarus, and Gordon Clapp.
Renner, a multi-Emmy award-winning producer (Deadliest Catch, LA 92) serves as a lead creative amongst the senior production team, where he oversees a large portion of National Geographic’s television production slate including One Strange Rock 2, Brain Games and a Disney+ production, The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Renner’s latest production endeavor The Cave, directed by Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad and winner of the Grolsch People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, follows the valiant efforts of Dr. Amani Ballour and her makeshift underground hospital as the Syrian Civil War rages on.
New Hampshire residents can watch The Cave at this year’s New Hampshire Film Festival, at the Music Hall in Portsmouth. It will be presented in conjunction with a presentation of the Van McLeod award on Oct. 17 at 7:15 p.m.
