In late March, independent filmmaker Jay Craven and his crew will arrive on Nantucket to begin production of Craven’s upcoming film, Peter and John. Craven’s production company, Kingdom County Productions, has partnered with Vermont’s Marlboro College to produce this period piece based on Guy de Maupassant’s novel, Pierre et Jean. Students and crew are currently working from Marlboro to perfect the script, organize castings, conduct research, and plan sets and costumes.
This project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit venture, aimed at producing a professional-scale film and providing a valuable education to aspiring filmmakers. As production shifts to the island, Craven wants to maximize community involvement. Partnerships are in development with a number of island institutions,and Craven hopes that more Nantucket residents will want to play a substantial role in the making of the film. Establishments already involved include Nantucket High School (NHS), Nantucket Historical Association, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, Nantucket Atheneum, Nantucket Dreamland Theater, Nantucket Film Festival and Maria Mitchell Association.
Craven and the crew will offer open workshops and presentations throughout the filming process that will focus on 19th-century Nantucket history. They will also work with NHS to make the production transparent and accessible to students, by way of hands-on filmmaking internships, production design classes, and curriculum sharing with NHS’s film studies class.
Craven chose Nantucket because of its rich history and beautifully preserved early 18th- and 19th-century architecture. The film aims to highlight the land, community and vibrant past of this island. Plenty of films have been shot on Nantucket, but this is a film about Nantucket.
-Hannah McCarthy, Peter and John PR & Fundraising Manager