NCTV Island Cup Documentary Captures Essence Of Island Football Rivalry

When Frank Schadt moved to Nantucket in 2018, he came up with the idea of documenting the historic rivalry between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard football. The suggestion was met with open arms by NCTV Executive Director Lisa Getter, and four years later the project is finally ready for screening.

The Island Cup Documentary will have its premiere on Friday, October 21 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to see the movie and $100 to attend the reception, which begins at 6 p.m. All money goes to the Nantucket Booster Club, which supports Nantucket High School student athletes. There is also expected to be a premiere on the Vineyard, but a date has not been determined.

Schadt, who is NCTV’s head of production, said that the documentary is 56 minutes. He said the film is intended to be for people who not only are familiar or have been apart of the Island Cup, but also for those who aren’t familiar with this rivalry or the game of football at all.

“It is meant to be a documentary that is enjoyable for people with no context,” Schadt said. “But that isn’t the heart of the audience. We want this to speak to the people on both islands. It is a front row seat to this amazing tradition. I was in the huddles. I was at the house parties. I was in the schools and cafeteria at lunch time. When I started this project four years ago I looked a lot younger. I was 10 years older than they were so I was more in the older sibling range rather than parental figure, and the kids were all great.”

Schadt said the documentary will be a front row seat for what the game is like for the coaches, players, and for the communities. While the film isn’t intended to feature any particular football figures as main characters in a spotlighted role, former Vineyard head coach Don Herman and former Nantucket head coach Joe Perry will be in the documentary quite a bit.

The film was intended to be solely on the 2018 season, but Schadt told Getter he felt like he needed more footage so it was extended to the 2019 season. When the pandemic hit a year later, the project was put on hold while the station focused on other things such as assisting with emergency updates for the town and a weekly live news show with health director Roberto Santamaria.

“The Island Cup footage lived on a hard drive,” Schadt said. He added that there was consideration to condense everything into a five minute clip, but the station ultimately agreed that didn’t do the story, and the hard work put into accumulating all of this footage, justice.

The station raised funds for production costs, which is allowing 100 percent of the money raised through ticket sales to be donated to the Nantucket Booster Club.
Schadt spent months over on the Vineyard filming during practices, games, and school days while another crew took care of the filming on Nantucket.

You can learn more about this documentary and buy tickets by clicking here.