24th Maine International Film Festival Program Guide

July 9–18, 2021 24

TH MAINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

MIFF.ORG

Presenting

Festival Staff

Mike Perreault Executive Director

Ken Eisen

Programming Director

Julia Dunlavey Assistant Executive Director

Alan Sanborn Theater Manager, Technical Coordinator

J-sun Bailey Technical Coordinator, Projectionist

Jak Peters Associate Programmer, Projectionist, Festival Trailer Creator

Nancy Bixler Associate Programmer

Bria Watson Associate Programmer

Taylor Peterson Associate Programmer

Saidah Russell Guest Programmer

Adelia Scheck Venue Manager

Maddi Roy Venue Manager

Deni Merrill Assistant Box Office Manager, Print Shipping Coordinator

Arleen KingLovelace Guest Services Coordinator

Lisa Lessard Guest Services Coordinator

Emilienne Ouellette Box Office Manager

Phoebe Sanborn Administrative Assistant, MIFF Help Desk

Mary Ellms Marketing Associate

Jill Lawrence Patron Services Assistant

Zachary-Allen Wallace Patron Services Assistant

John Meader Festival Photographer

Mali Welch / All Over It Festival Graphic Design

Erica Lee Festival Intern

Sophie Nacht Festival Intern

Ticket Information

Individual Tickets

Individual tickets for all festival screenings and events are available at MIFF.org. Advance ticket sales close four hours prior to showtime. After the cut-off time, tickets may only be purchased at the door to the venue one hour prior to showtime or at the Festival Box Office at Railroad Square Cinema. Most screenings $10; Opening and Closing Night films $12.

Intern

Special Thanks

Pass Information

Full Festival Pass ($150): Admits one to all in-person, drive-in, and virtual events. Nontransferable.

Partial Pass ($95): Ten admissions to inperson, drive-in, and virtual events; good for up to two admissions per event.

Pass holders must arrive at Railroad Square Cinema and the Waterville Opera House at least 15 minutes prior to showtime to receive priority entry. Admission to the Skowhegan Drive-In Theater is on a firstcome, first-served basis. All event entry is subject to availability.

Teresa McKinney, David Boardman, Laurel McLeod, Desiree Dubois, Leslie Fields-Cruz, Alisa Norris

ARTS EXPERIENCES FOR ALL

Venues

Railroad Square Cinema

17 Railroad Square, Waterville

Waterville Opera House

1 Common Street, Waterville

Skowhegan Drive-In Theater

201 Waterville Road, Skowhegan

Camera Policy

Photographs and video footage will be taken throughout MIFF and will be used by the Maine Film Center for marketing purposes in our print materials, on our website and social media channels, and in third-party publications. Your presence at Festival events or venues constitutes your consent to being included in such recordings. No cameras or recording devices other than those for official use may be used during film screenings.

PRESENTING SPONSORS

SHOWRUNNER SPONSOR

OFFICIAL VEHICLE OF MIFF

LEAD EXHIBITION SPONSOR VENUE SPONSORS

DAY SPONSORS

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

HOSPITALITY SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSORS

PRODUCER’S CLUB

Joel and Alice Johnson

DIRECTOR’S CLUB

Barbara and Ted Alfond, Martha Arterberry and Bill Wilson, Patricia Clark, Jill Gordon, Bill Jefferson, Peter and Lee Lyford, Nancy A. Sanford, Tobi Schneider and Steve Neumeister, Kathryn Slott

FUNDED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM:

MIFF FAN CLUB

Joan and Peter Beckerman, John and Judy Bielecki, Carol Godfrey, Karen Heck and Bruce Olson, Karen Kusiak, Jabar, LaLiberty & Dubord LLC

FESTIVAL FRIENDS

Anna Lee Court, Deanna Dorsey, Marilyn and Roger Renfrew, Barbara Shea

Welcome to the Maine International Film Festival!

Few things feel as good as being able to welcome you back to our celebration of film. At MIFF, we connect with the creative imagination, thoughts, and experiences of so many talented filmmakers and subjects from Maine and around the world. We have on offer a wonderful lineup of films and exhibitions that reflect upon social issues, love and sacrifice, music and food, cultural awareness, origins and destinies, and life in transition.

We can all likely relate to that last theme. We’re thrilled to be able to reopen the doors of Railroad Square Cinema for the first time in over a year and to return to the Waterville Opera House. For five special nights, MIFF will screen at the Skowhegan Drive-In Theater, and a selection of shorts and features will stream in our Virtual Festival. No matter where you are, I hope you’ll enjoy transformative experiences through film over these ten days.

In Waterville, you’ll notice the ongoing and exciting developments in the downtown area, and I encourage you to support local businesses by making shopping and dining a part of your festival experience. The scenic Kennebec Valley has a host of adventures for you to discover, and I hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunities our region has to offer.

Most important, I look forward to finally seeing you again at the movies.

Mike Perreault Executive Director Maine Film Center

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday July 16

MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY

Saturday July 17

Sunday July 18

THE LAST ELECTION AND OTHER LOVE STORIES

“FROM AWAY” SHORTS

P.M. TRUTH TO POWER: BARBARA LEE SPEAKS FOR ME

THE MIRROR SHOWN WITH THE DREAM IN THE MIRROR

THE LONELINESS OF THE BONES

THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD

Waterville

Opera House

WOH 800 seats

Skowhegan Drive-In Theater

SDI 300 vehicles

Virtual Festival

The following films are available to stream at MIFF.org beginning on the following dates to the end of the festival:

Saturday, July 10

5:00 P.M. MAINE SHORTS I 9:30 P.M. “TRANSITIONS” SHORTS

Sunday, July 11

5:00 P.M. MAINE SHORTS II 9:30 P.M. “FROM AWAY” SHORTS

Monday, July 12 5:00 P.M. SAPELO 9:30 P.M. MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY

Special Events

THE KNEELING ART PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT + LUMENARRT!

Friday, July 9 9:00 P.M. OPENING NIGHT EVENT CASTONGUAY SQ, WATERVILLE

Saturday, July 10 1:00 P.M. COMMUNITY ART ACTIVISM WORKSHOP 18 MAIN STREET, WATERVILLE

Sat, July 10–Sun, July 18 1:00 – 5:00 P.M. DAILY EXHIBITION & PHOTO BOOTH 18 MAIN STREET, WATERVILLE

Monday, July 12 10:30 P.M.

STAR PARTY W/ JOHN MEADER QUARRY ROAD RECREATION WELCOME CENTER, WATERVILLE

Thursday, July 15 3:00-5:00 P.M. ART IN THE PARK: MAKE A CAIRN! HEAD OF FALLS,

OPENING NIGHT

Friday, July 9 6:30 p.m. | WOH

Tuesday, July 13 7:30 p.m. | RR2

New England Premiere NINE DAYS

USA 2021 - DCP - 124 minutes, in English

Director, Screenplay: Edson Oda

Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Laura Tunstall, Matthew Lindner, Datari Turner

Cast: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl, Ariana Ortiz

Print Courtesy: Sony Pictures Classics

Chances are you haven’t seen a film like NINE DAYS because there really isn’t another. It’s a true original from first-time feature director Edson Oda. This is a deeply imaginative, heartfelt and contemplative story of unborn souls trying to make their way to earth as one man in a remote location determines which among them is most suitable for the miraculous journey into life. Is he God, or A god? It appears not. From the comfort of his living room, Will (Winston Duke, BLACK PANTHER, US) watches human life unfurl on a series of vintage TV sets, keeping an eye on random people across the globe as they go about their daily lives. But when one subject suddenly dies, leaving a vacancy for another life, Will sets out to interview and select the ideal replacement candidate over the course of nine days, issuing a series of challenges to determine their emotional and spiritual fitness. Only one soul can make the journey, with the rest facing oblivion after experiencing one final wish orchestrated by Will—a chosen moment of what life on earth might have been like had they made the cut. Oda conjures up a cinematic universe like no other—a vision of life before life that delves to the very heart of where we come from, where we are going, and what we must do to survive once we are born. Sponsored by Jill Gordon

NEW FEATURES

Sunday, July 11 3:30 p.m. | RR2

Thursday, July 15 7:00 p.m. | WOH

USA 2021 - DCP - 82 minutes, in English

Director: Jamila Wignot

Producers: Lauren DeFilippo, Judith Wignot

Maine Premiere AILEY

With: Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison, Bill T. Jones, Carmen de Lavallade

Print Courtesy: Neon Pictures

You could say that Alvin Ailey embodied a mass of contradictions. Proudly Black, he founded, in the ‘50s, a company trailblazingly based on African and African-American history and tradition in the eurocentric world of modern dance at the time. Gay, he remained closeted until after his death of AIDS in the late ‘80s. But in the end, there’s his stunning work and legacy, and a dance company that still flourishes with his name today. AILEY is a dynamic profile of the iconic dancer and choreographer. Framed around a remastered voiceover of Ailey himself recounting his own life story, the film takes us from his humble childhood in segregated Texas through his stints on Broadway and in Hollywood, before finding his niche as a choreographer and founding his eponymous dance troupe. Interwoven with awe-inspiring dance footage of Ailey and his company over the decades is the current company, rehearsing choreographer Rennie Harris’s hauntingly beautiful tribute piece to Ailey. Colleagues and fellow dance greats Judith Jamison, Bill T. Jones, Carmen de Lavallade also appear to help us realize the legacy and story of this pioneer who interpreted the Black American experience with grace, strength, and unparalleled beauty through a great art form. Sponsored by Nancy A. Sanford

New England Premiere BEANS

Canada 2020 - DCP - 92 minutes

In French and Mohawk with English subtitles, and in English

Director: Tracy Deer

Producer: Anne-Marie Gélinas

Screenplay: Tracey Deer, Meredith Vuchnich

Cast: Kiawentiio Tarbell, Rainbow Dickerson, Violah Beauvais, Paulina Alexis, D’Pharaoh Mckay Woon-a-Tai

Print Courtesy: FilmRise

Friday, July 16 7:00 p.m. |

Saturday, July 17 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and delinquent adolescence; and between Native and Settler culture—strongly FrenchCanadian, as she is just outside Montreal. She must grow up fast to become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Indigenous uprising known as The Oka Crisis, which tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990, observing and then participating as her people defend the little they have. Director Tracey Deer’s first feature, like Beans, is smart, energetic, surprising, engaging, and important. Sponsored by Barbara and Ted Alfond

New England Premiere THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD

USA 2020 - DCP - 85 minutes

In English

Director: Yael Bridge

Producers: Yael Bridge, Morgan Spector, Eden Wurmfeld

With: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Naomi Klein, Cornell West, Eric Foner

Print Courtesy: Greenwich Entertainment

Tuesday, July 13 3:30 p.m. | RR2

Friday, July 16 7:30 p.m. | RR2

“That’s SOCIALISM!” yell some about programs designed to help the disadvantaged members of our society have something like economic and other equal rights. “What’s wrong with THAT?!” asks THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD, a truly illuminating and entertaining history and exploration of a word and a concept that was perceived in a very positive light as a beacon of hope and progress in the early decades of the U.S. 20th century, but has been turned into a political dirty word since. In Yael Bridge’s positive, intelligent documentary, footage from past and present combine with voices very much from the now, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Bernie Sanders, from Naomi Klein to Cornell West, to leave you galvanized and ready for something different than the way things have been. Sponsored by Bill Jefferson

NEW FEATURES

Tuesday, July 13 7:00 p.m. | WOH

Thursday, July 15 8:30 p.m. | SDI

Sunday, July 18 3:30 p.m. | RR2

East Coast U.S. Premiere

BREAD IN THE BONES

Canada 2020 - Digital - 71 minutes

In English Director: Darrell Varga

Producers: Darrell Varga, Walter Forsyth

With: Stu Silverstein, Peter Schumann

Print Courtesy: Darrell Varga

“The Poetry, Pleasures and Politics of Bread” is what the film’s poster says BREAD IN THE BONES is about, and that’s no false advertising. Bread is central to our civilization—it’s indeed in our bones. It’s nourishment for both our bodies and our collective souls, connecting us to culture, community—and to our taste buds. BREAD IN THE BONES takes us on an exploratory bread journey from France, Germany, Bulgaria, and beyond to Vermont (Hello, Bread and Puppet Theater’s Peter Schumann!) to…Central Maine! (hello to Solon resident and Railroad Square cofounder Stu Silverstein) to talk, taste and tango with bread. A host of narrators anecdotally tell complex, sometimes funny, sometimes charged stories of love and loss, work and pleasure, art and immigration, stories in which bread is always at the center of the cinematic table. Warning: you may be hungry after viewing! Sponsored by Maine Grains

Tuesday, July 13 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Wednesday, July 14 8:30 p.m. | SDI

Thursday, July 15 7:00 p.m. | RR1

World Premiere

THE BRIDE IN THE BOX

USA 2021 - DCP - 95 minutes

In English Director, Screenplay: Doug Bost

Producer: Erika Hampson

Cast: Victor Verhaeghe, Carolyn Baeumler, Acadia Bost

Print Courtesy: Doug Bost

Entirely made-in-Maine by former Mainer Doug Bost, THE BRIDE IN THE BOX is Bost’s first feature— and it’s both an offbeat ghost story and an offbeat family story, navigating all terrain with equal finesse, and always skirting the pitfalls that befall films that make everything too direct and in-your-face. THE BRIDE IN THE BOX’s central character is Iris, the lively, imaginative young daughter of Don and Heather, who are returning to their favorite Downeast area (around Northwest Harbor) from the city to chill out, play, and be together. But Heather’s job demands delay her, so Don and Iris arrive before her, taking up residency in a new spot, a house with an old trunk at the end of the hall. “What’s in there?” Iris wonders—it’s locked, and can’t be opened. Don and Heather communicate with each other by cell with some increasing tension as Heather prepares to get back to her family, as Iris communicates with…what? And is it inside her head or inside the box? That’s one of the questions this tense yet playful Maine original, world premiering here, hinges on. Sponsored by Patricia Clark

THE CATCH

USA 2020 - DCP - 97 minutes

In English

Director, Screenplay: Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer

Producers: Kiercke Panisnick, Amy Durning

Cast: Katia Winter, Bill Sage, James McMenamin, Kyle Gallner, Emy Coligado, Jere Burns

Print Courtesy: Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer

Monday, July 12 8:30 p.m. | SDI

Tuesday, July 13 7:00 p.m. | RR1

When Matt Ya-Hsiung Balzer brought his “The Colonial” to MIFF as part of its “Peril” shorts program four years ago, it was clear that we were witnessing the cinematic birth of a really promising young talent. That promise is more than fulfilled with his Maine-set THE CATCH, which follows a woman who returns to her estranged family in coastal Maine and hijacks a drug shipment, putting her life and her family in danger. Blending thriller with family drama and incorporating a remarkable blend of acting talent including Katia Winter (SLEEPY HOLLOW), Bill Sage (AMERICAN PSYCHO), James McMenamin (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK), Kyle Gallner (DEAR WHITE PEOPLE), Emy Colligado (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE), and Jere Burns (JUSTIFIED), THE CATCH is unforgettable. Sponsored by Jabar, LaLiberty & Dubord Attorneys at Law

Work-in-Progress Screening FIGHTING

INDIANS

USA 2021 - DCP - approx. 120 minutes

In English and in Passamaquoddy with English

subtitles

Directors: Mark Cooley, Derek Ellis

Screenplay: Mark Cooley, Derek Ellis, Ryan Griffiths

Print Courtesy: Spora Studios LLC

Saturday, July 10 7:00 p.m. | WOH

Sunday, July 11 8:30 p.m. | SDI

On May 16th, 2019, The State of Maine made history by passing of LD 944: An Act to Ban Native American Mascots in All Public Schools, the first legislation of its kind in the country. For Maine’s tribal nations, the landmark legislation was a victory in a decades-long struggle to educate the public on the harms of native mascotry. FIGHTING INDIANS chronicles the last and most contentious holdout in that struggle, the central Maine Skowhegan High School, known for decades as “The Home of the Indians.” This is the story of a small New England community forced to reckon with its identity, problematic history, and future relationship with its Indigenous neighbors. It is a story spanning many years, taking place in a divided town where the “mascot debate” exposes centuries-old abuses while still asking if reconciliation is possible. Sponsored by Tree Spirits Winery & Distillery

Maine Premiere

NEW FEATURES

Saturday, July 17 7:00 p.m. | WOH

Sunday, July 18 3:00 p.m. | RR1

THE LAST ELECTION AND OTHER LOVE STORIES

USA 2021 - DCP - 72 minutes, in English

Director: Miguel Silveira

Screenplay, Producers: Miguel Silveira, Missy Hernandez

Cast: Khadim Diop, Xisko Maximo Monroe, Kimber Monroe

Print Courtesy: Miguel Silveira

Last year, Miguel Silveira, Missy Hernandez and other cast and crew came to central Maine as we world premiered their knockout first feature AMERICAN THIEF at MIFF. It included footage shot on the fateful presidential election night of 2016. A few months after the premiere, Silveira, Hernandez and company were in Times Square, shooting footage on another, very different presidential election night, 2020. THE LAST ELECTION is a documentary, a podcast, and a flash ethnography about the United States on that day. The framing story follows amateur podcaster Khadim Diop and his creative partner Xisko Monroe in the creation of a podcast titled “The Last Election.” They record interviews and observations from the streets of Times Square from sunrise November 3, 2020, to sunrise November 4, 2020, and focus on three primary questions they ask every interviewee, including “Could this be the last election?” Conflict arises between the podcasters when Xisko’s sister shows up to help and Khadim’s personal political choices are challenged. Yes, the old maxim “the personal is political” is very much in both background and foreground of THE LAST ELECTION, and we are thrilled to also be world-premiering it at MIFF this summer.

Wednesday, July 14 7:00 p.m. | WOH

Friday, July 16 3:30 p.m. | RR2

THE LONELINESS OF THE BONES

Argentina 2021 - DCP - 79 minutes

In Spanish with English subtitles

Director, Screenplay: Alfredo Lichter

Producer: DAXFILMS

Print Courtesy: Alfredo Lichter

In the early 1960s, Natalie arrives in Tierra del Fuego from the United States to start a family. There, she dedicates her life to exploring the islands, looking for plants for an herbarium, and finding the bones of whales and dolphins for a museum. She creates an endless collection. This is the life of a woman who had the audacity to venture into a place with no room for the weak 150 years ago. It’s a nearly forgotten story from another time and another astonishing part of the world that few ever see. THE LONELINESS OF THE BONES takes Argentine director Alfredo Lichter, who graced us at MIFF with his wonderful NATURAL HISTORY, to this unique and dreamlike landscape for a documentary that’s also a work of the imagination, because there’s no other way than Lichter’s truthful yet uniquely cinematic approach to fully appreciate Natalie’s life, work, and landscape. Sponsored by Kathryn Slott

World Premiere

World Premiere

MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY

USA 2020 - DCP - 80 minutes

In English and in Spanish with English subtitles

Directors: Lisa Molomot, Jeff Beniss

Producers: Lisa Molomot, Jeff Beniss, Jacob Bricca

Print Courtesy: Lisa Molomot

NEW FEATURES

Monday, July 12 7:00 p.m. | RR1

Friday, July 16 7:00 p.m. | RR1

MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY brings the immediacy and tension of the dilemma of young immigrants at the U.S. border into a powerful and unforgettable cinematic form. Two families search for their loved ones who went missing in the vast border lands of Brooks County, Texas, the site of more migrant deaths than anywhere else in the country. On their journey, they meet vigilante ranchers, humanitarian activists, Border Patrol search and rescue teams, and others locked in a proxy version of the national immigration debate. But MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY makes the stories and debate immediate. There is a reality to the landscape, to the vast stretches that encompass both the imagination and the unimaginable here.

Sponsored by Joel and Alice Johnson

NUEVE SEVILLAS (NINE SEVILLES)

Spain 2020 - DCP - 157 minutes

In Castilian with English subtitles

Directors: Gonzalo García Pelayo, Pedro G. Romero

Screenplay: Pedro G. Romero

Producers: Roberto Butragueño, Nathlie Trafford, Joaquín Bázquez

Musical and Other Cast: Javiera de la Fuente, Bobote, Janek, Yinka Esi Graves

Print Courtesy: Elamedia Studios, Magnétoca Cine

Monday, July 12 7:00 p.m. | WOH

Wednesday, July 14 3:00 p.m. | RR1

NUEVE SEVILLAS (NINE SEVILLES) is an immersion in a unique culture in a unique city—the music, dance and gitano culture of Seville, Spain today. NUEVE SEVILLAS is discursive, loose, beautiful, and remarkable, like the music itself. Nine people, nine characters of the city, nine literal walks through Seville, and a sweet trip into the flamenco art and dance world with which it is so closely linked. With the presence of a new generation of artists, the city and the flamenco are lending affection, conversations and gestures to each other, which we share over the film’s relaxed running time. NUEVE SEVILLAS portrays one unique city and nine people closely: dancer Javiera de la Fuente, poet David Pielfort, lawyer and feminist Pastora Filigrana, flamenco dancer Bobote, the Roma singer and Hungarian dancer Janek, actress Rocio Montero, African and English dancer Yinka Esi Graves, bullfighter Vanessa Montoya, and NUEVE SEVILLAS director Gonzalez Garcia Pelayo, perfect accomplices for this film in its rare mix of radicalism in form and rootedness to the city. Sponsored by Karen Kusiak

Maine Premiere

North American Premiere

Saturday, July 10 7:00 p.m. | RR1

Thursday, July 15 3:00 p.m. | RR1

New England Premiere REBEL

UK 2020 - DCP - 82 minutes

In English

DYKES

Directors: Harri Shanahan, Sian Williams

Producer: Siobhan Fahey

Print Courtesy: GQue Films | Alameda Entertainment

Lively, uncompromising, sometimes hilarious, sometimes surprising, sometimes taboo-pushing, REBEL DYKES takes us into the explosion that happened when punk met feminism, told through the lives of a gang of lesbian, trans, and queer people in the riotous London of the 1980s. The honesty here— sexual, political, and personal—is beyond refreshing, and the perspective of decades has lent only insight and wonder to a period of time that feels both far away and very close. “REBEL DYKES is a fascinating look into an underexplored moment in queer history. It manages to create both an inspiring, energetic, riotous side and a nostalgic, personal perspective. It’s full of women with passion and strong personalities that are hugely enjoyable to watch. The style has a vibrancy to it that encapsulates the era it explores. It holds a great mix of being both informative, emotional and fun.”—Film Carnage

Sponsored by Carol Godfrey

Sunday, July 11 7:00 p.m. | WOH

ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN

USA 2021 - DCP - 118 minutes

In English

Director: Morgan Neville

Producers: Morgan Neville, Catrin Rogers

With: Anthony Bourdain

Print Courtesy: Focus Features

It’s a perfect match: Morgan Neville, who won an Oscar for his wonderful portrait of back-up rock singers, TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, meets Anthony Bourdain, the cultural-culinary-intellectual force who exploded onto the scene in 2000 and became a restaurant celebrity and TV star, found a truly entertaining place in the American cultural canon. Bourdain’s outsize personality, insatiable curiosity, and passion for food, travel, and culture tapped into a deeper humanity that resonated with viewers who felt that they knew him. ROADRUNNER is an amazingly energetic, fast-moving documentary, as fun and yet complex as the man himself, about his career as a chef, writer, and host, revered and renowned for his authentic, relaxed approach to food, culture, and travel. It’s not at all hard to imagine Neville copping another Oscar for this terrific documentary. Sponsored by Front & Main at the Lockwood Hotel

Maine Premiere SAPELO

Switzerland 2020 - DCP - 91 minutes

In English

Director: Nick Brandestini

Screenplay: Taylor Segrest

Producer: Vesna Eckert

Narration: Bahni Turpin

Print Courtesy: Nick Brandestini

Monday, July 12 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Saturday, July 17 7:00 p.m. | RR1

On the barrier island of Sapelo off the coast of Georgia, reachable only by boat, two brothers, JerMarkest and Johnathan, are growing up in the last remaining enclave of the Saltwater Geechee people. Their greatest joy is exploring the island like their adoptive mother, Cornelia Walker Bailey, did as a child. As SAPELO’s storyteller and elder matriarch, she works to preserve what remains of this unique community established by her ancestors. Reflecting on the complicated splendor of her youth, Cornelia strives to shepherd her young sons through theirs. At the dawn of adolescence, the brothers inherit her hope, but their bond is tested as they begin to face the wider world. Director Nick Brandestini, a veteran of several past MIFFs with his films CHILDREN OF THE ARCTIC and DARWIN, has etched a remarkable cinematic career, traveling the world in search of cultures and places that he evokes honestly yet poetically in his films. He has met an ideal subject in SAPELO.

Sponsored by Tobi Schneider and Steven Neumeister

New England Premiere

THE SELF PORTRAIT

Norway 2020 - DCP - 70 minutes

In Norwegian with English subtitles

Directors: Katja Hogset, Margreth Olin, Espen Wallin

Producer: Margreth Olin

Print Courtesy: Cinephil

Lene Marie Fossen was a gifted photographer who suffered from severe anorexia. Her eating disorder was at the center of her artistic practice and the tool with which she engaged in the representation of her own illness. This haunting portrait reveals how she explores her struggles through her own self-transcendent photography. At once beautiful and undeniably painful, her extraordinary catalog of images encourages us to think beyond how we understand this devastating disorder: “If only it was about snapping your fingers and beginning to eat again.” Her photographs and her reality are overwhelming in this remarkable documentary.

Saturday, July 10 3:30 p.m. | RR2

Thursday, July 15 7:30 p.m. | RR2

NEW FEATURES

Monday, July 12 3:30 p.m. | RR2

Wednesday, July 14 7:30 p.m. | RR2

TRUTH TO POWER: BARBARA LEE SPEAKS FOR ME

USA 2020 - DCP - 80 minutes

In English

Director: Abby Ginzburg

Producers: Abby Ginzburg, Joslyn Rose Lyons

With: Barbara Lee, Cory Booker, Alice Walker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Print Courtesy: Greenwich Entertainment

With unique access to a sitting member of Congress, TRUTH TO POWER: BARBARA LEE SPEAKS FOR ME tells the complex story of Oakland, California Representative Barbara Lee, a steadfast voice for human rights, peace, and economic and racial justice in Congress who cut her teeth as a volunteer for the Black Panther Party, and was the lone vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in opposition to the broad authorization of military force following the September 11th attacks. Lee is truly an inspirational human, as everyone from Cory Booker to Alice Walker attest, and TRUTH TO POWER is comparably inspirational as it follows Lee, as she speaks for those whose voices are not usually heard. Sponsored by Peter and Lee Lyford

CLOSING NIGHT

Sunday, July 18 7:00 p.m. | WOH

CRYPTOZOO

USA 2021 - DCP - 95 minutes

In English Director, Screenplay: Dash Shaw

Producers: Tyler Davidson, Kyle Martin, Jane Samborski, Bill Way

Vocal Cast: Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Grace Zabriskie, Alex Karpodsky, Zoe Kazan, Louisa Krause, Angeliki Papoulia, Emily Davis

Print Courtesy: Magnolia Pictures

It’s hard to talk about CRYPTOZOO without shaking your head and saying “What a trip!” This incredibly animated indie film appears to have taken some acid, and we get to go along for the ride. Set on another world (or is it some past or future version of ours?), CRYPTOZOO follows cryptozookeepers through a richly-drawn hallucinatory world as they struggle to capture a baku (a legendary dreameating hybrid creature) and begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a zoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown for their ultimate safety. What a world, what a world! Sponsored by Peter and Lee Lyford

New England Premiere

Maine Premiere

North American Restoration Premiere

Co-star and former MIFF Midlife Achievement Award

Honoree Michael Murphy introduces (at Wed. show only)

KANSAS CITY

USA 1996 - DCP - 116 minutes

In English

Director: Robert Altman

Screenplay: Robert Altman, Frank Barhydt

Producers: Robert Altman, Matthew Seig, David C. Thomas

Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi

Wednesday, July 14 7:00 p.m. | RR1 Friday, July 16 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Music: Music Director: Butch Morris; Produced by Hal Willner; Performed by James Carter, David Murray, Geri Allen, Joshua Redman, Ron Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Mark Whitfield, Kevin Mahogany, Craig Handy, Olu Dara, David “Fathead” Newman, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Curtis Fowlkes, Clark Gayton, James Zoller, Jesse Davis, Tyrone Clark, Victor Lewis

Print Courtesy: Arrow Films

Restoration courtesy of Arrow Films and the American Genre Film Archive.

MIFF is excited to welcome back one of our favorite Achievement Award Winners, Michael Murphy, to introduce the North American premiere of this new digital restoration of KANSAS CITY, one of great director Robert Altman’s most wonderful later films, an unusual and thrilling ‘30s era gangster story. Set in part in a boisterous after-hours nightclub in the city and era of Altman’s youth, it features some of the hottest jazz you’ve ever heard, played with ‘30s authenticity yet contemporary cutting-edge energy by jazz masters like David Murray, James Carter, and Geri Allen. And it sports a great ensemble cast including Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steve Buscemi, and Michael himself. It’s a breathtaking musical, thespian, and cinematic improvisation that we witness.

“KANSAS CITY is a wonderful film, done with all Altman’s offbeat virtuosity, maverick humor, and creative daring. The actors, like the musicians, sometimes stick to the melody, and sometimes jam away. KANSAS CITY is, in some respects, a twisted love poem, a torch ballad floating in the smoke-choked air. Altman, who loves jazz, probably wants to emulate the players and their achievements, wants to make his movie like the great Basie guys blew their horns. As a director, he tries to catch their strategy: In a world like this, sitting in darkness, you’ve just got to make some music, play that tune as fine and lovely as you can.”—Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Sponsored by Peter and Joan Beckerman

Sunday, July 11 7:00 p.m. | RR1

Thursday, July 15 3:30 p.m. | RR2

Maine Restoration Premiere THE MIRROR

Russia 1975 – DCP – 105 minutes

In Russian with English subtitles

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Producer: Erik Waisberg

Screenplay: Aleksandr Misharin, Arseniy Tarkovskiy, Andrei Tarkovsky

Cast: Margarita Terekhova, Oleg Yankovskiy, Filipp Yankovskiy

Print Courtesy: Janus Films

From SOLARIS to STALKER, the ‘70s were when the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky directed one dazzling, original, distinctive, influential masterpiece after another. THE MIRROR falls between the two, and is equally stunning, though still a bit less known— which is just one reason why this gorgeous restoration is beyond wondrous. A senses-ravishing odyssey through the halls of time and memory, Tarkovsky’s sublime reflection on 20th century Russian history is as much a poem composed in cinematic images as it is a hypnagogic hallucination. In a richly textured collage of varying film stocks and newsreel footage, the recollections of a dying poet flash before our eyes, dreams mingling with scenes of childhood, wartime, and marriage, all imbued with the mystic power of a trance. Largely dismissed by Soviet critics upon its release due to its elusive narrative structure, THE MIRROR has since taken its place as one of the titan director’s most renowned and influential works, a stunning personal statement from an artist transmitting his innermost thoughts, and feelings directly from psyche to screen.

SHOWN WITH

World Premiere Public Screening

THE DREAM IN THE MIRROR

UK 2021 – Digital – 54 minutes

In English and in Russian with English subtitles

Directors, Screenplay: Seán Martin, Louise Milne

Producer, Print Courtesy: Criterion Pictures

Accompanying our showing of Tarkovsky’s masterpiece, we are happy to host the World Premiere Public Screening of a fascinating new film about the director and the making of THE MIRROR, part of a series of films on Tarkovsky by two of MIFF’s longtime favorite cinematic contributors, Louise Milne and Seán Martin, who have graced us with their presence and films for literally decades.

Sponsored by John and Judy Bielecki

MAINE SHORTS I

Saturday, July 10 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Tuesday, July 13 Shown w/ Maine Shorts II 8:30 p.m. | SDI

Saturday, July 17 3:30 p.m. | RR2

LEAVING HOME

10 minutes

Director, Producer, Screenplay: Bennett Mosseau

Cast: Mark Nash, Nick Bresinsky, Jamie Weygint

Examining a 66-year-old man’s decision to leave an island off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine.

NATASHA MAYERS: AN UN-STILL LIFE

38 minutes

Directors: Anita Clearfield, Geoffrey Leighton

Producer: Anita Clearfield

Artist. Trickster. Activist. For over 50 years, Natasha has taken on social, economic, and environmental justice issues with humor, irreverence, and a keen aesthetic.

THE WAY LIFE IS

9 minutes

Directors: Maple Razsa, Sophie Nacht

This narrative of a Mainer of color makes clear how pointless, destructive, and heartbreaking longterm incarceration almost always is.

THE SEEKER

19 minutes

Director: Lance Edmands

Producers: Kyle Martin, Sarah Tihany

Cast: Kenneth Copp

An excommunicated Amish woodworker struggles with spirituality, poverty, and life as an outcast from his strict, insular community.

Sponsored by Martha Arterberry and Bill Wilson

MAINE SHORTS II

Sunday, July 11 3:00 p.m. | RR1

Tuesday, July 13 Shown w/ Maine Shorts I 8:30 p.m. | SDI

Saturday, July 17 7:30 p.m. | RR2

EMBRYONIC UNIVERSE

3 minutes

Directors, Music: Isabelle Rogers, Phoebe Rogers

Can something as small as a single seed be the roots to something as endless as the universe?

WALTZ IN TIME

6 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Gordon LePage

Cast: Ellie Davis, Matt Davis

A girl repairs a torn melody when she visits an abandoned estate.

AN APOLOGY

18 minutes

Director: Collin Del Cuore

Producers: Danielle Agami, Lorraine Evanoff, Cheryl Mann

Screenplay: Danielle Agami, Collin Del Cuore

Losing touch with what matters most, a man imagines his surroundings full of movement and dance.

THRESHOLD(ER)

17 minutes

Director, Screenplay, Cast: Mase Peterson

Producers: Mase Peterson, Trish Lowell Solitude leads to an exploration of time, regression, repetition, and the trauma of uncertainty.

I LIKE TOMORROW

11 minutes

Directors, Producers, Screenplay: Nancy Andrews, Jennifer Reeder

Cast: Michole Brianna White

A lonely lady astronaut works out a love triangle between her past, present, and future selves.

FLOWERS AND BIKES

15 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Daniel Kayamba

Producer: Sasha Rosenberg

Cast: Elijah Richard, Jason Beene, Raheem Lavelle, Kevin Wade, Terry Holt, Devonte Gaston

A first date and a stolen bicycle cause the worlds of two sets of teen brothers to collide in unexpected tragedy.

CHLOE AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS

12 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Gordon LePage

A girl falls into the five elements while walking in the woods.

Sponsored by Martha Arterberry and Bill Wilson

“FROM AWAY” SHORTS

THE WINTER

Australia, China - 5 minutes

Director, Producer, Screenplay: Xin Li

A deer eludes a man exploring a snowy forest.

JUNIOR

USA, Haiti - 11 minutes

Director, Producer, Screenplay: AJ Wilhelm

Cast: Jérôme “Junior” Simeon, Ajayi Jackson, Immigrés

Lafond, Laurent Ansito, Jean Paul Saint Fleur

Acclaimed Haitian roots drummer Jérôme “Junior” Simeon grapples with his life and legacy.

WHEN GLACIERS GO

Nepal - 17 minutes

Director: Corey Robinson

Producers: Cameron Kruse, Tashi Bista

Parallel stories of the Gurung family in the remote Mustang region of Nepal.

NEW MEXICO DEATHWISH DIATRIBE

USA - 12 minutes

Director: Georg Koszulinski

Three narrators converge in the deserts of New Mexico, each with a separate story to tell.

AL-SIT

Sudan - 20 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Suzannah Mirghani

Producers: Suzannah Mirghani, Eiman Mirghani

Cast: Mihad Murtada, Rabiha Mohammed Mahmoud, Mohammed Magdi, Haram Bashar Alsir Mahjoub

In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, Nafisa turns to her grandmother, Al-Sit, for guidance.

IN THE MEANTIME, WITH YOU

USA - 13 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Conner Evert

Producers: Effy Kawira, Matthew Benesch

Cast: Mitchel Carlyle, Rocco Roberts, Sri Peck

Bryant makes the decision to leave his hometown, but not before gifting his two best friends something that will change them forever.

Sunday, July 11 7:30 p.m. | RR2

Wednesday, July 14 3:30 p.m. | RR2

BLUE MUON

France - 33 minutes

Director: Nicolas Pernot

Producer: Justine Malle

Cast: Sophie Kircher, Raphaël Ceriez, Johannes Oliver Hamm, Amélie Robin, Roman Kané, Alexandra Stewart

Marianne seeks to heal the man she loves from a strange but harmless disease.

LEYLAK

USA - 17 minutes

Directors: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos

Producers: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos, Mustafa Kaymak

Screenplay: Mustafa Kaymak

Cast: Nadir Saribacak, Isabella Haddock

In present-day Queens, a Turkish gravedigger is unable to face a shattering truth and risks losing the dearest connection in his life.

TWO LITTLE PEOPLE

Australia, China - 3 minutes

Director, Producer: Xin Li

Screenplay: Eléonore Mongiat

An exploration of the relationship between a man and a woman living in a wheat field.

“TRANSITIONS” SHORTS

Saturday, July 10 7:30 p.m. | RR2

Monday, July 12 7:30 p.m. | RR2

HOMEGOING

USA - 14 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Carlton Daniel Jr.

Producers: Evan Starling-Davis, Chester Gordon, Elegance Bratton

Cast: Khalil Kain, Malik Shakur, Chazz Giovanni

“These stories of individuals and communities encountering shifts in space, perception, self, and time illuminate the complex and varied ways we navigate transition, and the new realities we discover within the in-between.” —Saidah Russell, programmer

BRUISER

USA - 10 minutes

Director: Miles Warren

Producers: Albert Tholen, Gustavo René, Lauren Goetzman

Screenplay: Miles Warren, Ben Medina

A mortician’s son gains a new understanding of grief after a night out with his closest friends turns violent.

SINCE YOU ARRIVED, MY HEART STOPPED BELONGING TO ME

USA - 20 minutes

Director, Producer: Erin Semine Kökdil

Cast: Sebastiana Ajanel, María Elizabeth Martínez Castro, Rosa Gómez, Gabriela Ixcal

A group of Central American mothers search for their children who disappeared en route to the US.

PURE

USA - 12 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Natalie Jasmine Harris

Producers: Natalie Jasmine Harris, Alexyss Robinson, Natalie Holley

Cast: Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, Jacob Daniel Smith, Josca Moore, Aaron Casey, Jamon Adams

On the eve of her cotillion ball, a young girl grapples with her own insecurities and fears about embracing her queer identity.

SLIP

USA - 11 minutes

Director: Nicole Otero

Producers: Nikkia Moulterie, Nicole Otero

Cast: Valerie Teicher aka Tei Shi

Overcome by a sense of restlessness one evening, a woman traverses a dark and desolate city, moving untethered through space and time.

Cast: Noble B. Whitted, JD Williams

A young boy struggles to reconcile his relationship to manhood and to his father after the latter is involved in an act of violence that goes viral.

BOBERT

USA - 12 minutes

Director, Screenplay: Oluseyi Olatujoye

Producers: Matthew Gelzer, Oluseyi Olatujoye

Cast: Mecca Mshaka-Morris, Andrei Rafael Espina, Borah Ahn

After moving to New York, Andrei befriends an eccentric fellow skater named Bobby whose increasingly strange behavior puts them at odds.

DIAL HOME

USA - 21 minutes

Director: César Martínez Barba

Producers: Yadira Rodríguez, César Martínez Barba

Cast: Oscar Omar Cimota Pérez, Emily Alison Villarreal Soto

At call centers in Mexico servicing US customers, recently deported individuals find work and community in the limbo between borders.

THE KNEELING ART PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT + LUMENARRT!

The Kneeling Art Photography Project features photos of Mainers of all backgrounds taking a knee in support of anti-racist action in Maine communities.

Portland artist Titi de Baccarat partners with LumenARRT! to share testimonials and video projections that amplify the message of these striking photographs, inspiring all people to reexamine civic engagement in their own communities. Free and open to the public.

OPENING NIGHT EVENT

Friday, July 9

9:00 p.m.

Castonguay Square, Waterville

Come together in Castonguay Square after the Festival’s Opening Night screening for a special kickoff event with LumenARRT! and the Kneeling Art Photography Project. Live music, impactful photography, and projections on the façade of City Hall will light up downtown Waterville.

COMMUNITY ART ACTIVISM WORKSHOP

Saturday, July 10 1:00 p.m.

18 Main St., Waterville

The Kneeling Art Photography Project, Natasha Mayers, and LumenARRT! join forces for this workshop on strategies to use activist art. Take advantage of their combined experience to help you envision art activism in your community. If you’re involved in a nonprofit organization or have a special issue you’d like to address, this is a chance to activate your ideas and set a course for social change.

Sponsored by

EXHIBITION AND PHOTO BOOTH

Saturday, July 10 to Sunday, July 18

1:00 to 5:00 p.m. daily

18 Main St., Waterville

Throughout the rest of the Festival, photography, video projections, and an original soundscape will build an immersive audiovisual experience for visitors. The gallery display will highlight the narratives of our neighbors in Waterville and beyond who kneel to advance anti-racist social action in their communities. Join in and have your photograph made as you take a knee and become part of this statewide solidarity movement.

Still from video projection

Photo by John Ripton

Photo by John Ripton

Internationally recognized wines & spirits from locally sourced apples, pears, and maple syrup

Also featuring Limoncello, Sparkling Sangria, and Absinthe

Tastings Wednesday–Saturday. Private group tastings available

Proud Partner in the Redevelopment of Downtown Waterville

Unity Foundation salutes the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Maine International Film Festival!

Our mission is to support mission-driven nonprofits in Maine through capacity-building initiatives, organizational assessment, programmatic grantmaking and nonprofit management education. Our goal is to promote strong, sustainable nonprofits that reliably serve Maine communities.

PRO Moving Service is proud to be a part of this dynamic Central Maine community! Our superior level of service is always available to the creators in this unique area. Whether we’re moving the artist or artwork, the office manager or office furniture, the chef or restaurant fixtures, PRO will always be there. Count on us for your household and commercial moving, installations, office furnishings and more. Thanks for choosing a PRO!

PRO Moving Service is proud to be a part of this dynamic Central Maine community! Our superior level of service is always available to the creators in this unique area. Whether we’re moving the artist or artwork, the office manager or office furniture, the chef or restaurant fixtures, PRO will always be there Count on us for your household and commercial moving, installations, office furnishings and more Thanks for choosing a PRO!

The Official Vehicle of

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE ARTS

EXPERIENCE THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

2020-21 THEME

PUBLIC EVENTS

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

INTERNSHIPS AT AREA CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

/colbycenterfortheartsandhumanities

colby.edu/centerartshumanities

Left: Mary Cassatt, Peasant Mother and Child, c. 1894. Drypoint and aquatint on paper. Tenth (final) state. 17 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (43.8 x 28.6 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2017.468. Right: Bob Thompson, The Judgment of Paris, 1964. Oil on canvas. 75 3/8 × 60 5/16 in. (191.5 × 153.2 cm). Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art. © Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York. Photo: Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute / Art Resource, NY