New England Premiere STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT

USA 2022 - DCP - 88 minutes, in English Directors, Screenplay: Kristen Abate, Steven Tanenbaum

Producers: Kristen Abate, Lindsey Cordero, Armando Croda, Steven Tanenbaum

Cast: Kristen Abate, Steven Tanenbaum, Sasha Boykin, AJ Cedeno

Print Courtesy: GQue

Saturday, July 9 3:15 P.M. | RR2

Tuesday, July 12 9:15 P.M. | RR2

Written, directed, produced by and starring the disabled Kristen Abate and Steve Tanenbaum, STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT is not what you think it is. For one thing, it’s consistently hilariously funny—the humor coming from that rarest of things, total honesty. For another, though very lowkey, this is not just a comedy but a drama as well. Twenty-something Kristen walks dogs for a living but dreams of being a writer, yet battles with a severe form of arthritis and is permanently bent over. Things go sideways when she is evicted from her apartment and her boss sends her to walk a new client’s dog. There she meets Steven, an older man who is also bent over. Confronted with a mirror image of her disability, Kristen is horrified but Steven sees an opportunity. This is a surprising and genuinely delightful film that will set you straight about a lot of things. —Ken Eisen Sponsored by Eye Care of Maine

Maine Premiere SWEET DISASTER

Germany 2021 - DCP - 90 minutes, in English, Finnish and German with English subtitles

Director: Laura Lehmus

Screenplay: Ruth Toma

Producers: Markus Kaatsch, Nina Poschinski, Michael Grudsky, Christian Becker, Oliver Schwabe, Laura Lehmus, Eva Habermann

Cast: Friederike Kempter, Florian Lukas, Lena Urzendowsky, Lasse Myhr, Katharina Behrens

Saturday, July 9 12:00 P.M. | RR3

Monday, July 11 6:00 P.M. | RR3

SWEET DISASTER tells the story of Frida, a GermanFinnish painting therapist, as two events change the usual course of her life. First, she unexpectedly becomes pregnant and Felix, the father of her child, breaks up with her to reunite with his ex who suddenly moves back. Felix admits that it’s not the best timing, however it doesn’t prevent him from leaving. Despite some serious health problems caused by the pregnancy forcing her to rest, Frida can’t accept his leaving, and with the help of absurd, exaggerated and sometimes absolutely comic actions, she tries to get him back. Director Laura Lehmus “charms the audience with animations and surreal inspiration without slipping into artificial gimmicks. The real-life position of single moms remains constantly present”—Peter Gutting, Programmkino. —Nancy