NEW FEATURES Sunday, July 9 9PM | MFC 1 Saturday, July 15 6:20PM | MFC 3
Maine Premiere
KOKOMO CITY USA 2023 - DCP - 73 minutes, in English Director: D. Smith Producers: Bill Butler, Harris Doran, D. Smith With: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, Dominique Silver Print Courtesy: Magnolia Films Black trans filmmaker D. Smith has made a movie about four Black trans sex workers, shot in shiny, stunning high contrast black and white…and has made Kokomo City a total triumph. Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll and Liyah Mitchell are all stunning, and their stories, as captured and depicted by Smith are diverse: sometimes funny, sometimes scary, always human, vital, and above all, frank. In fact, Smith’s four subjects seem like born storytellers…and they have stories to tell that you may not have heard before. Entering Kokomo City is an unforgettable experience. —KE Sponsored by Wild Clover Café & Market
Monday, July 10 6:40PM | MFC 2 Sunday, July 16 3:20PM | MFC 3
New England Premiere
LA PECERA (THE FISHBOWL) USA/Puerto Rico, Spain 2023 - DCP - 92 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles Director, Screenplay: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez Producers: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez, Amaya Izquierdo, José Esteban Alenda Cast: Isel Rodríguez, Modesto Lacén, Magali Carrasquillo, Maximiliano Rivas, Anamín Santiago, Idenisse Salamán Print Courtesy: Visit Films Director Glorimar Marrero Sanchez pulls off an amazingly difficult feat in La Pecera, melding the most personal of stories with the most political. Vieques, Puerto Rico was for decades a testing ground for the U.S. military, and Noelia (in a fantastic performance by Isel Rodriguez) grew up on this island off the coast of Puerto Rico. Though she’s moved to San Juan, when she is diagnosed with a recurring cancer, she decides to forego treatment and return to Vieques, in part to try to raise awareness of the environmental hazards that the contamination of a former paradise has wrought. La Pecera, like its heroine, makes the old adage “the personal is political” hit home. —KE
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Maine International Film Festival 2023 MIFF.ORG