MIFF Magic: It's All In The Mix

Infestation is one of the Maine-made films at the festival. It will have a special screening at the Skowhegan Drive-in.

by Esther J. Perne

The Twelfth Annual Maine International Film Festival opens on July 10, runs for 10 days, involves 50 filmmakers, totals over 100 films and, like the eleven previous successful festivals, has an incredible balance. Independent and international, local and foreign, re-discovery and introductory, classic and unconventional are all part of the mix. So are some changes for MIFF 2009 that are making news.

Adding MIFF in The Music Hall, a satellite festival in Portsmouth, N.H., is one of the biggest changes. Three days, eight films, selected as a good representation of MIFF overall, some of the same guest appearances, and an attempt to attract the southern Maine market are behind this unique move.
Scheduling of movies at the two Waterville venues, the Waterville Opera House and Railroad Square Cinema, has been spaced out to allow time between films for diehard viewers to regroup. Pass holders, especially, will benefit from the new scheduling.

The Rivals is a documentary about a football rivalry between two Maine high schools, one in a down-on-its-heels milltown and the other in a tony, coastal suburb.

Opening MIFF with the world premier of a Maine movie, almost exclusively made in Maine, The Rivals not only represents two sections of Maine geographically and demographically, but shows that every facet of filmmaking can be achieved in-state.
Incorporating a showing at the Skowhegan Drive-in Theater adds an interesting historic footnote to MIFF. Only a few hundred of these vanishing American entertainment icons still exist, and it is important to highlight that central Maine still has a drive-in. Networking with other central Maine cultural landmarks accentuates links with specific films, i.e. visiting the L.C. Bates Museum for a tour of the bug exhibit before the showing of made-in-Maine horror flick Infestation.
Including a representative of the Skowhegan School of Art in a panel discussion on the various forms and impacts of public art following the screening of Automorphosis is another example.
Featuring more Latin American films among the international screenings. Mexico, Panama, Bolivia and Argentina are all part of the scheduling mix.
Offering a free workshop, "Smaller is Better! No-Budget Filmmaking as a Subversive Art," for people with little or no audio/visual media-making experience, allows them the rare opportunity to operate equipment.

Carousel was filmed on the Maine coast.

Bringing back Carousel and other "re-discovery" films. This 1956 classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, filmed in Boothbay Harbor and Camden, has been restored and is a reminder to filmgoers of Maine's former film connections when Governor Edward Muskie was among the distinguished guests who attended its premier in New York City.
Honoring Arthur Penn with the Lifetime Achievement Award and showing four of his films, especially Bonnie and Clyde and Little Big Man that are all-time favorites with movie audiences.
Holding a pre-party, MIFF in the Belgrades, at the Spring Gallery Sculpture Garden.

For more information about the festival, visit www.miff.org, write to info@miff.org, or call 861-8138.

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MIFF Magic: It's All In The Mix