For Immediate Release
Contact: Mary Ellms, Marketing Associate
[email protected]

24th Maine International Film Festival Releases Program and Schedule

The Maine Film Center (MFC) announces the release of the program and schedule for the 24th annual Maine International Film Festival (MIFF), which will be held July 9-18 at Railroad Square Cinema and the Waterville Opera House in Waterville, the Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre in Skowhegan, and online. The complete lineup, festival passes and tickets for individual screenings are now available at MIFF.org.

Opening Night, July 9, features the New England premiere of NINE DAYS, a deeply imaginative, heartfelt and contemplative story about unborn souls trying to make their way to earth as one man in a remote location determines who among them is most suitable for the miraculous journey into life. Starring Winston Duke (BLACK PANTHER, US), this film from first-time feature director Edson Oda 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.

This year’s Maine-based features include FIGHTING INDIANS, a documentary about Skowhegan’s reckoning with its identity, problematic history, and future relationship with its Indigenous neighbors during Maine’s debate on banning Native American mascots in public schools; 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; and THE BRIDE IN THE BOX, an offbeat ghost story about a girl and her parents who visit a house Downeast with an old mysterious trunk at the end of the hall. Two Maine Shorts programs will highlight a dozen more made-in-Maine works.

Another noteworthy program in this year’s festival is The Kneeling Art Photography Project, which exhibits photos of Mainers from all backgrounds taking a knee in support of anti-racist action in their communities. Attendees will have the opportunity to have their own photographs made as they take a knee and become part of this statewide solidarity movement. A live music and projection event will follow the opening night film in Castonguay Square.

MIFF is a project of the Maine Film Center and is made possible by presenting sponsors Waterville Creates, Colby College, and the Lawry Family Foundation.

All venues will operate at full capacity in accordance with Maine CDC guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic. Railroad Square Cinema will resume its regular year-round programming Friday, July 23.

About the Maine Film Center
The Maine Film Center (MFC) brings world-class independent film to Central Maine through Railroad Square Cinema, the only Sundance Art House Project cinema in Maine; the annual Maine International Film Festival, a 10-day celebration that attracts filmmakers and film aficionados from around the world; and by delivering impactful, accessible film exhibition and education programs. MFC believes that art and culture have the power to enrich lives, strengthen community bonds, and serve as an economic engine. MFC is a division of Waterville Creates. For more information, visit MaineFilmCenter.org.