Maine Short Film Festival

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Oak Street Mural

Sep 2017

Oak Street Mural
2015 | Directed by Alexis Iammarino & Scott Sell

This time-lapse film captures 16 days of work on the Oak Street mural, a new addition to the cultural vibrancy of Rockland’s downtown. The project was guided by local community mural artist Alexis Iammarino who runs SaturdayStudio at the Rockland Recreation Center. She was joined by two professional Baltimore-based mural artists, “Jessie and Katey”, who have been collaborating on large-scale murals and installations across the country since 2001. The mural was also completed with help of local artists and volunteers of all ages.

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Bird Carver

Sep 2017

2016 | Directed by Madeleine Cohen

Steven Valleau has been a professional bird carver for thirty years, most of them spent at the Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor, Maine. In this understated film, Valleau shows us that even the quiet and passionate pursuit of a solitary art such as his can take a surprising toll on the lives of those around him. Providing poignant glimpses into an artists’ life, as well as the nature of obsession, BIRD CARVER shows us how time can be purposefully, beautifully, and sometimes dangerously spent.

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The Long Haul

Sep 2017

2015 | Directed by Chloe White

We follow one woman as she heads to sea on a fishing boat. In the eerie night or under the still bright sun, it’s not always clear where or when this is. It appears as a dream removed from the particulars of the woman’s circumstances and so in her melancholy narration she might not just be describing her own life alone, but also ours.

This film was made by possible thanks to the kind support from the Macdowell Colony.

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Clothes Encounter

Sep 2016

2015 | Directed by Mike Perlman

Clothes Encounter is a commercial shot for a local thrift store featuring a parodied pop song.

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The Raw Essence of Carlo Pittore

Sep 2016

2015 | Directed by Richard Kane

The Raw Essence of Carlo Pittore is part of a series of films titled Great American Artists launched in 1999 as Maine Masters. Carlo Pittore (b. Charles Stanley, 1943-2005) was one of the original founders of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, the sponsor of this film series. As his friend the poet Bob Holman says in the film, “Carlo led a merry band of artists” in the 70s living in the yurts of Bowdoinham. Carlo was an internationally renowned “mail” artist and the postcards he sent around the world and exhibited at over a thousand shows are extraordinary.

It is with the hope that the release of this short will encourage others to help us fund the feature length version of this very complex artist. Contact mainemasters1@gmail.com for more information about this continuing project.

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Maine Heritage Orchard

Sep 2016

Maine Heritage Orchard
2016 | Directed by Huey

Maine Heritage Orchard documents the transformation of a reclaimed gravel pit into the Maine Heritage Orchard, a living museum of apples traditionally grown in Maine.  Organic farmer and nationally recognized apple expert, John Bunker, and others pass on their knowledge of working the land to the young farmers settling in Maine, preserving Maine’s orcharding traditions.

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Gun Shop

Sep 2016

Directed by Alan Magee

The satirical song “Gun Shop” comments on the escalation of mass gun violence in the United States. It argues that the proliferation of guns will continue to increase the number of victims. The song is an appeal to our nation to reexamine its obsession with guns.

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Bonaire

Sep 2016

Bonaire
2015 | Directed by Mauricio Handler

This natural history conservation short on the nature of the Island of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean was created to bring about local Island awareness of the richness and fragility of its local wildlife.

Cinematography – Mauricio Handler

Original Music & Editing  – Merell M. M. Notten

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Heart & Hand

Sep 2016

2014 | Directed by Sharyn Paul Brusie

Heart & Hand, is a short narrated, poetic tale about a farmer, his farm, the animals and the cycles of life. It gently carries you through seasons of continuity, death and rebirth.