2010 Online New England Film Festival

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Red Flag

Sep 2010

2009 | Directed by Sheila Curran Dennin

Tracy, an “everywoman” in her early 30’s, goes on four blind dates…nightmares. She emerges unscathed, even after ignoring red flag after red flag, and seems to have given up on dating. Free and alone, she stumbles upon a fabulous guy in the park. All is looking good until it’s time to say goodbye.

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Respect for Acting

Sep 2010

2010 | Directed by Richard Waterhouse

A frustrated acting teacher struggles to spark passion in his inexperienced students.

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A Lifelong Love

Sep 2010

2010 | Directed by Shawn Harmon

This documentary short focuses on John Reuter, a Gorham, Maine resident and world-class pinball player. John has slowly built a personal collection of over 100 pinball machines, most of which are set up in his home and are able to be played with the flick of a switch. John recounts his early pinball-playing days, talks of his zeal for the game and the worldwide community that surrounds it, and relates his own pinball-tinged philosophy on life. Throughout the film the stunning artwork and craftsmanship of the machines is on display through their bells, buzzers and lights. The film is produced by students at the University of Southern Maine.

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Sketches of an Icon

Sep 2010

2008 | Directed by Morgan Kirkham

WWII veteran and Vinalhaven resident Bert Dyer discusses life on an island off the coast of Maine. A regular presence outside of the Vinalhaven’s only grocery store, Bert has been a fixture of this town for many years — this film touches upon a few key elements of island living and the man himself.

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Backwater

Sep 2010

2009 | Directed by Michael Fisher

A man released from prison is shadowed by a figure from his past, forcing him to question whether he can ever be free.

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Unmoored

Sep 2010

2011 | Directed by Marie Brown & Yari Wolinsky

James is dead. Sarah stole his ashes. They’re both gonna have a long day.

Unmoored is the story of a couple with one afternoon left to get things right.

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Cat Window

Sep 2010

2010 | Directed by Craig Saddlemire

An experimental short film about two indoor cats and what they see out of their second floor apartment window. Alone in their home, the cats contemplate freedom, mortality, and the inherent urge of some beings to try to understand one another. The world outside the ‘cat window’ is inter-cut with images of one of many ‘human windows’ – in this case, Youtube – exploring the many ways in which people try to connect with each other and often fail. However, there is no clear judgment of the outside world, or the people in it. Rather than reach conclusions, this film seeks to complicate all of the issues that it explores. By the end, we’re all just happy enough to have good plumbing and a loving sister to lick our ears and kick us in the face.

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Upstream to Downstream (In Our Bloodstreams)

Sep 2010

2010 | Directed by Krisanne Baker

Upstream to Downstream (In Our Bloodstreams) examines the systems of our culture, of which we are all participants; we dump unfathomable amounts of pollutants and DNA altering chemicals into our streams and rivers which eventually end in the ocean. It was once believed that waters were so vast, that whatever was dumped into it was somehow absorbed and made inert, or cleansed by the water. However, what goes around – comes back around, either by drinking water, consumption of contaminated foods, or loss of marine habitats’ ability to sustain life. Baker says, “Water is our lifeblood.” This eerie short in the style of flowing painterly public-service-announcement examines a need to restructure our water, waste, and energy systems – but first our way of thinking. Maine Ecological Artist and Film Director, Krisanne Baker makes a case for the changing of our cumulative consumerist practices in this experimental documentary short.

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Catching On: The Day the World Turned Gay

Sep 2010

2009 | Directed by Nick Pistorino

Catching On: The Day the World Turned Gay begins the day same-sex marriage is nationally legalized, and young Brian McCabe wakes up to a nation divided. His father and other slippery slope theorists fear that homosexuality will suddenly spread across the world… and it does. Now Brian must fight against the zombie-like gays and lesbians as they pass on their condition through ass grabbing. He’ll have to overcome his adolescent awkwardness, save the girl of his dreams, and try to straighten everything out before it’s too late.

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Crooked Lane

Sep 2010

2009 | Directed by Chase Bailey

A disappearance. Is the lost eight-year old girl from rural New Hampshire truly gone, or has she become one of Les Enfants Perdus (The Lost Children)? Struggling with the balance between longing, obsession, loss and love, one mother’s pain leads her to see the child threaded through her days, even 10 years later. Her choices could cost those around her more than she knows.

Inspired by stories told by generations of New Englanders and French Canadians, the legend of Crooked Lane weaves a tale of fact and fiction to paint a picture of our longing for the ones we can not save. Can we ever overcome the legends of the Les Temps de Abattus (The Times of the Culled)?