{"id":14853,"date":"2018-04-25T19:48:02","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T23:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=14853"},"modified":"2018-05-24T09:14:32","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T13:14:32","slug":"maines-close-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/maines-close-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine\u2019s Close-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 2018 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Far from the Hollywood hills, innovative directors are casting our state in the spotlight. Discover the Maine movies<\/strong> coming to a screen near you. <\/span><\/h3>\n

By Sarah Moore<\/span><\/p>\n

\"MAY18-Movie-Story\"THE WITCH FILES<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> A group of misfit teenage girls form a powerful coven.<\/span><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Release pending (stay tuned for Halloween 2018) <\/span><\/p>\n

Where: <\/strong>Portland; Mackworth Island; Bath\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who:<\/strong> Paget Brewster (Friends<\/em>); Holly Tayler; Greg Finley<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, the streets of Portland crawled with the staggering bodies of the undead. This year, the skies overhead will spark with spells and curses. Kyle Rankin, director of the Portland-based comedy\/horror movie Night of the Living Deb<\/em><\/strong>, returns with more otherworldly antics in The <\/em>Witch Files<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s based around a group of misfit high school girls who meet in detention,\u201d he says. \u201cOne of them has certain magical skills, and she leads the others to an island [Mackworth], where they perform a ritual and form a coven.\u201d A world of possibility seemingly opens up to the newly minted witches, but, inevitably, there\u2019s a darker side to the magical allegiance. The movie trailer propels us through familiar haunts, from Exchange Street to Miss Portland Diner, as the spells turn to curses and storm clouds gather. \u201cI was watching Chronicle<\/em><\/strong> one day, and it was all these dudes discovering superpowers\u2013I just wasn\u2019t that interested,\u201d says Rankin. \u201cI feel like magic and witchcraft have a particularly feminine energy.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Rankin lives in LA, where he\u2019s currently working on an action movie. Night of the Living Deb<\/em> and The Witch Files<\/em> are self-confessed \u201cpassion projects\u201d for the director, who hails from York. \u201cI very selfishly wanted a reason to come back. I spend my time eating and drinking coffee around town. I like to keep an eye on the pool of creativity in Maine and hire local cast and crew for these movies where I can.\u201d Movie-making is a strikingly different experience in this corner of the country. \u201cBoth films were incredibly low budget, around $250,000 each,\u201d Rankin says. \u201cNo one in Los Angeles can believe it\u2019s possible to make a movie on that amount. But everyone\u2019s so accommodating here. The mayor and the sheriff both came to greet me while we shot The Witch Files<\/em> in Bath. People lined up to offer filming locations for free. We were made to feel very welcome.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

ISLAND ZERO<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> A remote Maine island community finds itself suddenly cut off from world. When people start to vanish, the terrified survivors realize that someone\u2013or something\u2013is hunting them.<\/span><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> May 15<\/span><\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Over 15 locations, including Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville<\/span><\/p>\n

Who:<\/strong> Laila Robins (Homeland)<\/em>; Adam Wade McLaughlin (Billions<\/em>); Teri Reeves (Once Upon A Time<\/em>); Elaine Landry<\/span><\/p>\n

I<\/span>f the Coppolas and Coens have taught us anything, it\u2019s that filmmaking is a family business. That being said, the partnership between best selling medical-thriller novelist Tess Gerritsen (of Rizzoli & Isles<\/em><\/strong> fame) and her photographer\/farmer son Josh Gerritsen may surprise viewers\u2013the pair have produced a horror movie that will set your skin crawling. \u201c[Tess] approached me about the idea out of the blue,\u201d Josh, the movie\u2019s director, says. \u201cWe were weeding my garden in 2014 when she turned to me and said, \u2018How would you like to make a horror movie in Maine?\u2019 Tess grew up watching horror films. I enjoy how horror allows you to explore some of humanity’s darker sides through the lens of something fantastical.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Island Zero<\/em><\/strong> transports us to small island community that finds itself inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world. Soon after, a shapeless \u2018something\u2019 begins to hunt the island\u2019s inhabitants one-by-one. \u201cTess came up with the idea by asking herself, \u2018What if you lived on an island and the ferry never came back?\u2019\u201d says Josh. \u201cShe worked backwards from there and filled out the story with characters who would fight to the ends of the earth to bring their loved ones to safety.\u201d The movie taps into a gnawing anxiety familiar to anyone who\u2019s lived beyond the easy grasp of civilization. Like the snowbound Overlook Hotel in The Shining<\/em><\/strong>, the film\u2019s surroundings force the tension inward onto the island and its inhabitants as the dread and body count rise. First-time feature director Josh found inspiration from Ridley Scott\u2019s 1979 classic Alien<\/em><\/strong> for the lurking hunter. \u201cScott keeps the tension going through the entire film, while only showing the alien a handful times. In our film, you do end up seeing\u2026something at the end.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Josh, who lives in Lincolnville, and Tess, a long-time Camden resident, were set on making Island Zero<\/em> here in Maine, despite its challenges. \u201cOne of the biggest difficulties we faced was dealing with the freezing temperatures,\u201d Josh says. \u201cOne actor had to pretend she was a corpse outside at night. She said she could literally feel her eyeballs starting to freeze! But we always knew we wanted to set the film here because there\u2019s so much atmosphere. There\u2019s a sense of foreboding that permeates our surroundings. Beauty can quickly turn to danger, and that’s what makes Maine so unique. And so perfect for horror.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

COMING OF AGE IN MAINELAND<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> Maineland<\/em> <\/strong>is a multi-layered documentary that follows teenagers of China\u2019s wealthy elite as they attend Fryeburg Academy.<\/span><\/p>\n

When: <\/strong>In theaters. Planned Amazon release June\/July 2018. <\/span><\/p>\n

D<\/span>irector Miao Wang had just released Beijing Taxi<\/em>, her first documentary film, and was hunting for her next juicy project when she arrived at Fryeburg Academy in April 2011. \u201cI was immediately struck by the number of Chinese students I saw there,\u201d Wang says. The experiences of these \u201cparachute students,\u201d traveling from vast Chinese cities to study at one of our state\u2019s oldest and most prestigious private schools, planted a seed that would blossom into Maineland<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cI began speaking with the school and its teachers to learn about the international program and ended up accompanying the admissions director on two trips to China.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maineland<\/em> follows Stella Xinyi Zhu and Harry Junru He, two of 360,000 Chinese high schoolers currently studying in the U.S., as they come of age among the rolling countryside and complex social ecosystem of the modern American high school. They study, play tennis, join the cheerleading team, and roam the academy\u2019s verdant grounds with their friends. \u201cHarry in particular came to really appreciate the beauty and nature of Maine,\u201d Wang says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to Boston in 1990 with my parents when I was 12-years-old,\u201d says Wang. \u201cIt was a very different time in terms of China\u2019s global position\u2013most of the country was poor. We were poor. I grew up in a largely white community and had mainly white American friends.\u201d Harry and Stella, meanwhile, leave the vast metropoles\u00a0 <\/span>of Guangzhou and Shanghai for the quiet of rural Maine at a very different moment in history. The rapidly changing identity and economics of China seep into the film, where parents will pay $48,000 per year for their child\u2019s high school education and expect killer grades in return. Harry and Stella navigate the usual terrain of adolescence while coming to terms with their family\u2019s expectations, a changing understanding of American society, and their own identities. \u201cSince the recession, the past ten years in China have been about financial growth,\u201d says Wang. \u201cStella\u2019s family owns a home electronics factory in Shanghai. She had to consider her family\u2019s desire for her to take over the family business against her growing awareness of the notion of individualistic thinking\u2013this very American notion of fulfilment beyond making money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The film has had its theatrical release at select theaters across the country. The movie is also readily available for school and educational programs. Wang hopes Maineland <\/em>will be available on Amazon \u201cby June or July of this year.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

TO KEEP THE LIGHT<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> A lighthouse keeper\u2019s wife struggles with her work and her sanity as she cares for her sick husband on an island in 19th-century Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Available on Amazon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where: <\/strong>Moose Peak Island; Machiasport; Lubec<\/span><\/p>\n

Who:<\/strong> Erica Fae (Boardwalk Empire<\/em>); Jarlath Conroy (True Grit<\/em>); David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recently came across these stories of New England women who worked as lighthouse keepers in the 19th century, and I couldn\u2019t believe I\u2019d never heard about them before,\u201d Newbury native Erica Fae says from her home in New York City, her new baby asleep on her chest. The actor and screenwriter sat down to pen a short film inspired by the stories of the pioneering women who\u2019d gripped her imagination. \u201cMy first draft was 60 pages long. I paused and thought \u2018Oh, I guess I\u2019m making my first feature.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Released in March, To Keep the Light<\/em><\/strong> drew acclaim from a slew of film festivals, winning Best Director at the Berlin Independent Film Festival. \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful affirmation for a small film without fancy producers and grants to win something like that,\u201d Fae says. The movie, which takes place on Moose Peak Island off Jonesport, tells the story of Abbie, a lighthouse keeper\u2019s wife forced to take over her husband\u2019s job when he falls ill. \u201cShe\u2019s an accidental feminist, though I hate that term,\u201d Fae says. \u201cShe\u2019s placed in a situation where she has to take on a traditionally male role. She becomes an advocate for her right to that job in the face of objection. She rises to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Fae\u2019s projects, past and current, examine New England history\u2013\u201cmoments and women from history that deserve more consideration,\u201d Fae says. Details of To Keep The Light<\/em> are lifted directly from historical fact. \u201cI read a lot about Maine\u2019s Abbie Burgess and Ida Louis from Rhode Island, both female lighthouse keepers.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Moose Peak Island is framed in full cinematic glory in every shot, with Abbie or the light tower often framed as lone figures among the angular rocks and swathes of seagrass. \u201cI remember standing in front of Christina\u2019s World<\/em> when I was 14, absolutely captivated. I think much of the film\u2019s visual style was influenced by the Wyeths.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOLLY STAR<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> A broke puppeteer returns to Maine for Christmas, only to get wrapped up in a bizarre treasure hunt.<\/span><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> Planned release, Dec. 2018. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Biddeford and Saco<\/span><\/p>\n

Who: <\/strong>Katyln Carlson (Going in Style)<\/em>, Teya Patt (Fresh Off The Boat<\/em>), and Brian Muller (The Deuce<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Once upon a time, Holly Star<\/em><\/strong> started out as a big, studio movie set in Chicago starring two male leads. \u201cThen I moved to the Saco\/Biddeford area a few years ago,\u201d says director Michael A. Nickles, newly relocated from LA. \u201cI was charmed by the location and thought it would make a great backdrop for a film. So I wrote for the area.\u201d You\u2019ll spot Palace Diner, the Saco Drive-In, the Saco train station, the Pepperell Mill among the scenes. \u201cWe were lucky that both Saco and Biddeford embraced and supported the making of the film,\u201d Nickles says. \u201cI\u2019ve made a fair amount of feature films [Swing Away, Playback<\/em>] and have never gotten that kind of support from a community before.\u201d Other nods to Maine are dotted among the script. \u201cAt one point the couple goes to the Palace Diner to take part in a Christmas tradition they call \u2018building a pyramid,\u2019\u201d Nickles says. \u201cIt’s basically a plate of ascending whoopie pies. Originally I think it was pizza or something, but I added the whoopie pies because everyone here is so in love with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The director now holds screenwriting and filmmaking workshops for Maine teens, including the Project Aware Summer Film Institute on Aug. 13-17. \u201cThe challenge now is to convince other producers and financiers to shoot here, because there isn’t a tax incentive,\u201d Nickles says. \u201cA filmmaker might love the state for creative reasons, but if it doesn’t make sense on the money side, the project will go elsewhere. For Maine it would bring money for goods and services and labor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nickles hopes audiences will be able to enjoy Holly Star<\/em><\/strong> in time for the next holiday season. \u201cWith any luck, it will have a successful theatrical run in addition to being available on platforms like iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 2018
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