BANGOR – If you show it, they will come.

That was the rationale when Bangor’s economic development office screened the documentary “Downside UP” on Thursday night at the Bangor Opera House. The film follows the construction of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, or MASS MoCA, and the way it changed the economy and spirit of North Adams, Mass. City officials hope to use the film as a model for building the cultural economy of Bangor.

“Are we going to see a MASS MoCA in Bangor?” Jonathan Daniels, the city’s business and economic development director, asked the crowd of about 75 people. “Maybe, maybe not, but if we don’t think big and have that vision, then no, we’re not.”

But if you build it, will they come?

Daniels stressed that no one venue or event will fill all the empty storefronts downtown or bring droves of tourists to the city – the National Folk Festival, for example, is not a cure-all. But if it gets people thinking about the way arts can enrich the city, it’s a move in the right direction, he said.

The evening’s goal was to continue a cultural dialogue that started in August – to make sure that the excitement generated by the folk festival doesn’t cool down now that the weather has. If the “Downside UP” crowd was any indication, it hasn’t.

Several arts groups in town have capitalized on the festival’s success. At Thursday’s event, representatives of the River City Cinema Society discussed their plans for expanding the selection of art, foreign and classic films in the area. After the film ended, Susan Potters, executive director of the Bangor Region Arts and Cultural Council, urged people to attend monthly ARTSHARE discussions.

According to “Downside UP” director Nancy Kelly, who was on hand for Thursday’s event, community interest is a key part of the equation. She received a Ford Foundation grant to tour the country with her film, using it as a tool to help communities find new ways to spark development.

In her travels, she has found that the most important resource in any city is its residents, and Bangor is no exception. She recalled a conversation with Sally Bates, economic development officer by day, painter by night.

“This type of cultural, economic development is so much driven by people,” Kelly said. “It’s really about these creative people who do work after their regular jobs or whatever.”

These creative people are making things happen in Bangor, Kelly said. She spent all day Thursday walking through the downtown, talking to shopkeepers, checking out the architecture, and experiencing the local art and food scene. What she found was encouraging.

“In Bangor, you already have this vision,” she said. “I experienced the tangible results of that vision all day today.”

On Friday, city Councilor John Rohman said several cultural and tourism groups are planning to build on that vision. By late afternoon, he had already received three phone messages from representatives of Penobscot Theatre Company, River City Cinema Society and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, who all were inspired by the film and “want to go somewhere with it.”

“I was psyched,” Rohman said. “I wanted to whet people’s appetite and see where they thought they might want to take some of the steps.”

For Rohman, who is CEO of WBRC Architects, the city’s cultural activities are integral to his firm’s success. Without things to do in town, his firm won’t be able to attract young, well-educated employees – the “creative cluster” who could live anywhere.

“The economic development people need to understand that tie-in between the critical mass of culture in a place and the viability and life of a community,” Rohman said. “Our critical mass is not a MASS MoCA. It’s many of the things we already have in place. … Can we take that MASS MoCA concept and use it as an expanded concept for Bangor? I think we can.”