Film festival offers movie buffs a bit of everything Annual Maine event held in three venues

WATERVILLE – The eighth annual Maine International Film Festival is set for July 15-24, with showings of more than 100 films split among three venues: Railroad Square Cinema, the Waterville Opera House and the Bangor Opera House.

“This is a wonderful and unique film festival,” Ken Eisen of Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville said recently. “This is not just for film fanatics. There will be something for everyone.”

The festival features more than 100 documentaries, full-length and short films over the 10 days. Last year, 8,100 admissions were sold, according to festival director Shannon Haines. “These are independent, international or Maine-made films, ranging from documentaries to fiction to short subjects,” Haines said.

The only major film festival in Maine and the only one of its size in New England, the festival gives moviegoers a chance to meet filmmakers, with nearly half of all the films presented having a representative on hand.

“Coming to the festival is a chance to discover a new world,” said Eisen. “These are films that haven’t been reviewed or advertised and, in some cases, have never been shown before. It is a concentrated dose of excitement and freshness.”

Haines said, “If you live in Maine, you are likely hungry for this type of entertainment. There are not a large number of independent cinemas in the state. It gives people a chance to see a different perspective, rather than just the mass media presentations.”

The festival is an independent, nonprofit organization that is funded through sponsors, donors and ticket sales. “We have lots of community support,” Haines said.

Eisen said that even though the festival is spread out over 10 days, there is no way a single person can see all the presentations.

Bangor will also host one evening of the festival on July 16 at the Bangor Opera House on Main Street, when John Pierson, the subject of the documentary “Real Paradise,” will present his film, and Jake Broder, filmmaker, co-writer and star of “The Barn,” winner of the British Independent Film Award, will present his film. River City Cinema Society is partnering with the MIFF for the Bangor presentation.

A highlight of this year’s festival will be the presentation to actress Lili Taylor of the Pre-Midlife Achievement Award. Taylor will be on hand for an award presentation at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, at the Waterville Opera House. Following that, films featuring the actress will be shown at both Waterville film venues.

With a career spanning more than 20 years, Taylor has an amazing body of work that includes films like “Mystic Pizza,” “I Shot Andy Warhol,” “Short Cuts” and “Arizona Dream.” She is also a regular guest on HBO’s hit show “Six Feet Under.”

The festival will open with “Murderball,” winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award, and includes mini-festivals of the Rebecca Miller films “Personal Velocity,” “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” and “Angela,” and the Stuart Cooper films “Overlord” and “The Disappearance.”

Seminars and workshops are also scheduled on screenwriting, acting, and filmmaking.

The 28th annual Maine Student Film and Video Festival will be part of the festival and will be held at the Waterville Opera House from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. Saturday, July 23.

A full list of films and their venues is available at www.miff.org. Lists of filmmakers who will be attending and available will also be on the Web site. Tickets may be obtained in advance either online at the MIFF Web site or at 873-7000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.