Film festival honors work of COA teacher

BAR HARBOR – A local filmmaker is being recognized by a Maine arts organization for “pushing the envelope” in her work.

Nancy Andrews, a faculty member at College of the Atlantic, is the 2007 recipient of the Maine International Film Festival’s first “Outside the Frame” award. The nine-year-old festival singled out Andrews’ “Ima Plume Trilogy” in explaining why it chose her for the honor.

“Nancy Andrews has now completed a brilliant trilogy of absolutely unique films,” the festival indicated in a release about its 2007 awards. “It marks the full emergence of a great talent.”

The films in the trilogy, which was completed last year, have been screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and have won prizes at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in Michigan, according to festival organizers.

The Waterville-based festival also has given its “Best Artistic Direction” award to Northeast Historic Film of Bucksport, one of the festival’s five other 2007 award honorees.

Andrews, who lives in Seal Harbor, said Monday that she’s pleased to be recognized by the festival.

“It’s always nice to get encouragement,” she said, adding that there’s not a lot of financial reward for what she does. “They have a strong vision for the types of film they choose.”

Each film in Andrews’ trilogy, “Monkey and Lumps” (2003), “Dreamless Sleep” (2004), and “Haunted Camera” (2006), was shot in eastern Maine and focuses on a character named Ima (pronounced ee-ma) Plume, a lecturer played by Andrews who makes chalk drawings as she speaks.

In the films, Plume examines issues such as identity, mysticism and death and, though she is a fictional character, frequently refers to real-life research as she touches upon various topics. Andrews also uses animation, puppetry and documentary footage in the films.

In a prepared statement, festival programmer Ken Eisen said Andrews was the obvious choice for the first-time honor.

“When we realized that we wanted to give an award for the filmmaker who is pushing the envelope, we felt that Nancy was the only candidate for this award,” Eisen indicated.

David Weiss, executive director of Northeast Historic Film, said Monday that his organization seeks out and preserves historical film and video footage in northern New England.

It also makes such footage available to the interested public – a service that Weiss said is most likely the reason NHF is being recognized by MIFF.

“I think it’s more for the outreach than it is the preservation itself,” Weiss said.

Weiss said NHF has been recognized previously for its contributions to the humanities but that the MIFF award is especially “gratifying” because of the festival’s expertise.

“In this case, the difference is that it is coming from working professional filmmakers,” Weiss said.

The festival’s awards ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in downtown Waterville.

“I’ve got to find something to wear,” Andrews said. “I’m going to have to rent a tuxedo or something.”

More information on Andrews or on the festival is available online at www.nancyandrews.net and at www.miff.org. Information on Northeast Historic Film is available at www.oldfilm.org.