With Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Irish coming-of-age film ‘Belfast’ up for Best Picture this year, and this week’s indie film coming out on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s time to celebrate with a look at how Emerald Isle was immortalized on screen – with a native Mainer leading the charge. This MainerRead More →
First, a confession/humblebrag. When I was recently asked to be a judge for the Maine Film Association’s first-ever 72 hour film Winter Movie Challenge, all the judges singled out a young actress named Claire Statczar. Appearing in Wolf Media WhiskeyIn the “Cinema Absentia” mockumentary, Statczar played the lone disgruntled teenageRead More →
When a filmmaker finds himself struggling to make a film, sometimes the only solution is to make another film. For Boston-area filmmaker and activist Rod Webber, the issues he finds himself in are significant enough, as his satirical documentary ‘2020: The Dumpster Fire’ (distributed by South Portland’s NO producing andRead More →
Advances in cinematic technology have come at a strange price for independent filmmakers. On the one hand, anyone can make a movie now, the relative low cost of not only professional-grade digital cameras, but also sophisticated editing software putting moviemaking at your fingertips like never before. On the other hand,Read More →
Murray Hamilton, the mayor of Amity in “Jaws,” embodied the short-sighted, economy-focused attitude that made him such a terrible leader. Universal Images/IMBD The films have received a lot of undeserved criticism over the years. Hand-wringers, scapegoats and other assorted busy bodies have tried to lay the blame for the perceivedRead More →