Festival opens tonight
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WATERVILLE — Metaphor, melodrama, morals and the lilt of Mandarin Chinese will mark the marquees tonight with the opening of the sixth annual Maine International Film Festival.
A passerby cruises past part of the Maine International Film Festival's lineup on Thursday afternoon on Castonguay Square in Waterville. Opening ceremonies for the sixth annual event are tonight.
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More than 100 films from 23 countries will be shown on three screens at Railroad Square Cinema and at the Waterville Opera House through July 20.
A total of seven screenings are scheduled tonight beginning with the 7 p.m. opening ceremonies at the Opera House and the showing of "Seraphin: Heart of Stone," shot in Canada in English and in French with English subtitles.
"The pressure is about to break," said festival Director Shannon Haines of Waterville. "For me, the high point will be to see all the people that come to the festival. When I actually see the full house I'll know our hard work over the past year has been all worthwhile.
"There is nothing more exciting than a full house."
Opening ceremonies are scheduled to include words of welcome from Waterville Mayor Nelson Madore, Opera House Executive Director Tom Misner, festival programmer Ken Eisen, U.S. Rep Michael H. Michaud, Haines and others.
Released last winter, "Seraphin: Heart of Stone" has become the most successful Quebecois film ever shot on location in the French-speaking province, festival organizers said.
The story of love, lust, morals and arranged marriage is set in rural 19th-century Canada.
Seraphin is a "legendary miser who is somewhat less romantic than a dead chicken," according to cinema notes on the film. He is betrothed to the lovely Donalda, who already loves local rake and "hunky logger" Alex.
Also on the big screens tonight will be "This Is Nowhere" and "Living In Walter's World," both to be introduced by television and movie actor Ethan Philips, who also stars in "Living In Walter's World."
"This Is Nowhere" is a look at what might be the weirdest and most unrecognized fringe group —the nearly 3 million Americans who live in their recreational vehicles and travel from Wal-Mart parking lot to Wal-Mart parking lot, coast to coast.
Philips, 53, who comes to the Waterville-Belgrade Lakes area once a year to visit family, is the brother of former festival director Joan Philips-Sandy. He starred for several seasons as the character Neelix in "Star Trek Voyager," the fourth incarnation of the legendary series.
"It was a lot of fun," Philips said of the Star Trek series, for which he had to sit in a chair each day for five hours of makeup. "It was a wonderful show to be on."
Philips also played Pete on the popular television show "Benson" from 1979-85. The show, starring Robert Guillaume, was an offshoot of the hip, oddball TV series "Soap" of the 1970s.
Philips also had guest appearances on television shows including "Law And Order," "NYPD Blue," "Providence" and "Touched By An Angel." His movie credits include "Family Tree," "Lean On Me" and "Green Card."
"Living In Walter's World" is a funny Walter Mitty-like fantasy in which the main character, played by Philips, imagines himself as the star of a 1950s sitcom. It runs for 15 minutes and is shot on digital video, Philips said.
"It looks beautiful," he said. "It's kind of a take off on a Walter Mitty kind of thing. It's about a fellow with a dead-end job. He hopes to get what he wants in his fantasy, but his fantasy goes awry.
"In the end he gets something that is just as good in the real world."
Other films on tap for tonight will be "Mr. Barrington," which was shot in Maine; "September 11;" "The Housekeeper;" "Postmen In The Mountains," shot in Mandarin Chinese; and "The Stoneraft."
The film festival continues Saturday with the Maine Student Film & Video Festival and awards, and the first Maine Screenwriting Awards.
Oscar nominated actor-director Peter Fonda is scheduled to receive the festival's Mid-Life Achievement Award Sunday evening at the Waterville Opera House. The award will be presented in advance of the showing of a recently restored print of Fonda's 1971 Western, "The Hired Hand," at 7:15 p.m. at the Opera House.
The festival also will include question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers and a concert with jazz trombonist and Grammy Award-nominee Roswell Rudd.
The festival is set to close July 21 with a 7:30 p.m. Opera House showing of "The Weather Underground," a film that traces the rise and fall of the Weathermen, a group of several hundred young people who, outraged by the Vietnam War and racism in America, tried to violently overthrow the U.S. government during the late 1960s and '70s.
Full festival passes are $125 each. Partial passes are $75 and are good for 10 films. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 873-7000. Those wanting more information about the festival or to request a schedule may call 861-8138 or visit the festival Web site at www.miff.org.
Doug Harlow — 861-9244
dharlow@centralmaine.com