WATERVILLE — In December of 2012, the Maine Film Center, presenters of the annual Maine International Film Festival, purchased Waterville’s Railroad Square Cinema with the goal of consolidating the community’s unique film resources and expanding film education and exhibition programs. In order to present its vision to the community, the organization will host a special Premiere Weekend at Railroad Square Cinema, May 3-5, according to a press release.

According to Shannon Haines, executive director of the Maine Film Center, “the weekend is designed to present films and events that are representative of the kinds of programming we plan to offer year-round at the cinema.”

The weekend’s film program will include acclaimed international films, “Beyond the Hills” and “From Up On Poppy Hill”; the cult classic, “The Shining”, paired with “Room 237,” a documentary about the theories of secret messages and government conspiracies in “The Shining”; a film seminar conducted by Colby Cinema Studies Professor Steve Wurtzler on the film noir “Sweet Smell of Success”; and a screening of “The Revolutionary Optimists,” the latest film distributed by Waterville’s Shadow Distribution. Closing out the weekend will be a screening of “The Company You Keep”, a political thriller directed by and starring Robert Redford and based on the “Weather Underground.” Special guest Mark Rudd of the “Weather Underground” will be present for the screening.

One of the highlights of the weekend is an advance sneak peek at the new Maine-made feature film, “Bluebird”, from director Lance Edmands and producer Kyle Martin, who will be in attendance for the screening. The film, which will have its official Maine premiere at the Maine International Film Festival in July, was filmed entirely in northern Maine and is premiering this week at the highly regarded Tribeca Film Festival. “Bluebird” will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4.

In addition to the film events, the Maine Film Center will display plans for improvements to the theater, including the plan for a lobby expansion, which will begin shortly after the Premiere Weekend, and landscaping improvements around the site. The event will also serve as an unveiling of the new, industry-required digital projection equipment that will replace thecinema’s existing 35 mm projectors.

For more information, visit mainefilmcenter.org.