Photos: Maine International Film Festival takes center stage in Waterville

Plenty of work was done to prepare for the recent opening of the film festival, which is being held primarily in downtown Waterville for the first time, much to the delight of business owners anticipating a jump in sales. Photos by Morning Sentinel photographer Rich Abrahamson.

Posted July 11, 2023

SCROLL

Film-goers walk along a red carpet Sunday after watching “20,000 Species of Bees” at the Maine International Film Festival in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville. The festival runs until Sunday, July 16.

Kate McAleer, right, and Catherine Estes of Bixby Chocolate Cafe speak with a customer Thursday at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville. The cafe and other downtown businesses were expecting a jump in sales with the Maine International Film Festival drawing crowds downtown to the Schupf center and next door at the Waterville Opera House.

Workers erect a tent Thursday outside the Paul J. Schupf Art Center and City Hall in downtown Waterville in preparation for the opening of the Maine International Film Festival. The event runs through Sunday, July 16.

A man who declined to provide his name cleans windows at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville on Thursday as part of preparations for the opening of the Maine International Film Festival. The festival runs through Sunday, July 16.

An audience watches “The Conformist” at the Waterville Opera House on Sunday as part of the Maine International Film Festival in downtown Waterville.

Kate McAleer, owner of Bixby Chocolate Cafe, assists a customer Thursday at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville. McAleer and other business owners downtown have seen a jump in sales with the start of the Maine International Film Festival, which is primarily being held at the Waterville Opera House and next door at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, which is where McAleer sells her chocolates and other treats. The festival runs until Sunday, July 16.

Greta Thiele, a patron services assistant, bags popcorn for a customer during the Maine International Film Festival at the Maine Film Center, housed in the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville, on Sunday. The festival runs until Sunday, July 16.

Sign In: