A Month of Fun: Tuesday, July 15
Head to Waterville for Maine's International Film Festival.
Catch a Flick, Waterville
With creative brains like Richard Russo and Stephen King calling Maine home it should be no surprise that the Pine Tree State has also launched some top-quality filmmakers (anybody ever heard of John Ford?), and the best place for those who fancy themselves either in front of or behind the camera this week is Waterville, for the eleventh annual Maine International Film Festival. This ten-day event, July 11 – 20, features nearly a hundred movies shown on four screens across town. The retrospective of the acclaimed Japanese film director Masaki Kobayashi is sure to get the audience talking. The Waterville Opera House and Railroad Square Cinema serve as the primary venues for the festival, but there are also receptions and parties that will rival anything happening off the red carpet in Hollywood (at least by Maine standards). This year festival organizers have coordinated the event with the Waterville art festival, so you can take in visual art in a variety of media. John Turturro (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Do The Right Thing) will be the guest of honor this year, but don’t be surprised if other star-types show up — in past years Jonathan Demme, Ed Harris, and Lili Taylor have dropped by, so you never know who you’ll bump into. The festival’s Fireflies program also offers children’s films from around the world and a variety of workshops for children and teens. 207-861-8138. www.miff.org
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