WATERVILLE, Maine — “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” is a book Mainers read in the fourth grade that tells the harrowing story of Donn Fendler. On Saturday, that same story will be told in a feature film at the Maine International Film Festival.
The movie and book, sharing the same name, follow an 11-year-old Fendler separated from his family while on a summit attempt of Katahdin in 1939. Against all odds, he survived for nine days in the wilderness and traversed over 80 miles before being reunited with his family.
Producer and Waterville native Ryan Cook still vividly remembers reading the assigned book and meeting Fendler when he visited his class. Years later, Cook became close friends with Fendler before he died in 2016.
“The biggest takeaway from the time I spent with Donn is I learned so much about his life and his family,” Cook said.
Fendler’s father was a church goods salesman and was often away from home. The strained father-son relationship is a center point of the film and something director Andrew Kightlinger wanted audience members to take home.
“My goal was that at the end of this movie, everybody in the audience turns to the person next to them, their father, their parent, or calls one of them and says, 'Hey, I'm thinking about you,'" Kightlinger said.
Ruth Fendler, Donn’s mother, is another key figure. Often at home, Ruth holds the family together despite the chaos they endured for nine days.
Maine native Caitlin Fitzgerald, who plays Ruth, said she understood her role better after recently becoming a mother.
“I think maybe until you are a parent, the true horror of losing a child on a mountain in Maine can’t truly be felt,” Fitzgerald said.
The Maine International Film Festival is celebrating 27 years, and Cook is excited to release his film at a festival he has long had a role in and in a place he considers home.
“These are the people that I made the movie for. And so, to be able to show the movie before we go nationwide with it is really special,” Cook said.
The festival begins Friday and runs through July 21. Over 100 films are set to be shown, 22 of which were made in Maine.
To learn more about showtimes and the festival, visit miff.org.