PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine International Film Festival kicks off Friday with some of the biggest changes in its 26-year history. The most dramatic of those changes is the festival’s new home: the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville.
"It’s a state-of-the-art center for the community," Mike Perreault of the Maine Film Center, which runs the festival, said. "We have three brand-new movie theaters. We also have partners like the Waterville Opera House, as well as the Colby College Museum of Art and Ticonic Gallery + Studios. So it’s more than just a movie theater. It’s a complete experience in the arts."
The festival, which runs from July 7 through July 16, offers something for just about every taste—short films, feature-length films, fiction, documentaries, and more—nearly 100 movies in all.
"What I’m really proud about this year is the fact that we have so much Maine representation," Perreault said. "We have seven made-in-Maine feature films and 16 made-in-Maine shorts, and I think that’s just a testament to the amount of creativity and storytelling happening here."