BETHEL — The Maine Outdoor Film Festival (MOFF) will be co-hosted by The Gem Theater and Mahoosuc Pathways on Friday evening, Sept. 14. MOFF was founded in 2012 by Maine business owners Nick Callanan, Nick Bowie and Joe Christopher. Today the festival has expanded to include films from all over the world, but they continue to be brought to rural communities in Maine through the traveling tour of MOFF.

The evening will kick off with a beer social, highlighting Baxter Brewery, at 7 p.m. in the lobby of The Gem. The films will start at 7:30. Tickets are $10 and are available for purchase online at thegemtheater.com or can be purchased at The Gem box office from noon to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Tickets will be available the night of the festival, but early purchases will guarantee a seat.

Half of the proceeds from the event will go toward building trails in Bethel. MOFF is also a supporter of Teens to Trails. Since 2013 MOFF has donated its proceeds to T3, a 501(c)3 based in Brunswick that supports Maine high school outing clubs with cash grants, organizational support and programming.

One highlight of the event will be the U.S. premiere of the film “The Sumber.” The movie is about Dutch, French and Mongolian snowboarders’ splitboarding adventure in the Altai mountain range of Mongolia. The filmmakers have tried to show their audience how beautiful and wild Mongolia is and how deep the people’s respect for the mountains runs. Filmmakers Gundsambuu Munkhsaikhan (aka “Munkh”) and Byambajav Enkhzul will be present for the screening.

The Broke and Stoked Film Competition, a part of MOFF, is a short outdoor film competition for amateur filmmakers in Maine. This year, Andrew Siegel of Albany Township is one of the 10 finalists in the competition. He can win the competition through online voting at the MOFF website. If Siegel wins, he will put the funds toward his trip to Russia to compete in the World University Games, an international collegiate Nordic ski race. His film is called “Multiple Kylers,” starring Kyler Walker of Newry and the mountain bike trail he designed and built in the Gould Academy woods in Bethel. Siegel manages to create the illusion that there are two Kylers riding the fast and technical mountain bike course. 

The MOFF event, sponsored by The Gem and Mahoosuc Pathways, hopes to draw a big local crowd to celebrate the outdoors and the accomplishments of young adults in the community.

To see previews of the films that will be screened, visit maineoutdoorfilmfestival.com/2018-bethel/.