BETHEL — The Mahoosuc Arts Council will screen the film “The Maine Frontier: Through the Lens of Isaac Simpson” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, Executive Director Aranka Matolcsy said Monday morning.
Matolcsy said that the Mahoosuc Arts Council was presenting the film, directed by Wiscasset composer and filmmaker Sumner McKane, as part of the council’s Performing Arts Series.
“McKane reached out to me about three years ago, when he was about to release his previous movie, ‘In the Blood,’ which was about lumbermen and river drivers,” Matolcsy said. “When we screened that movie, it went over extremely well. I told him to keep us in mind if he ever had another project.”
Tickets to the screening are $15, and free to all School Administrative District 44 and SAD 17 students.
“The Maine Frontier: Through the Lens of Isaac Simpson” consists of turn-of-the-century photography from Isaac Simpson, documenting life in northern Maine, combined with archived and present-day films, oral histories and a musical soundtrack composed and performed by McKane.
“During the film screening at Gould Academy, McKane and another musician will actually perform the soundtrack to the film live,” Matolcsy said.
Matolcsy said that she expects the turnout for McKane’s new film to be similar to the turnout for “In the Blood” three years earlier.
“McKane’s movies tend to strike at the heart of a lot of the culture of families around here,” Matolcsy said. “Those of us who have chosen to live in Maine have a certain tenacity of spirit, and I think his films embody that. People really seem to love his films around here.”
Matolcsy described McKane as a “really innovative, creative artist” and lauded him for “finding a way to capture the essence of what he’s trying and combine it all into a very unique presentation.”
For more information, visit mahoosucarts.org or call 875-3575.
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