This year, I finally made it back to the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville, ME at the Maine Film Center, which has three theaters and is connected to the Waterville Opera House. I went for the first time for two days in 2017 and then did the full 10 days of the festival in 2018, logging 33 movies during the 10-day span. I have been wanting to go back for several years now, and I decided that while doing a full 10 days again might be too much, I purchased a partial pass, granting me access to 10 movies. The ones I decided to attend ended up being spread out over four days, so I’ll be doing four entries with mini-reviews of the movies I attended.
Their Town (dir. Katie Aselton)
Their Town was the opening screening of the festival, directed by Maine’s own Katie Aselton, an actress/director probably best known for being on the FX sitcom The League alongside her husband Mark Duplass (who wrote this script). This movie is a real family affair, as it stars their daughter, Ora Duplass, as the female lead Abby.
Along with Chosen Jacobs, who was one of the kids in the recent It, as Matt, the film is mostly a two-hander, as the two teens connect after being thrust into the position of being co-leads in a school production of Our Town after Abby’s boyfriend drops out of the play.
The film is very much in the vein of Before Sunrise, which Aselton admitted during the Q&A after heavily influenced the film. Ora and Chosen have great on screen chemistry together, especially after a fairly early plot twist reveals a surprising shared backstory. There are some scenes of the two of them goofing around on an old school playground that feel ad-libbed.
Filmed in Bangor, ME in just twelve days, it may not rival Vienna in Before Sunset, the small city setting feels lived in, familiar, and a character in the movie rather than a destination that is supposed to be a beautiful backdrop for a romantic drama.
The lead actors are were really impressive and worth keeping an eye on in the future. And in the post-screening Q&A, Aselton shared how much of a labor of love and a family affair it truly was, with her sisters producing and wearing multiple hats on set during filming.
Rating 4 out of 5 stars
Honeyjoon (dir. Lilian T. Mehrel)
Honeyjoon is the feature debut from director Lilian T. Mehrel, dedicated to women of Iran who are being oppressed. A Persian-Kurdish mother and daughter take a vacation together to a romantic getaway in the Azores. Awkward hilarity ensues as well as some healing and mourning over the passing of the father.
The daughter, June (Ayden Mayeri), and the mother, Lela (Amira Casar), have generational differences that play out in humorous ways, like Lela consistently trying to get her daughter to put on more clothes. Both are figuring out a way to grieve but also enjoy their trip and the company of one another and to eventually learn to live again.
Their trip gets a boost in the form of their tour guide, Joao (Jose Condessa), who brings a much needed boost to their trip, connecting with both women in different ways. The contrast between the brief relationship that forms between June and Joao and Lela and Joao is mined for some good laughs, with June being physically attracted to Joao while Lela and Joao connect on more of an emotional and intellectual level.
The awkward family dynamic between mother and daughter plays out in funny and relatable ways, but none of the humor that comes from their trip feels forced or unnatural; it’s a believable, authentic dynamic between the two.
A comedy with heart and a nice feature film debut.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
JONESING FOR FILMS 
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