This year’s MIFF will be presented in a ‘hybrid fashion,’ with part of it available to screen online.
The 23rd annual Maine International Film Festival is set to begin Tuesday at the Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre.
Although the festival, known as MIFF, and its organizers have had to overcome a series of obstacles brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, including limiting the number of films in the program and changing the venue, Festival Director Mike Perreault said there is an overall sense of excitement.
“We’re all feeling that familiar sense of excitement that happens every year as the festival opens,” Perreault wrote in an email Saturday. “We’re looking forward to showcasing a selection of films that otherwise might never be screened in Maine and bringing the community together in a safe way.”
MIFF’s 10-day run will kick off with a screening of “Heroic Losers,” an Argentinian comedy-drama directed by Sebastian Borzensztein.
The film follows a group of neighbors in a rural Argentinian town during the 2001 financial crisis as they devise a plan to recover money that was stolen from them by a crooked bank manager.
The festival, a project of the Waterville-based Maine Film Center, is typically held at the 810-seat Waterville Opera House and the three-screen Railroad Square Cinema, also in Waterville.
This year, all features will screened at the drive-in at 201 Waterville Road in Skowhegan, which can accommodate 350 cars. The film’s are scheduled to begin each night at 8:45 p.m.
The festival’s program and tickets are available at miff.org.
Due to the change of venue, the festival’s program this year had to be whittled down to showcase only 10 features, according to organizers. Last year’s film festival screened nearly 100 features.
Part of the festival will also be available for audiences to stream online.
