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Camden International Film Festival Tackles Themes of Life, Death, and Transformation
in its Opening and Closing Films
CAMDEN, Maine (August 23, 2011) - The Camden International Film Festival tackles the themes of life, death, and transformation in its opening and closing films on September 29 and October 2. With locations ranging from the war in Afghanistan and a small town in North Carolina, to an artist family’s unusual home in Portugal, the films “Hell and Back Again” and “Convento” will push attendees to consider exactly what life is and how easily it can be transformed.
The festival opens on Thursday, September 29 with the New England Premiere of “Hell and Back Again,” directed by Danfung Dennis. Winner of the Grand Jury Award and Cinematography Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, this film masterfully contrasts the intensity of the frontline with the unsettling normalcy of home. From his embed with US Marines Echo Company in Afghanistan, photojournalist and filmmaker Dennis introduces 25-year-old Sergeant Nathan Harris and follows his life during the war and throughout his recovery after being hit by a Taliban machine-gun bullet. The film seamlessly transitions from stunning war reportage to an intimate, visceral portrait of one man’s personal struggle at home in North Carolina, where Harris confronts the physical and emotional difficulties of re-adjusting to civilian life.Director Danfung Dennis will be in attendance.
The Festival will close with a free community screening of “Convento”sponsored by, and presented at the Cellardoor Winery and Vineyard in Lincolnville, Maine. Directed by Jarred Alterman, “Convento” tells the story of the Zwanikken family living in Sao Francisco, a 400-year-old monastery that sits at the convergence of the rivers Oeiras and Guadiana in Portugal, an area that some believe possesses mystical energies. This family of artists embraces and enhances the surrealist storybook landscape where they live. Notably, Dutch kinetic artist Christiaan Zwanikken creates new life in this unusual space, transforming a combination of animal skulls, bones and robotics into new creatures that can walk, talk and fly. Director Jarred Alterman will be in attendance.
“We are more than thrilled to be book-ending the 2011 Festival with such powerful films,” said Benjamin Fowlie, founder and director of the Camden International Film Festival. “Both of these films are excellent examples of the new and unique ways documentary filmmakers are telling stories.” Fowlie added, “We’ve always been committed to highlighting new voices in nonfiction storytelling and both Danfung and Jarred have reset the bar for what we typically consider a documentary. I don’t think you could find two more different films, but both are similar in their poetic camera work and their ability to completely immerse audiences in the stories that they are sharing. These are two films that people have been talking about all year and I’m very excited to be bringing them both to Maine to continue the conversations.”
The Camden International Film Festival will showcase nearly 60 documentary features and shorts over the course of the four day festival, plus several special screenings and events, musical performances and the Points North Documentary Forum. The Points North Documentary Forum consists of workshops and panels and a live pitching session featuring dozens of filmmakers and industry delegates from all over the world. Now in its seventh year, the Camden International Film Festival is the largest documentary film festival in New England.
The Camden International Film Festival will announce the remaining slate of films on August 29th. Passes to the festival are now available online with the Early Bird Special being offered until August 29th.
For further information on these films, or to purchase passes, visitwww.camdenfilmfest.org.
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