Biddeford Mini Film Festival set for Friday

On Friday, April 4 from 5:30-9 p.m., Art of Biddeford presents at City Theater the first Biddeford Mini Film Festival, a one-evening event sharing two feature-length and two short documentary films focused on social themes and issues in Maine.

In “I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine, Part I,”  Nyamuon “Moon” Nguany Machar, a 30-year old African woman in Portland shares her story of immigration through personal and familial histories and poetry. David Zwalita Mota tells the story of his journey, fleeing the violence of the Democratic Republic of Congo along with his young family. By weaving together the journeys of both Moon and David, documenting the city of Portland’s response to an influx of asylum seekers, and the desire by Moon to help asylum seekers secure pathways to mental health, “I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine” speaks to the modern immigration experience.

In “I Come From Away, An Immigrant in Maine, Part 2,” Machar focuses her lens on the extraordinary effort made by the city of Sanford to accommodate hundreds of asylum seekers who showed up unexpectedly one day in the spring of 2023. Known as “the city which never dies” because of its resilience after the decline of the once-thriving textile industry, the city of Sanford responded in force at every level. City officials, community action workers, police and volunteers jumped into the fray.

Where to put the new arrivals? How to feed them? The immigrants showed up on a Friday in front of Sanford City Hall, which was closed at the time. With no help from the federal or state governments, Sanford was on its own. In this film, Machar tracks this incredible story over the course of several months as these new Mainers learn how to apply for work permits and adapt to their first winter in Maine.

“La Frontière” is a poetic documentary portrait of Northern Maine’s borderlands. Through interviews, vérité moments and scenic landscapes, this 35-minute film takes viewer on an exploration of the history and culture of the six-hundred and eleven mile-long border between Maine and its norther neighbors Quebec and New Brunswick. The film screened at the 2022 Camden International Film Festival in Midcoast Maine, in the 2023 Rhode Island International Film Festival in Providence, RI and Monadnock International Film Festival in Keene, NH, as well as in festivals in Louisiana and France. It was first broadcast on Maine Public, and has also been shown on Vermont Public and New Hampshire PBS. La Frontière is supported by grants from the Points North Institute/TV5Monde and the Keith Campbell Family Foundation and is fiscally sponsored by UnionDocs, Inc.

The short documentary, titled “RECOVERY IN MAINE: QUEER VOICES,” explores the intersection of LGBTQIA+ identities and recovery. Throughout the film, Mainers share their experiences navigating recovery services and spaces as queer people -- and navigating queer communities and spaces as people in recovery. The film was produced by Points North Institute in partnership with Governor Mills’ Office of Opioid Response. It was co-produced by the Armadillo Collective, which was founded by Maine filmmaker Alexandra Morrow.

Tickets to the film festival are free, though a suggested donation at the door of $5-$10 per ticket is recommended. All donations will directly benefit the filmmakers, as Art of Biddeford strongly values the contributions that creatives offer the community. Tickets can be reserved in advance at https://citytheater.org/tickets. City Theater is located at 205 Main St.