Camden, Maine is idyllic. Peaceful. Beautiful. Spectacular. Small-town. Residents we have spoken to say it has just everything: a caring community, art museums, great concerts and theater, and the Camden International Film Festival, which is what brings us back to Maine after just a month. We were also here two years ago, and found the film fest to be quite wonderful, as it is a documentary film festival, considered one of the best in the world. There are both feature films and shorts (movies less than 30 minutes), and by weekend’s end we will have seen 12 full-length movies and and 27 shorts, so the days are long but rewarding. There are four theater venues spread out over 8 miles among three towns: Camden, Rockport, and Rockland. The Opening Night movie was about a film that Orson Welles never completed. Last night, the featured movie was a Secret Screening. It was the premiere of a movie of great relevance today, but it’s “official” opening isn’t for a few weeks, so….get this!….we had to sign a nondisclosure agreement that we wouldn’t talk about it until it officially opens. Last night’s big movie was about Roger Ailes, the Fox News founder who was accused of sexual harassment, resigned, and died a year later. Fox paid at least $32 million in settlements in the known cases, but it is suspected that there were many more settlements made privately behind the scenes.
So the photos are of the town, which is gorgeous and charming….the harbor, the downtown, the flowered footbridge (which also had wild tomatoes growing on it and mini pumpkins!), and, oh yes, the last two are of Robert Redford. He sat in front of us at last night’s secret screening. We felt creepy taking photos of him (like stalkers), and at one point Mike went in front of the stage to take a photo of the audience…and to capture Robert in the photo, of course…when just by chance, he abruptly stood up, excused himself to Mike as he passed in front of him and left for the concession stand. So these were taken after that. We were told that he also attended last year and liked it so much that he returned! He seemed like a very nice guy, by the way, quite apologetic for getting in the way of the photo Mike was taking “of the audience.”
