“BETWEEN THE TIDES” is a series of short films about Midcoast Maine. The series was commissioned by The Strand Theatre: executive producer, Matt Simmons, producer Juliet Brown and directed by Emmy award winning filmmaker D’Arcy Marsh. The shorts are a celebration of MidCoast Maine: the stunning environment, the diverse tenacious people who call this place home and the stark beauty of everyday life. BROWN’S BOATYARD is a story about fathers and sons who have been building boats on North Haven since 1888. WAVES assaults the senses with slow motion images of waves crashing in on Pemaquid Point and Hart’s Neck, Tenant’s Harbor. INFERNO provides a unique opportunity to see one of America’s great artists, Jamie Wyeth, painting in his studio. JOEY is an affectionate profile of Joseph Silverstein the great violinist, conductor and teacher, narrated by Eleanor Sokoloff and Tom Wolf of Bay Chamber Concerts. THE OSPREYS OF ROCKPORT HARBOR shows the drama of two adult ospreys raising their young, diving for fish, fighting off a predator Great Blue Heron and coaching the young to fly.

An intimate, gritty and poetic adventure following the lives of carnies, travelling fairground workers who have abandoned the security of the "real world" for the refuge and variety of the road. Deep pain is masked behind the huge grin of Hairy, the charismatic lesbian cotton-candy seller. Through her eyes, we see a world of unlikely Romeos, easy love and fierce friendships that obscure personal hardship and troubled pasts. Often from an underclass that has few options, the carnies struggle with addiction, loneliness, poverty and shattered dreams, finding solace only in the company of their own, who accept them as they are. Some have worked the fairs for more than 50 years, some were born or escaped into it, but all are gripped by the romance of the bright midway lights lyrically captured in lush interludes of Kodachrome Super 8. New England Premier Best Documentary, 2008 Brooklyn International Film Festival ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

What happens to the 705 residents of Crawford, Texas when George W. Bush moves to town? Months after he arrives, Bush declares his candidacy for President, using their town as the perfect set-piece to project a folksy image. Crawford explodes overnight. Droves of tourists buy t-shirts at their brand new stores; the high school band plays at the inauguration; their Baptist pastor calls it a miracle. But with the Iraq War and the arrival of 20,000 protesters in Crawford’s backyards, political conflict mounts in the town itself, pushing a progressive teacher and her student to the brink - and beyond. Soon, tourists stop coming; the stores are boarded up. But the human impact of political stagecraft is far more grave. Now, through the eyes of Crawford’s colorful, dynamic people, comes a unique reflection on the last seven years. ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

Against the background of the East End of London, England, first time filmmaker Nicola Colins explores the fascinating complexity of the lives of her father and friends: infamous criminals that shaped their war torn environment into a violent underworld. The End is a story never before told of a group of men with a common bond. All born in the East End of London into poverty striving for a better life and all found that life in crime. Unashamed and unapologetic these men live their lives defined by a code of honor. The End reveals the bloody history and the confessions of the cockney gangster. Best British Documentary, 2008 BritDoc Festival Remi Award, 2008 WorldFest Houston Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary, 2008 Jacksonville Film Festival Northeast Premier! ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

In California's Mojave Desert, the US Army has built a "virtual Iraq" - a billion dollar urban warfare simulation - and populated it with hundreds of Iraqi role-players. FULL BATTLE RATTLE, a feature documentary, follows an Army Battalion through the simulation, as they attempt to quell an insurgency and prevent Medina Wasl, a mock Iraqi village, from slipping into civil war. Comic, surreal and poignant, the provides a revelatory look at the soul of the American war machine and, in the battle for Medina Wasl, finds a potent allegory of the Iraq War and the cultural and religious differences that confound America's efforts. Official Selection of the 2008 Berlin Film Festival Special Jury Award for Best Documentary, 2008 SXSW Festival New England Premier ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

The Garden is an unflinching look at backroom deals, green politics, racial discord, money, poverty, and power. At a moment when food, energy and environmental crises confront us at every turn – The Garden serves as a powerful symbol of the larger world around us. The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers: Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public? And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.” If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up? Official Closing Night Film Follwed by Q&A with Director Scott Hamilton Kennedy Highlighted at the SeaChange Forum at the 2008 Democratic National Convention Nominated for the International Documentary Association, Pare Larentz Award Sterling Award Winner, 2008 Silverdocs Competition New England Premier! ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

What happens when you’re asked to build the city of tomorrow… today? Set on the rugged streets of South Boston, The Greening of Southie is the story of a revolutionary Green Building, and the men and women who bring it to life. From wheatboard cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, The Macallen Building is something different––a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design. But Boston’s steel-toed construction workers aren’t sure they like it. And when things on the building start to go wrong, the young development team has to keep the project from unraveling. Funny and poignant, and created by the co-producers and stars of King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, The Greening of Southie is a story of bold ideas, unlikely environmentalists, and the future of the way we live. Followed by Q&A with Director Ian Cheney Maine Premier! ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!*** Sponsored by Unity College

Intimidad is the latest masterwork from the filmmaking team that brought us Mardi Gras: Made in China (Grand Jury Award - Best Documentary Feature, CIFF 2005) and Kamp Katrina (CIFF 2007). A Mexican couple marries young and struggles to provide for their baby while saving enough money to buy a tiny parcel of land and build their own home from scraps of wood. This intimate portrait of their impoverished lives illustrates what life must be like for thousands of young Mexicans working for American corporations south of the border. Unflinching yet tender, the film follows Cecy and Camilo over the course of four years as they face a dilemma that separates them from their daughter and nearly tears their marriage apart. It is a powerful, heartbreaking, and compassionate story that reveals the enduring strength of love in the face of economic hardship. Human Rights Award, River Run Film Festival Excellence in Film, Magnolia Film Festival Best International Film, 2008 Connecticut Film Festival Maine Premier! ***Click on EXTRAS TAB below for Trailer!***

In Juliet Brown's film, "Keepers of the Trail" Maine Guides Garrett and Alexandra Conover lead us on a winter camping odyssey to Labrador, Canada. Travelling by snow shoe we get introduced to the ways of the northern trail. The Conovers act as translators for this vast landscape. The film looks at the difference in mindset between a nomadic culture and a western culture and asks us to consider the way we view the concepts of home, travel and landscape.