The fourth annual Maine Artist Film Series begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15 at The Waldo Theatre, at 916 Main St. in Waldoboro.
The three-part summer program includes documentary screenings and exhibitions in the Bill and Joan Alfond Gallery at The Waldo and is one of the theatre’s most beloved summer traditions.
Prior editions have featured documentaries on Alan Magee, Robert Shetterly, Carlo Pittore, and Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, along with a showcase of films by Maine filmmaker Ian Cheney.
Attendees can mingle with friends and neighbors at the reception and then enjoy the films.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to thewaldotheatre.org.
‘Natasha Mayers: An Un-Still Life’
6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. screening
Wednesday, July 15
Now, more than ever, people want to see truthful, creative role models like Natasha Mayers, who has been called the “most committed activist artist” in Maine and who U.S. Sen. George Mitchell called a “state treasure.”
Presenting an artist who has remained true to her passion for more than 50 years, the film follows Mayers as she takes on social, economic, and environmental justice issues with humor, irreverence, and a keen aesthetic that enlightens while it entertains.
Using a nontraditional approach, the film’s animation and special effects reflect her own art style. Mayers inspires audiences as a truthful, fun-loving role model as the film follows her quest to engage with the questions that face people of conscience today.
“Natasha Mayers: An Un-Still Life” is a film by Anita Clearfield and Geoffrey Leighton. An exhibition of Mayers’ work will be on display in the Bill and Joan Alfond Gallery from Monday, July 13 through Sunday, Aug. 9.
‘A Life Behind the Canvas’ and ‘In the Blood’
6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. screening
Wednesday, Aug. 12
The Waldo Theatre presents an evening of Maine painting and documentary film. Brunswick-based filmmakers David Jester and Leigh Doran, of Whisky Wolf Media, spend time with three local painters across two generations.
“In the Blood” follows Maine father-and-son painters Philip and Matthew Barter as they capture the working life and landscapes of Downeast Maine. The film is a tender portrait of an artistic bond and a shared way of seeing the coast they call home.
“A Life Behind the Canvas” is the first documentary on the career of iconic Maine painter William Irvine. Beginning in 2020, Jester and Doran spent countless hours with Irvine at his waterfront home in Brooklin, gaining rare access to his studio and to the reflections of an artist whose career now spans more than seventy years.
Paintings by Irvine will be on display in the Bill and Joan Alfond Gallery from Tuesday, Aug. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 6.
‘Artists in Residence’
5:30 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. screening
Wednesday, Sept. 16
The Waldo Theatre and the Farnsworth Art Museum co-present “Artists in Residence,” the closing screening of the fourth annual Maine Artist Film Series.
In the 1950s, painter Lois Dodd, printmaker Eleanor Magid, and sculptor Louise Kruger bought a building on New York’s Bowery and built lives that put their work first. Director Katie Jacobs spent six years with the three women and their now-grown children, and the result is a clear-eyed, heartfelt portrait of independence, creativity, and the cost and joy of life choices.
Dodd’s work in Midcoast Maine, where she has painted for decades, is central to the film’s vision of a life lived for art.
“Artists in Residence” won the Grand Jury Prize in the Metropolis Competition at DOC NYC 2025, the largest documentary festival in the United States. It has also been an official selection at the Jackson Hole, Santa Barbara, and Sarasota film festivals.
The evening includes a reception with light food, the screening, and a Q&A with director Jacobs and Jaime DeSimone, chief curator of the Farnsworth Art Museum.
