Quiet Film About Wild Whitefield Premieres

On Sunday, June 30 Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta will host the world premiere of “A Peace of Forest.”

The nature film focuses on 35 acres of Whitefield forest filmed over several years. Award-winning Maine nature photographers Lee and Tom Szelog produced the film almost entirely on their own.

“It’s exciting! After 10 years of making it – four and a half years of shooting, four and a half years of postproduction, and one year of marketing,” said Lee Szelog.

The Szelogs will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary this September. As a boy, Tom was inspired by photographs in National Geographic and decided to become a wildlife photographer.

“I was racing through life in the corporate world, oblivious to the natural world when I met Tom,” Lee said. “Mother Nature opened my heart.”

Ever since their early courting, Tom has taken Lee out on photography trips. She would often point out various scenes for Tom to photograph. Eventually, Tom said, she had developed a really good eye and he bought Lee her own camera.

In 2012, the Szelogs received a Restoration Leadership Award from the conservation group Restore: The North Woods for their photo documentation of the then-proposed Maine Woods National Park & Preserve.

About a decade ago, the Szelogs sought property to build on. After a search all over Maine, they found 70 acres in Whitefield. The property has a little pond, an old logging road, and a small clearing. The property is bisected by the East Branch Eastern River.

All of the filming for “A Peace of Forest” was captured within 35 acres of Maine forest on the east side of the river. The Szelogs’ backyard proved to be one of the most difficult places Tom has worked. Dense foliage limits camera view. Animals are wary of the hunters in the area.

“There are lots of days the animals did not come,” he said.

The Szelogs filmed in turns, often waiting for hours alone in the wilderness.

“If you need quick affirmation, do not be a wildlife photographer” said Tom.

The couple proceeded with filming with “the utmost respect, because we are in their home. We let them come to us, and it pays off,” said Tom.

“The reward was a magnificent moment when a coyote crossed the river right in front of me,” said Lee.

“A Peace of Forest” is a quiet film, Tom said. Most the audio is natural sounds like splashing birds and a newborn fawn’s cry.

“We wanted to create a film people that people could sit and watch like they were right alongside us in the blind,” he said.

Once they felt they had captured enough footage, the Szelogs hired a company to edit and produce a film. During the pandemic, the company quit and the Szelogs were out their costs and thought it would be the end of the film.

Then, Lee said, they decided to “just create it ourselves.” The couple invested in hardware and software and learned how to use it for their purposes.

“It was extremely frustrating, I’ll never do it again,” said Tom. “It was a major mistake. I would not advise it for other first-time filmmakers.”

The sweat and tears that went into the project, however, was worth it, the couple said, They hope “A Peace of Forest” will help start a conversation about preserving land as a home for wildlife without human interaction.

“Our objective is to open people’s eyes. What is mankind’s purpose? We don’t have answers, just like we show things in the film we do not explain. We want people to just sit, relax, and observe a natural environment few people see. People will be in awe,” said Tom.

“We hope people will invest 90 minutes in their own self preservation to relax, be quiet, connect with nature,” said Lee.

“A Peace of Forest” will premier at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 30 at Lincoln Theater, at 2 Theater St. in Damariscotta. A conversation and Q&A with the Szelogs will follow. Tickets are available at lincolntheater.net.