Thursday, May 28th, 7:00 PM

Natchez – post-screening community conversation 

Directed by Suzannah Herbert, 2025

Natchez captures an unsettling clash between history and memory in a small Mississippi town; a layered mosaic of people contending with the weight of the past in a place where it is always present. Equal parts amusing and disturbing, we journey through an antebellum tourist destination at a crossroads as it grapples with a deeply troubled history that is so thoroughly ingrained in its present, we’re left to wonder if it’s actually past at all.

If you joined us at the Points North Pitch during CIFF in 2023, you saw this film in development! We’re so thrilled to bring this finished and acclaimed film back to Maine after it went through our Points North Fellowship 3 years ago.

Community conversation with:

Lauress Lawrence is committed to equity and community engagement, with special concern for marginalized communities and the Earth. She recently retired after a decade at the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation and two decades as director of Multicultural Affairs at Regis College in Massachusetts.

Meadow Dibble is Executive Director of Atlantic Black Box, a grassroots organization researching and reckoning with New England’s role in colonization and slavery. She has taught at Colby College and served as Visiting Scholar at Brown University’s Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

POINTS NORTH PRESENTS SCREENING SERIES

Points North Presents is a monthly screening series that extends the spirit of the Camden International Film Festival throughout the year. In collaboration with the Strand Theatre, we’re bringing some of the world’s most exciting and thought-provoking documentary films and filmmakers to the Midcoast Maine community.

On the Fourth Thursday of March, April and May, we will gather in the historic Strand to share unforgettable films and the conversations they spark. Each screening will be followed by a lively Q&A or facilitated discussion — often with the filmmaker in attendance!

Points North Presents is made possible by generous support from the Dave Nichols Charitable Trust — alongside our Official Media Sponsor, the Midcoast Villager.

General support for the series is provided by Perspective Fund; the Lesher Family Foundation; Onion Foundation; Fisher Charitable Foundation; and the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; as well as our tremendous individual donors.

Join us this Spring for the launch of our Fourth Thursday Documentary Series! Come for the film. Stay for the conversation. 

Thursday, March 26th, 7:00 PM

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

Directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell, 2026

From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created… and what’s at stake if we get it wrong.

This inaugural screening will be free and open to all.

FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING OF IAN CHENEY’S OBSERVER 

Join us on Wednesday, September 10th at 6:00pm, at Camden Hills Regional High School, Strom Auditorium. 

The 21st Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) will kick off with a special free community screening for the first time! Observer is a new documentary by Camden-based filmmaker Ian Cheney.

Fresh off its world premiere at the prestigious CPH:DOX film festival in Copenhagen, Observer is a poetic and inquisitive journey into the art of looking closely. From street corners to starfields, Cheney’s film brings viewers into conversation with scientists, artists, and everyday observers, revealing the wonder woven into daily life.

The evening will feature live music, a Q&A with Cheney and special guests, and a chance to gather with friends and neighbors before CIFF officially begins. The screening is open and welcome for teenagers and adults.

This event is free and open to the public. Register to save you or your friends and family’s spot today! Doors open at 5:30PM.

Observer is presented as part of Points North’s ongoing effort to build community through the power of nonfiction storytelling — not just within the international film world, but here at home in the Midcoast.

We hope to see you there! If you are interested in supporting future events like these or Points North’s other programming you can donate today at the link below.