Camden International Film Festival Announces 2017 Points North Impact Screenings
CAMDEN, Maine, Sept. 6, 2017 – The 13th edition of the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) and the Points North Forum will take place September 14-17, 2017 throughout Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine.
Highlights include an expanded edition of the festival’s Points North Impact program, with special screenings of two new films, Elaine Sheldon’s Heroin(e)(E) and Ky Dickens’ Zero Weeks. These screenings will be accompanied by extended panel discussions with special guests, sparking a public dialogue about two issues that are critical to Maine communities: the opioid crisis and paid family leave.
“Documentary film screenings can be a powerful tool for building communities and social movements,” says Ben Fowlie, Executive Director of the Points North Institute. “We’re thrilled to work with these two filmmakers to harness that power at CIFF and start discussions about opioids and paid family issue — issues that impact all Mainers.”
CIFF will continue its longstanding partnership with Working Films to present these films and organize community screenings of both titles across Maine throughout 2017 and 2018.
Journalists who have not already done so can contact [email protected] to arrange for a press pass to cover the festival, including these Impact Screenings.
CONFRONTING THE OPIOID CRISIS IN MAINE
Maine is one of the states hardest hit by the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis. CIFF will feature a free, public screening of a powerful new Netflix Original film (Heroin(e), followed by a panel discussion with leaders from across Maine who are working on the frontlines of the epidemic — saving lives, raising awareness and developing new solutions. Confirmed panelists to date include Kenny Miller (Executive Director of the Health Equity Alliance) and Rosanna Boyce, a Maine resident in recovery and advocate for improved treatment.
“The opioid epidemic continues to destroy lives and tears apart families in Maine and across the country,” said Senator Angus King. “This is a crisis, plain and simple. I’m glad to see efforts to shine a light on both the impact of opioids and the way communities are rallying to battle this epidemic – because if we’re going to save lives, we need all hands on deck.”
Heroin(e)
Elaine Sheldon | USA | 38 min
Sunday, September 17 | Camden Opera House | 5:30 PM
Once a bustling industrial town, Huntington, West Virginia has become the epicenter of America’s modern opioid epidemic, with an overdose rate 10 times the national average. This flood of heroin now threatens this Appalachian city with a cycle of generational addiction, lawlessness, and poverty. But within this distressed landscape, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (HOLLOW) shows a different side of the fight against drugs — one of hope. Heroin(e) was produced in collaboration with Glassbreaker Films at The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). Filmmaker in Attendance!
STARTING A CONVERSATION ABOUT PAID FAMILY LEAVE
Maine’s aging population makes the lack of paid leave a growing problem for families across the state. CIFF will host the World Premiere of Ky Dickens’ Zero Weeks, followed by a discussion of how American families are often forced to choose between a new baby, ill spouse, aging parent or keeping their job and health insurance. Confirmed panelists include representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association, Down East magazine, and Family Values at Work.
Zero Weeks
Ky Dickens | USA | 96 min
Saturday, September 16 | Rockport Opera House | 12:30 PM
Most Americans agree that family comes first, but we are the only developed country without paid leave. In one of the richest nations in the world, having a baby, a medical emergency or an aging parent can be a trigger into poverty. Weaving powerful personal stories with insightful interviews, Zero Weeks, explores America’s paid leave crisis and the cost of doing nothing.
Join us for the World Premiere of Ky Dicken’s powerful film Zero Weeks, followed by a discussion with special guests about the scope of the problem here in Maine and what can be done about it. Filmmaker in Attendance!
These Points North Impact screenings build on the success of last year’s CIFF screenings and panel discussions highlighting gun control and the impact of climate change on the local fishing economy, as well as the popular Aging in Maine film series, which has reached nearly 60 communities across Maine since 2013.
