‘The Shepherd And The Bear’ Added To Camden International Film Festival As Surprise Closing Night Film: “Unforgettable, Visually Stunning”

EXCLUSIVE: The prestigious Camden International Film Festival has announced a surprise addition to its 2024 lineup: The Shepherd and The Bear , a documentary described as a “modern folk tale.”

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The film directed by Max Keegan and produced by Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, and Emmy winners Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, will serve as the closing night film for CIFF’s 20 ^th edition. The festival, a program of the Points North Institute, unfolds in the picturesque Central Maine coast towns of Camden and Rockland. [Scroll for the full list of CIFF documentaries].

“Set high in the majestic French Pyrenees, The Shepherd and The Bear explores a conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears in the midst of a traditional shepherding community,” according to a release from CIFF. “The film follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking the bears. Through its breathtaking cinematography and immersive storytelling, The Shepherd and The Bear is a modern folktale about tradition, community and humanity’s relationship with a vanishing natural world.”

CIFF notes that Keegan moved to France and spent three years there working on his film, “learning French from scratch,” adding, “The production of this immersive vérité project was intensive, both technically and physically… The team lived full time as part of the mountain community for two years during production, filming in some of the most remote and treacherous mountain terrain in France. The film was cut by French editor Sabine Emiliani, known for her work on the Oscar-winning March Of The Penguins . The film is scored by renowned French composer Amine Bouhafa ( Four Daughters ), and performed by the 12 Ensemble, who collaborated with Johnny Greenwood on the Oscar-nominated score for The Power Of The Dog .”

Sean Flynn, program director of the Camden International Film Festival, said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to be working with this star-studded team to share The Shepherd and the Bear with audiences for the first time. This remarkable debut feature is one of the most unforgettable, visually stunning works of cinematic nonfiction we’ve seen all year. It’s also a parable for our ever-changing relationships to a beautiful, vulnerable, more-than-human world.”

Producers Moss and McBaine ( Boys State , Girls State , The Overnighters ) commented, “We knew we wanted to get involved in this project from the start because this kind of ambitious filmmaking is important and risky. This film was a hugely challenging proposition, particularly for Max, a first-time director, and we were excited to mentor new talent. We are glad we took that risk. It’s a beautiful, bold film which we feel belongs in its own category, ‘mythical realism.’”

The Shepherd and The Bear is directed and written by Max Keegan, and produced by Elizabeth Woodward, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, and Max Keegan. The film is a Salthill Films and WILLA production, in association with Mile End Films, Impact Partners, and Pinky Promise. Executive Producers are Johannes Arver, Jessamine Burgum, Kara Durrett, Lauren Haber, Jenny Raskin, Bill Reedy, Emily Reedy, Robina Riccitiello, Rick Rosenthal, Nancy Stephens, Christine Woodhouse and Andrea Van Beuren. Submarine is handling sales.

CIFF annually welcomes some of the most important nonfiction filmmakers from around the world, as well as nurturing emerging talents through its artists program. “The festival attracts one of the largest industry gatherings of the documentary film community in the U.S.,” CIFF observes. “It is recognized as both an important stop on the beginning of the Oscar campaign trail and as an entry point for international filmmakers to find U.S. audiences, distributors and production relationships.”

This year’s edition of the CIFF includes 31 features, 22 short films, and two immersive experiences originating from 37 countries. Sixty percent of the features in the program are either U.S., North American or world premieres, CIFF notes.

Below is the complete list of previously announced features and short films for the 20 ^th Camden International Film Festival.

Features:

Agent Of Happiness | Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó | Bhutan, Hungary
How can you measure happiness? The country of Bhutan invented Gross National Happiness to do just that, and Amber is one of the agents who travels door to door to meet people and measure how happy they really are. He is still living with his elderly mother at the age of 40, but nevertheless, a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness. We embark with Amber on a cross-country road trip meeting citizens from all walks of life, reminding us of the fragility and beauty of our own happiness. No matter where we live.

Apocalypse In The Tropics | Petra Costa | Brazil, USA, DenmarkWhen does a democracy end, and a theocracy begin? Apocalypse in the Tropics investigates the increasingly powerful grip that faith leaders hold over politics in Brazil. Weaving past and present, it holds up an uncanny mirror to the rest of the world.

Apple Cider Vinegar | Sofie Benoot | Belgium, Netherlands | North American PremiereStones are at once the most foundational and the most overlooked parts of our lifeworld. When a retired nature documentary narrator passes a kidney stone, she decides to tell one more story about this forgotten world of stone . A hypnotic essay film asking urgent ecological questions, Apple Cider Vinegar takes the viewer on a journey meeting Palestinian quarry workers, passionate British Geologist and people living on the lava fields of Fogo.

Blink | Daniel Roher, Edmund Stenson | USA
When three of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, incurable disease that leads to severe visual impairment, the Pelletier family’s world changes forever. In the face of this life-altering news, Edith Lemay, Sébastien Pelletier and their children set out on a trip around the world to experience all its beauty while they still can. As they fill their memories with breathtaking destinations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters, the family’s love, resilience, and unshakeable sense of wonder ensure that their uncertain future does not define their present.

Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin | US Premiere Dahomey chronicles the 2021 return of 26 royal treasures to Benin from France, 61 years post-independence. Filmmaker Mati Diop blends observational footage and hybrid techniques to capture this pivotal moment in post-colonial cultural politics. Following the artifacts’ journey from Paris to Benin, the film incorporates the voice of King Gezo’s statue speaking in Fon. Through poetic visuals and debates among Beninese students, Diop explores questions of cultural identity, historical trauma, and colonial redress, offering a multifaceted reflection on whether the looting can ever be repaid.

DRIVER | Nesa Azimi | USAAfter losing everything, Desiree Wood takes a second lease on life as a long-haul truck driver. Alongside an irreverent group of women truckers, she fights for a life on the road.

Eastern Anthems | Matthew Wolkow, Jean-Jacques Martinod | Canada, USA, Ecuador | World Premiere
An unfinished film is passed along from one friend to another. The dialog between them is a journey crossed by the swarming of the Great Eastern Brood X of periodical cicadas that prophetically emerge every 17 years in the United States, invoking a reflection of a post-pandemic present and our shared futures. A road movie composed of a chorus of voices (both human and non-human), the warnings of history, the power of nature and rebirth.

Eno | Gary Hustwit | USAVisionary musician and artist Brian Eno — known for producing David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, among many others; pioneering the genre of ambient music; and releasing over 40 solo and collaboration albums — reveals his creative processes in this groundbreaking generative documentary: a film that’s different every time it’s shown.

A Fidai Film | Kamal AlJafari | Germany, Palestine, Qatar, Brasil, France | US PremiereInvestigating the looting of Palestinian films which took place in Beirut in 1982, the film uses this event as a premise in order to make visible materials hidden in Israeli archives, and proposes a counter-narrative of a continuous history of appropriation.

The Flamingo | Adam Sekuler | USA | World Premiere The Flamingo is an observational film that follows a woman in her 60s as she pursues sexual exploration, intimate relationships and aging with pleasure.

Homegrown | Michael Premo | USA | North American Premiere Homegrown is an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other, offering an unprecedented look at right-wing activists as they search for purpose and power – with dire consequences.

I’m Not Everything I Want To Be | Klára Tasovskà | Czechia, Slovakia, Austria | US Premiere
After the Soviet invasion of Prague, a young female photographer strives to break free from the constraints of Czechoslovakian normalization and embarks on a wild journey towards freedom, capturing her experiences through thousands of photographs.

Kix | Bálint Révész, Dávid Mikulán | Hungary, France, Croatia | North American PremiereAt 8, Sanyi rummages through Budapest’s gritty streets with his skateboard, escaping his cramped-up apartment. As the years go by, some hard lessons are learned but others not so much. As his actions transform from innocent pranks to long-lasting consequences, the country turns its gaze into him, as a symbol of national tragedy.

The Last Republican | Steve Pink | USA | US PremiereCongressman Adam Kinzinger is the first Republican to hold President Trump accountable for the Jan. 6th Insurrection. It costs him friends, family, and his career. While documenting Adam’s last year in Congress, director/comedian Steve Pink, a far-left progressive, forms a surprising and humorous friendship with his conservative counterpart.

Mistress Dispeller | Elizabeth Lo | China, USA | US Premiere
Desperate to save her marriage, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover and break up her husband’s affair. With strikingly intimate access, Mistress Dispeller follows this unfolding family drama from all corners of a love triangle.

Mother Vera | Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson | United Kingdom | North American Premiere
From the thick snow of the Belarusian forest to the heat of the reeds in the French Camargue, Mother Vera is the story of a young Orthodox nun; her turbulent past, and fragile future.

No Other Land | Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor | Palestine, Norway
The alliance between a young Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank and an Israeli journalist provides a unique and human insight into a decades-old conflict, as the two fight against the forced expulsion of the Masafer Yatta community. A film created by a Palestinian-Israeli collective.

Oasis | Tamara Uribe, Felipe Morgado | Chile | North American PremiereAfter an unprecedented social uprising, Chile chooses to write a New Constitution. A colorful assembly will be in charge of writing down the dreams of dignity and social justice of an entire people. What could go wrong?

Patrice: The Movie | Ted Passon | USA | US PremiereA documentary rom-com about the next phase of marriage equality: disability.

Reas | Lola Arias | Argentina, Germany, Switzerland | US PremiereYoseli has a tattoo of the Eiffel Tower on her back and has always wanted to travel, but she was arrested at the airport for drug trafficking. Nacho is a trans man who was arrested for swindling and started a rock band in jail. Gentle or rough, blonde or shaved, cis or trans, long-term inmates or newly admitted: in this hybrid musical, they all re-enact their lives in a Buenos Aires prison.

Rising Up At Night (Tongo Saa) | Nelson Makengo | Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar
Between hope, disappointment and religious faith, Rising up at Night (Tongo Saa) is a subtle and fragmented portrait of a population that, despite its challenges, is sublimated by the beauty of Kinshasa’s nights.

Seeking Mavis Beacon | Jazmin Renée Jones | USAThe most recognizable woman in technology lives in our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the software’s Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY detectives search for the model while posing questions about identity and artificial intelligence.

Soundtrack To A Coup D’etat | Johan Grimonprez | BelgiumAmidst the Cold War, jazz icons like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone become unwitting pawns in a power struggle over Congolese independence. As their music conceals a covert CIA operation leading to Patrice Lumumba’s assassination, they confront their roles in a world where decolonization and political intrigue collide.

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The Stimming Pool | The Neurocultures Collective: Sam Chown Ahern, Georgia Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker; Steven Eastwood | UK | US Premiere
The Stimming Pool , co-created by neurodiverse directors and artist-filmmaker Steven Eastwood, follows diverse characters navigating environments through an autistic lens, striving to find space in a world free from societal norms.

Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other | Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet | UK, Denmark, USA | North American Premiere
Life, death and making meaning are the heart of a beautiful and often very funny film about Maggie Barrett and Joel Meyerowitz, an aging artist couple who, after an accident, face the inevitability of impermanence and seek a deep peace in their relationship while they still can.

Union | Stephen Maing & Brett Storey | USA

The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) — a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City’s Staten Island — takes on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize. Chronicling the historic efforts of the ALU, Union is an intimate and surprising story of dogged determination, unorthodox tactics, and speaking up despite David vs. Goliath odds.

Welcome Interplanetary And Sidereal Space Conquerors (Bienvenidos Conquistadores Interplanetarios Y Del Espacio Sidereal) | Andrés Jurado | Colombia, Portugal | US Premiere
Astronauts lost in the Darien are surprised by an indigenous person, did they think they were going to be eaten by a wild cannibal? A deconstruction of propaganda archives from tropical survival training challenges the colonial narrative inscribed in the conquest of space.

The White House Effect | Bonni Cohen, Jonathan Shenk, Pedro Kos | USAUsing exclusively archival materials, The White House Effect tells the dramatic origin story of the climate crisis — how the science came into focus, the way politics overtook the issue in our country, and the role the American people played in the escalating drama. Focused on the pivotal years of 1977-1992, the film cuts through today’s headlines, immersing the audience in an experience of history unfolding in real-time, creating an immediate and gripping drama with the highest possible stakes.

Wilfred Buck | Lisa Jackson | Canada | US PremiereMoving between earth and stars, past and present, this rollicking hybrid documentary follows the extraordinary life of Wilfred Buck, a charismatic and irreverent Cree Elder who overcame a harrowing history by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony.

Will & Harper | Josh Greenbaum | USAWhen Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America. A Netflix release

Yintah | Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano | Canada Yintah , meaning “land”, is a feature-length documentary on the Wet’suwet’en nation’s fight for sovereignty. Spanning more than a decade, the film follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their ancestral lands from several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.

Shorts:

A Body Called Life | Spencer MacDonald | USA, Switzerland, Poland

Adura Baba Mi | Juliana O. Kasumu | Nigeria, Jamaica, United Kingdom | World Premiere

Bisagras | Luis Arnías | USA, Senegal, Brazil

The Comeback Mill | Josh Gerritsen | USA

Contractions | Lynne Sachs | USA

Diary Of A Sky | Lawrence Abu Hamdan | Lebanon | North American Premiere

Dull Spots Of Greenish Colours | Sasha Svirsky | Germany | North American Premiere

An Extraordinary Place | Tom Bell | USA

Familia | Picho García, Gabriela Pena | Chile

Four Holes | Daniela Muñoz Barroso | Cuba, France

The Great Big Nothingness: Conversations with Creators | Chase Overland | USA | World Premier

Heritable | Eli Kao | USA

History Is Written At Night | Alejandro Alonso | Cuba, France

Meditations On Silence | Sebastián Quiroz | Chile | International Premiere

Motorcycle Mary | Haley Watson | USA

One Night At Babes | Angelo Madsen Minax | USA

Perfectly A Strangeness | Alison McAlpine | Canada | US Premiere

Take me to the Ocean | Elena Mozzhelina | USA

The Tengu Club | Hilary Hutcheson, Britton Caillouette | USA | World Premiere

Through The Storm | Charles Frank, Fritz Bitsoie | USA

Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?) | Suneil Sanzgiri | India, Portugal, USA

Waldo County Woodshed | Julia Dunlavey | USA

You Can’t Get What You Want But You Can Get Me | Samira Elagoz, Z Walsh | Netherlands, Finland

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