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Members of Maine's film community arrived in limos and then strutted down the red carpet on their way to the Maine Summer Shorts Festival tonight at the Nickelodeon in Portland. A crowd turned out to watch the red carpet action, while filmmakers and actors mingled. At 6:30 p.m. we made out way into the theater, where we watched three trailers and seven shorts, all shot in Maine and all high-quality, compelling productions.

The festival also marked the one year anniversary of the opening of The Maine Studios, which played an integral role in producing all the films. Since the studio opened, Maine's film scene has become more visible and vibrant by offering space and resources and hosting fun events like the one tonight.

Here are some of the folks spotted on the red carpet:

Damian Veilleux, the writer/director of the forthcoming "Eighteenth Hour" arrives with his fiance Ashley Gilbert. Judging by the trailer we saw tonight, "Eighteenth Hour" is a heart-pounding thriller. Look for it in July 2011.  To the left, you can see actress and event organizer Krystal Kenville talking with Maine Studios PR director Gary Hauger.

Also from "Eighteenth Hour," this is Corey Dalpe, second unit director, and Mike Cole, director of photography.

Baely Ames, 8, was one of two child actors who walked the red carpet tonight. He plays the young lead in the psychological thriller "A Very Careful Man," based on Ray Bradbury's short story "A Careful Man Dies." The other underage actor I met this evening is Emma Schwartz, 10, who stars in the suspenseful drama "Wait."

Megan Hanson plays Kate in the zombie film "Bitten," which serves up equal doses of suspense and special effects.

Carrie LaChance's latex look turns heads as she and her husband, Nate LaChance, make their way down the red carpet. The pair owns modeling agency Arch Enemys in Augusta and is currently in pre-production at The Maine Studios for a film with the naughty, but tentative, title of "The Fetish."

Ronnie Khalil stands with member of his cast and crew. Ronnie is an accomplished comic and motivational speaker who grew up in Miami and now lives in LA. He's also a filmmaker and is in Maine this summer filming what he calls a "fun horror movie," with the fantastic working title of "You Can't Kill Stephen King." It's being filmed at a lakeside camp in Lovell and sounds like it will be a scream.

If you want to see a Maine-made feature-length film, check out the premiere of George Dalphin's time-travel comedy "Doubting Thomas" this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Nick. Tickets only cost $5. We saw a trailer tonight, and it looks really wacky and entertaining.

I'll have more snapshots and additional details about who was at the festival and what they had to say in the Aug. 29 edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram. Until then, I hope to see you out and about.

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Avery Yale Kamila dishes about southern Maine's hottest parties.

Avery can be contacted at 791-6297 or akamila@pressherald.com
On Twitter: @AveryYaleKamila

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