I’m not someone who makes New Year’s resolutions, as a rule. I can make vaguely lofty, aspirational plans and guiltily not follow through on them all throughout the year, thanks. 

Still, the pull of a nice, clean slate and an artificial milestone like the calendar clicking over to a shiny new year has its pull. And if your need to mark the occasion with some grand gesture that can help out other people you truly care about, then that’s the tangible benefit of a New Year’s resolution. 

The Maine film scene is a thriving, fascinating and evolving thing, made up of creative, industrious artists and craftspeople who have decided – through circumstance or stubborn idealism – that their home (or adopted home) state is where they’re going to pursue their cinematic dreams. But that sort of admirable Maine gumption only makes an already damnably difficult task that much more depleting of energy, money and hope. So here are my resolutions to help support Maine’s moviemakers and venues in 2024.

You should join in – you’d be shocked how much even the smallest show of support can mean to a Maine filmmaker. 

I will watch more Mainers’ movies on streaming services.

As the recent writers and actors strikes highlighted, streaming services scheme overtime to deprive movie and TV creatives of the money they’re owed. There’s some hope that things are changing there, but while a Marvel movie won’t notice if you give it another streaming watch, a Maine filmmaker who’s managed to find a home on a streaming platform most definitely will see the benefits, both in terms of money and visibility. There are some great, Maine-made films sitting in your various queues, and taking a look will not only give a lift to someone in your own backyard, you’ll also get to see some of the fine movie work being done right here in Maine. 

Here’s a by-no-means-complete list of some Maine movies (many profiled in this column) that you can stream this year: The icy sci-fi action thriller “Bone Cold” from Billy Hanson is on Amazon Prime Video. Derek Kimball’s mesmerizing Maine coming-of-age drama “Neptune” can be found on Amazon as well, while film vet Tom Berenger came to Maine to star in Jon Barr’s winter-set thriller “Blood and Money” (Freevee and Tubi). Bowdoinham native Carter Smith’s harrowing body horror LGBTQ film “Swallowed” can be rented everywhere from Amazon to Apple, while Lucas McNelly’s backwoods Maine thriller “Up Country” can be readily streamed anywhere. (McNelly helpfully notes that watching his film on Tubi nets him the most money.) 

Portland native Kyle Rankin’s Portland-set zombie comedy “Night of the Living Deb” is on Plex, Tubi, Roku and Amazon, and the similarly Portland-filmed New Years Eve horror flick “Time’s Up” (starring emerging Maine boogeyman icon Damien Maffei) is for rent on Amazon. And if you’re not in the horror mood, Daniel Chaimowitz’s pandemic rom-com “Dole Mates” can be found on Tubi and Amazon, while the Maine-made holiday charm of Luigi Scarcelli’s “A Downeast Christmas” is available on YouTube. (Incidentally, YouTube provides a virtual treasure trove of Maine-made shorts – look for more stories about that in columns to come.) 

I will actually go out and support Maine movie theaters in 2024

The pandemic did a real number on my theatergoing, and that audience-emptying viral blight really hurt Maine’s independent cinemas. Thankfully, science has prevailed (although a pernicious new COVID strain means it’s time to get your boosters), and Maine movie theaters need everybody to make a night out at the pictures a regular part of Maine’s life again. There are some truly great indie film houses in Maine, from The Eveningstar in Brunswick to The Grand in Ellsworth to Bridgton’s Magic Lantern to Belfast’s triumphantly reopened Colonial, all bringing eclectic, adventurous and enjoyable film fare right to your neighborhood. And if Portland itself still can’t boast a true arthouse theater (RIP, Movies on Exchange), venues like Space, PMA Films and The Apohadion Theater all reliably book some of the most weird and wonderful flicks any city could desire. But they all need paying customers, so my pledge is to get off my couch, hit the road and actually enjoy some movies the way they were meant to be experienced – right here in Maine. 

I will give to Maine filmmakers’ crowdfunding campaigns

Film is an expensive art form. Even the beyond-modestly budgeted Maine-made movie costs money to make. Luckily, the rise of crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, among others, have proved an invaluable source of much-needed money to help local independent filmmakers make their cinematic dreams a reality. Offering backers the opportunity to tangibly and practically assist in the completion of Maine-made films is a two-way street of feel-good investment. Seriously, for someone posting a goal of $5,000 for their upcoming dream project, even a $5 donation from someone they don’t know is just the sort of shot in the arm that can keep an aspiring filmmaker going, while I know from experience how satisfying it is to see your name in the “thank you” credits of a film you actually helped get made. 

I will continue to turn a spotlight on the Maine movie scene

OK, you might think this one is just for me, the guy with the movie column. But you’d be wrong. Sure, I (Press Herald willing) will stay busy banging away about the Maine movie people, places and events all around us. But social media is an invaluable aid for low-to-no-budget filmmakers and festivals and theaters. A simple “share” of an event’s Facebook page or Twitter post exponentially expands the number of eyes on a Maine project, and in the indie world, eyeballs are currency. It costs us literally nothing to show our support by passing along information about a film or event that piques our interest, while the potential benefits to the people in question are limitless. 

In an indie film world without advertising budgets or high-profile PR firms, a handful of internet enthusiasts willing to boost the signal can make all the difference in the world. Does all this individual effort to chip in to the Maine film scene sound insignificant? It’s not. My time in the Maine movie mines has taught me plenty, but the one lesson that still inspires my faith is Mainers’ willingness to pitch in and help their neighbors achieve wonderful things. If I have to make a New Year’s resolution, then that’s one I can get behind. 

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