KahBang organizers announce film and visual arts lineup for festival

KahBang organizers released on Thursday the lineups for both the film and visual arts aspects of the festival, set for Aug. 8-11 in and around the Bangor Waterfront.

“We were pleased to select a number of new filmmakers, as well as international and local filmmakers. While we are excited to announce several world premieres, we will also be screening acclaimed independent films winning awards at other esteemed festivals such as SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca and The Slamdance Film Festival,” said KahBang arts director Meg Shorette. “It was our goal this year to revitalize the Film Festival and we are poised to have an incredible weekend, with more filmmakers in attendance than any other year.”

Some of the selections for the festival include “The Dirties,” a feature by up-and-coming filmmaker Matthew Johnson about high school bullying; “The River,” a short film starring Lauren Ambrose of “Six Feet Under”; and “Black Rock,” written by Maine native Katie Aselton and her husband Mark Duplass, of “The League,” and directed by and starring Aselton, as well as Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth, about three friends on a weekend camping trip on a remote Maine island (pictured above). There’s also the addition of the new VHS Screening Night, in which film fest organizers will screen old VHS copies of films. A full schedule of screenings will be announced later in the summer.

For the visual arts side of things, KahBang Arts is planning another pop up gallery, dubbed the “KahBang Arts District,” this year to be held on the Bangor Waterfront from Aug. 9-11 during the festival. It will feature a wide array of regional artists working in multiple mediums; some highlights of the 18 artists selected include illustrator Jeffrey Irizarry, screenprinter Shayna Blumert and clothing designer Jonessa Ramos, all sponsored by Maine-based press the Flannel Collaborative; Bangor screenprinter Jeffrey Prymowicz will create a limited edition clothing design for the film fest, Bangor artist Erik Schwab will display his duct tape art, and Sebastian Meade will exhibit his “yarn bombing” technique, or “guerilla knitting.” There will also be a pop-up literary salon from the Poets Street Collective on Saturday Aug. 11 in the KahBang Arts District, featuring live poems and a mobile library.

Both the art and film festivals are organized by KahBang Arts, the non-profit arm of KahBang, which plans film screenings, pop-up galleries, music events and poetry readings in Bangor throughout the year. The KahBang Festival’s music lineup, which includes events in downtown Bangor and on the Bangor Waterfront stage, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.