Zahira Chaudhry
May the Water Not Freeze
A farming cooperative in Western Maine prepares for their first winter while nurturing community with other Black farmers, cultivating halal foodways and honoring the history of the land.
Zahira Chaudhry is a queer filmmaker from the Bay Area whose work explores political resilience through community weaving. Their first documentary short Criss Cross screened at the Queer Women of Color Film Festival. As a storyteller, Zahira’s gaze captures the joy found in intimate moments of devotion & collective care. They spend their time camping with loved ones, cooking in their friends’ kitchens, shaping clay and biking by the ocean.
Zahira Chaudhry is a queer filmmaker from the Bay Area whose work explores political resilience through community weaving. Their first documentary short Criss Cross screened at the Queer Women of Color Film Festival. As a storyteller, Zahira’s gaze captures the joy found in intimate moments of devotion & collective care. They spend their time camping with loved ones, cooking in their friends’ kitchens, shaping clay and biking by the ocean.
Matt Didisheim
By, Alongside
By, Alongside
Jamie is an art therapist and founder of ArtVan, a nonprofit that brings mobile art therapy to neighborhoods, schools, and community centers across rural Maine. In this film, she reflects on the importance of her organization's mission and the meaning of art in her own life.
Matt Didisheim grew up in Brunswick, ME before attending college in upstate New York and finding his way westward to Salt Lake City, UT, where he lived for eleven years before moving back to Maine. He is a Portland-based filmmaker with a passion for creating character-driven, mission-rooted films for organizations.
Matt Didisheim grew up in Brunswick, ME before attending college in upstate New York and finding his way westward to Salt Lake City, UT, where he lived for eleven years before moving back to Maine. He is a Portland-based filmmaker with a passion for creating character-driven, mission-rooted films for organizations.
Maya Fawaz
Before It Gets Here
Before It Gets Here
What does it mean when the “heartbeat” of your community starts to disappear? An invasive beetle threatens a material used in Wabanaki basket making. The community is split as members grapple with the future of their practice.
Growing up, Maya Fawaz was labeled an "excessive talker” by all her school teachers. She’s an audio producer from Texas and enjoys feeding small armies of friends.
Growing up, Maya Fawaz was labeled an "excessive talker” by all her school teachers. She’s an audio producer from Texas and enjoys feeding small armies of friends.
Blythe Guecia
Poetics of Presence
Poetics of Presence
Narrative ebbs and flows between a father and daughter as they unearth memories from their past and piece together the story of a place they once called home.
Blythe Guecia is a writer and filmmaker living in Portland, Maine. Her work explores intimacy, archival material, and theories of geography.
Blythe Guecia is a writer and filmmaker living in Portland, Maine. Her work explores intimacy, archival material, and theories of geography.