Menu

Indie Film: Midcoast filmmaker turns family’s hunting camp into set for new thriller

Indie Film: Midcoast filmmaker turns family’s hunting camp into set for new thriller

In Lucas McNelly’s thriller feature “Up Country,” three young men set out for a hike in the Northern Maine woods. Their taciturn, clearly unimpressed guide winds up stranding them there, leading to an increasingly intense fight for survival in an environment they don’t understand – and that seemingly has it in for people “from away.”

For Waldoboro native and Damariscotta resident McNelly, this crisp and nasty indie drama is a love letter to his hometown, even if “Up Country” suggests that unwary visitors to his home turf need to watch themselves. “I’ve always had this idealized dream of continuing to make movies of this size in Midcoast and various other Maine places and straight-up premiere them in my hometown theater,” says McNelly.

"We have been fortunate to have made two movies in Maine — The Way We Get By and Beneath The Harvest Sky.” Maine is a very special state in that there are so many options for locations. Given its size, you can travel to northern Maine, southern Maine, all along the coast, and tell a number of different stories in totally unique worlds with each film having very distinctive looks. The abundance of locations combined with the incredible generosity of the people and communities, make filmmaking in Maine a pure joy. We would not be filmmakers today without the support from the people of Maine and we will be forever grateful."

- Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet, The Way We Get By and Beneath the Harvest Sky

See all testimonials

Contact Us

PHONE  207-624-7483

EMAIL  film@maine.gov

subscribe to e-newsletter