Most Recent Maine Masters Films
CARLO … and his Merry Band of Artists
Carlo Pittore, an exuberant, larger-than-life figurative artist and activist is discussed by a small group of friends and fellow artists (now recognized as leaders in Maine art) who founded the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA) in 1975 and gathered at a late afternoon al fresco dinner to assess Carlo’s impact. Says art author Edgar Beem, “The conversation is so casual and honest it’s almost as though Carlo had just stepped away from the table for a moment rather than for all eternity.” His advice to young artists to strike out, follow their dreams, and “Do It” was palpable … as was the love for him and even the hurt he sometimes caused. Memories and perspectives clash. Carlo painted nude models while singing and dancing to Verdi’s opera at his Academy of Carlo Pittore in Bowdoinham, Maine creating works often compared to Lucian Freud and Alice Neel. Fearing the AIDS epidemic he fled New York in 1986. The film captures Carlo’s ambition for artistic greatness, his infectious personality, his struggle with sexual identity, and complicated legacy.
Click here to see the trailer:
https://vimeo.com/kanelewis/carlotrailer
TRUTH TELLERS
TRUTH TELLERS is a film about the former UMVA President, artist Robert Shetterly, and his passion to teach the truth about American history through his painted portraits and cadre of activists he calls his “models of courageous citizenship.” Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” portrait series celebrates our ongoing struggle to live up to our democratic ideals with those who are not afraid to speak the truth nor challenge the status quo.
Here’s what Bill Moyers says: “I am an ardent fan of Robert’s work and of the man himself. He is the Diogenes of our time, searching for truth in the work of his subjects. He has become an invaluable chronicler of 2lst century America. … Congratulations with this important film.”
Click here to see the trailer:
https://vimeo.com/kanelewis/truthtellers2023
To purchase the film or to book it for school or university screenings contact: kanelewisproductions@gmail.com
www.americanswhotellthetruth.org
Truth Tellers is now being distributed by Kane-Lewis Productions in Maine and Bullfrog Films in the rest of the world!
About Maine Masters Project
The MAINE MASTERS PROJECT is a twice-nominated New England Emmy Award film series sponsored by the Union of Maine Visual Artists and launched in 1999 by Rob Shetterly and Deb Vendetti. Richard Kane began editing the series in 1999 and shortly after began directing the films. Check out our Vimeo portal for all the films streaming.
The Maine Masters Project is a series of 20 compelling profiles of some of Maine’s most distinguished and often less recognized artists. The 19th episode features artist Natasha Mayers. TRUTH TELLERS: Robert Shetterly’s Odyssey to Defend Our Democratic Ideals, is now in distribution following a year’s Impact Tour where a highlight was a standing ovation at the National Portrait Gallery. It is now in distribution across the nation by American Public Television (APT) and Bullfrog Films. The most recent film is CARLO … and his Merry Band of Artists, a feature version of The Raw Essence of CARLO PITTORE.
The purpose of the series is to support a vital contemporary artistic community and to inspire people to create art and to recognize its value. Through our outreach program, UMVA Member Bi-Monthly Screening Series, broadcasts, festivals, and upcoming live presentations — we have successfully reached adults. Through our free Ashley Bryan Resource & Activity Guide companion to our 15-minute version of I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan, we are now reaching a younger audience of students Grade 4–12 and college students. This new guide was written in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kanopy is now distributing I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan to schools and libraries across the world. Contact your public library to see the film. A free curriculum guide is also available as a companion to our film on the Maine/New York painter, Stephen Pace: Maine Master.
Free Screening Series for UMVA Members
Sign up for free screenings with panels of critics, artists, curators via zoom with Richard Kane at kanelewisproductions@gmail.com
Schedule to come
More Maine Masters Films
IMBER’S LEFT HAND
Imber’s Left Hand is a “bittersweet and deeply moving document of this artist’s courageous and darkly humorous response to a diagnosis of ALS. This tragic love story at its core is about how to die — how to make our lives meaningful, even joyful, up to the very end. Passion for art, for life, and for the love of his life, painter Jill Hoy, is what keeps Jon Imber thriving and creating.
The film traces Imber’s life, career, and adaptations, switching from painting with his right hand to his left, then to both hands as the degenerative condition worsens. Adversity only makes him more determined: more than 100 portraits in three months.
We first encounter Imber painting for the first time with his left hand while he and his loving partner analyze Jon’s self-portrait and talk about the terror to come. The painting becomes an unsettling metaphor of his psychological journey living into his dying through his art.
In the end, Imber’s Left Hand is a testament to the life-giving force that is art and the ability of two people and their community to face an uncertain future with passion and resolve. A tragic love story between two of America’s leading painters. “This beautiful film … takes the wind out of you,” Boston Globe front page review. “A masterpiece of intimacy in the face of tragendy … extraordinatry,” Maine Sunday Telegram. Winner of four Best Film Audience Awards.
Click here to see the trailer: https://vimeo.com/kanelewis/imbertrailer
Click to screen or purchase: https:// www.kanelewis.com/dvd-streaming-imber