Nate interviewed his fellow Batesies about their film fest! Tune in for a great conversation about:

- How film can inspire social change

- Special guests with Maine connections

- All-time favorites that kick-started the students’ passion for film

Every two years Jon Cavallero and a group of students organize this film festival not just for the Bates community, but for everyone. All the events are free and open to the public, so just show up and grab a seat!

The Maine Playweek is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2026 Bates Film Festival!

The festival returns for its fifth edition this May 12-17 on campus in Lewiston and at various venues around Portland. See the full schedule at batesfilmfestival.com.

Find The Maine Playweek:

Instagram: @themaineplayweekFacebook: The Maine PlayweekSubstack: themaineplayweek.substack.com

Try out our new showtimes website!

We got to go to the movies together!!! Much to discuss about people making movies in Maine this time!!! not only that, but we also get to talk about:

* Julia Dunlavey, Journalist Extraordinaire (Julia’s interviews with Sam Dunning can be found here and here)

* the trouble with kayaks

* Julia Dunlavey, Cultural Weathervane

* our brand new showtimes page!!!!

* Julia Dunlavey, Time Optimizer

Enjoy! check out showtimes.themaineplayweek.com and let us know what you think! and as always, follow us @themaineplayweek on Instagram!

hi again :) enjoying our new regular output? you BETTER be!!! it’s good to talk to your friends about the stuff you see in movies that activates your lizard brain. it’s not ACTUALLY a scary episode, we had a lot of fun talking about:

* new offerings!

* fun shirts

* Nate’s theater major (he only gets to use it so often, okay??)

* scary technology

* scary vacuums

* the canine-cinematic conundrum

enjoy! check out showtimes.themaineplayweek.com and let us know what you think! and as always, follow us @themaineplayweek on Instagram!

Brunswick-born director Sam Dunning is back home to tour his canoeing mockumentary Canoe Dig It? all around Maine, and he stopped by the Pod Week to chat about:

* bullying your friends into seeing his movie

* DIY film distribution is just emails and spreadsheets

* what makes the film work with a theatrical audience

* favorite Letterboxd reviews

See CANOE DIG IT? at your local cinema this month:

April 2 at 7pm | Nickelodeon Cinemas, PortlandApril 10 at 7pm | Magic Lantern Theater, BridgtonApril 11 at 7pm | Eveningstar Cinema, BrunswickApril 17 at 7pm | The Waldo Theatre, WaldoboroApril 22 at 7pm | Black Bear Cinemas, OronoApril 28 at 7pm | Colonial Theatre, BelfastMay 1 at 7:45pm | Smitty’s Cinemas, Topsham

Catch The Maine Pod Week’s interview with Sam last summer when Canoe Dig It? premiered at the Maine Outdoor Film Festival.

Follow @canoedigitfilm on Instagram

Follow The Maine Playweek!SubstackInstagram: @themaineplayweek

the oscars are over and DONE with! how was that for you? was it everything you dreamed of? was train dreams snubbed? this week we’ll talk about:

* Conan

* delicious puns

* going to the movies

* not going to the movies

* trailers

* the trouble with spidered men

Get yourself a tee! and as always, follow @themaineplayweek on Instagram instead!

When Nate is away the mice will play! Or at least stumble through a solo recording and editing session. In this episode, Julia talks about a few films that got Academy Award nominations but that were short-lived or not-at-all-lived in theaters. And good news— some of these have special screenings coming up around town! Listen for more about:

* when distributors prioritize certain films over others

* you still have a chance to see the Andrea Gibson doc not on Apple TV+!

* motorcycle-riding feminists

* the most beautiful film of the year was cheated from its silver screen moment

* Oscar-themed Playweek merch!!!! Shop the Golden Statue Collection here.

Events mentioned:

Come See Me in the Good Light - February 28 & March 6 | PMA Films, Portland

Cutting Through Rocks - March 11 | SPACE Gallery, Portland

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Happy 2026! how many movies did you see last year?that’s it?? cmon now. Maybe your resolution should be to go to the movies more. In this episode, we resolved to talk about:

* playing catch up with the theatrical releases

* Rockland based fashion trends

* James Cameron’s obsessions

* Tubi

* sodium intake for those with a strong sense of free will

* putting your phone away in the goddamn theater

* new programming!

don’t worry about how many times Nate says “we’re off to the races” in this episode! he’s working on it! Follow @themaineplayweek on Instagram instead!

Julia and Nate are back at it! and we’ve got some great new music to reel you in and some HARD FACTS AND DATA to make you think about:

* Josh O’Connor

* Austin Powers date nights

* where you can see Train Dreams in theaters (nowhere right now I’m sorry everyone)

* Josh O’Connor

* our movie survey results (take it here)

* IMAX expansionism

* Josh O’Connor

Follow @themaineplayweek on Instagram!

This week, Julia and Nate recorded remote for the first time! wow! hope it still sounds good please don’t be mad if it doesn’t xoxoxox :) instead of focusing on audio quality, focus instead on our chat about:

* making the leap from radio to television

* Richard Linklater’s busy schedule

* the good folks at the Eveningstar

* popcorn 101

* the joy of watching a movie at home

* how good we are at knowing the names of movies, actors, and how to pronounce them

Follow @themaineplayweek on Instagram!

Hello everyone we’ve got another hot ep for you. Somehow Nate managed to post within the same week of recording—what a concept! get those ears primed for blisteringly good discussions of:

* battles, one after another

* crossing state lines

* how do you pronounce Haim?

* messed up theater screens

* region-locked media

Follow @themaineplayweek on Instagram!