Portland filmmakers Desi Van Til and Sean Mewshaw have secured a national theatrical release for their romantic comedy “Tumbledown” and will see the film get its Maine premiere July 10 at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville.
The film, starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April. After its showing at Tribeca, the film’s distribution rights were acquired by Starz, known for its pay TV offerings. The company plans a “significant” release of the film to theaters in February 2016, followed by an on-demand digital release and a premiere on pay TV, according to a news release from Starz.
“Tumbledown” is a love letter to Van Til’s hometown of Farmington, written by Van Til and directed by Mewshaw, her husband. The couple met in Hollywood where both worked for years on other people’s films. They moved to Maine in 2007 to make “Tumbledown” here, but ended up making it in Massachusetts because of larger financial incentives for filmmakers there.
Still, the story is set in Maine, with many references to Maine and Farmington. The film’s title is the name of a western Maine mountain.
Before heading to Tribeca in April, Van Til and Mewshaw weren’t sure when the film would be shown to Maine audiences, so both are excited that the Maine International Film festival has decided to show it.
“It’s long been a dream of ours to share this story about Maine with the people who will appreciate it most,” said Van Til Tuesday. “Nothing makes me happier than imagining people in cities all over the country watching ‘Tumbledown’ on the big screen. I love to think that this small-town Maine story will be shared with the world at large.”
The film focuses on the young widow of a singer-songwriter (Hall), living among friends and family in Farmington and dealing with the beginning of the rest of her life. Sudeikis plays an academic who comes to town to research the woman’s deceased husband, and a romance begins.
Because of their work and connections in Hollywood, Van Til and Mewshaw were able to land well-known actors for the film, including Hall, Sudeikis, Blythe Danner and Griffin Dunne.
The Maine premiere of “Tumbledown” is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. July 10 at the Waterville Opera House. Tickets cost $12. For more information, go to miff.org.
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