Running Time: 87 minutes

www.apeaceofforest.com

Watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/860930264?share=copy

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After a sold out premiere and many great comments from audience members, Johnson Hall Opera House is pleased to present a Peace of Forest on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 7:00 pm. Showing in the third floor theater, the Reehl Stage.

This first feature-length wildlife movie ever filmed and produced in Maine, in our own backyard in Whitefield, is a one-of-a-kind cinematic adventure. Viewers will experience the wild, peaceful and mysterious world that is filled with complex relationships and ways of wonder. A Peace of Forest celebrates the beauty and intimacy of wildlife in Maine with surprising, tender and exquisite interactions of wildlife during peaceful moments in Maine’s natural world. An original story filled with inspiration, viewers of all ages and audiences will be engaged in a fresh, entertaining and informative manner as they observe common and uncommon wildlife and the fragile balance between nature and human culture.

The starring cast includes, but is not limited to bobcat, white-tail deer, American gold finch, coyotes, Cooper’s hawk, chipmunks, weasel, red winged black birds, barred owl, red-bellied woodpecker, gray fox, wood ducks, ravens, pileated woodpeckers, blue-winged and green-winged teal, otters, herons, saw-whet owl, beavers, and snapping turtles, among others, all of which were filmed in a Maine forest. Many of these creatures are often ignored or taken for granted, yet as viewers will discover, their daily behavior and antics compete with creatures of the Serengeti or Yellowstone.

We are pleased to have Lee Ann Szelog and Tom Szelog join us for an audience Q&A after the film.

“Nature is filled with inexpressible and glorious joy; I personally and profoundly invite you to experience pure joy by viewing a Peace of Forest, and continue to experience it every day for the rest of your life.”

Tom Szelog

“Nature speaks without words. To hear her voice we must listen, look, and ponder.”

Lee Ann Szelog

Meet Lee Ann and Tom Known as “one of Maine’s most renowned wildlife photographers” the co-filmmaker, producer, and award-winning photographer, Thomas Mark Szelog has focused, for the past 45 years, on create compelling photographs, documenting Maine’s rich wildlife, and nature’s gentle beauty. He is steadfast with keeping his intrusion into the homes of his subjects to a minimum. He waits for hours and days for his subjects to approach him, so he can capture their mood and behavior as naturally and discreetly as possible. For the past 10 years, he and his wife, Lee Ann, have been creating a Peace of Forest, documenting Maine’s wildlife within 70 acres of Maine forest with the same values Tom has had throughout his career. Viewers will see the results of his and Lee Ann’s passion, vision and patience that reflects the utmost respect and love they share for the wildlife. As active proponents of environmental awareness, they promote wildlife conservation and preservation through their films, lectures, exhibits, writings, and photographs. Lee Ann is the Founder and President of Simply Put, LLC, specializing in presentations she delivers locally, regionally and nationally on human relations and wellness, of our planet and ourselves. Lee credits Tom for opening her eyes to the natural world; Mother Nature opened her heart.

You may recognize Lee Ann and Tom from their 2 books. The first, the multi-award-winning, Our Point of View- Fourteen Years at a Maine Lighthouse, featuring Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde where they resided for 14 years. The second, By a Maine River – A Year of Looking Closely, explores the natural beauty found on their 70 acre forest.

Anonymous quotes from audience comment cards:

“Absolutely beautiful. Peace and serenity was the ultimate impression one left the theater with.”

“This film is a gift; it is so rich.”

“Waves of beauty of magnificent nature!”

“A magnificent escape to a world of peace and tranquility.”

“Phenomenal film, incredible photography, saw behavior I was never aware of – unbelievable!”

“The most beautiful film I have ever seen, exhibiting our beautiful, natural world.”

“A great time to slow down, breathe in and watch what’s going on in the world.”

Movie review:

One minute and fifty-one seconds into this spectacular private tour of the behind-the-scenes of my beloved Maine, this amazing state we call home, I started weeping. A Peace of Forest was taking me on a tour of a simple life, without McDonald’s drive-thrus, and too many people walking the pathways we call nature, with our phones and earbuds, and dogs on leashes, and our frenetic lives following us every minute. I could see the value of mirroring the animals with whom we share this incredible planet. I could see what is lost by the way I live my own life.

Then I settled in, put my chaotic mind on mute, and watched some of the best footage I’ve had the pleasure of seeing on the screen. During the Q&A after this film, I am sure much of the discussion will be about how the filmmakers captured what eludes us and how we can do it when we are out in nature. Oh, the birds you will see. Oh, the deer you will meet. Oh, the fun you will have watching the play, and the sadness you will feel when the brutal winter takes its toll on an uncomplaining population of animals at its mercy.

At the same time, you will be experiencing falling snow the way we thought it could be, but I certainly have never felt. You will feel rain as if you were out in it for the entire day… naked. You will see movement the way you wish your body could perform. Of the journey you will have watching this amazing film. Bring the children. Bring your private self. Do not let a Peace of Forest go unseen. And then get busy making sure everything it brings to us is not lost for future generations.

Christine Merser, screenthoughts.net

Running Time: 87 minutes

www.apeaceofforest.com

Watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/860930264?share=copy