Staff Writer

 When filmmaker Morgan Nichols was planning his newest feature film, he knew one thing for certain.

He wanted to come home to Maine.

Nichols, a Kennebunkport native who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., has spent the past three weeks in and around Biddeford filming “How to Make Movies at Home.” The crew includes friends Nichols has made films with since childhood.

Movie filming wraps up this week and the crew will host a “Thanks Biddeford” public block party tonight to thank the community for its support. The party from 6 to 8 p.m. at Shevenell Park will feature a performance by 17-year-old singer-songwriter Kalie Shorr of Bangor.

The independent feature-length film from Hillport Maine Productions tells the story of a group of filmmakers who have been making movies together for years.

“Things get rocky when Hollywood comes to town to do a show,” Nichols said. 

The movie was made with two styles of shooting, said Cinematographer Dave Danesh. “How to Make Movies at Home” is filmed in high definition while the movie made by the main characters is filmed in standard definition. He said the film is unique in that it incorporates do-it-yourself lessons for people who want to make their own movies at home.

“It really is a tool that will enable young people to do what we do,” he said. “Anyone can do this.”

Lessons in the film focus on topics such as lenses, lighting and screen direction. The lessons are metaphorical for what is happening in the lives of the movie’s main characters.

“The lessons allow a unique ability to break the rules of filmmaking,” said Dan Adams, an associate producer and Biddeford resident. “They allow you to propel the plot in a unique way.

The lessons are presented in a way that allows the camera to move differently from a traditional film and to show words on the screen, he said.

Nichols said he wanted to include do-it-yourself lessons because filmmaking has changed so much since he made his first film at age 9. He left Maine to study filmmaking at the University of Southern California, an undertaking that was both expensive and complicated, he said.

“This is everything I was dying to know when I was 15 and had to go to film school to learn,” Nichols said.

Nichols said he wrote the script five years ago and starting making progress toward filming a little over a year ago. He said he  “cobbled together” gear for filming and raised $25,000 for filming through a Kickstarter campaign that allows online fundraising. The film budget is about $180,000 and co-producer Lisa Dowda said filmmakers are looking for local sponsors to raise $30,000.

Nichols said it was an easy decision to film the movie in Maine. After filming a previous movie in New Mexico, he said he came to understand the importance of filming in a place where he has a strong network and support.

On Sunday, Nichols and his crew used Graves Memorial Public Library in Kennebunkport to shoot the scene that includes a lesson on lenses. As a child, he said he spent countless hours at the library after school.

“It’s such a pleasure for me to make a film that has autobiographical pieces of me I a place where I spent my childhood,” he said.

Over the course of a quiet afternoon at the library, Danesh filmed actors setting up a shot for their own movie using a camera attached to a skateboard. Because of the short filming schedule, the cast and crew often spent 12 to 14 hours a day working on the movie.

The cast and crew also filmed scenes at homes of friends and families, local beaches, Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Biddeford Middle School and on Biddeford streets. They used the Riverdam Millyard in Biddeford as a home base and location for sets that included a New York City art gallery. 

Though the cast and crew includes Maine natives, filming brought some actors to work in Maine for the first time.

John-Andrew Morrison, an actor from New York City, said he had been to Maine once before filming began.

“It’s been fantastic. People have been very generous and open. People are very pleasant here,” he said.

Actress Ellen Soderberg of Boston said filming has allowed her to see parts of Maine she had never experienced before.

“It’s been so great to take a break from the city,” she said.

Elizabeth Lardie, who plays a lead character, is a Bath native who recently moved back from New York City. She said she hesitated to move back because she wasn’t sure if there would be opportunities to work on feature films.

“It’s been nice to come up here to work,” she said.

Dowda said the city of Biddeford – as well as area residents – welcomed filmmakers with open arms.

“The reception has been crazy. People are so excited by it. Its fun to make a movie,” she said. “It seems very easy for people to shrug and say ‘Sure, I can do that. What do you need?’ They’ve been really supportive. It doesn’t get any easier than shooting in Maine.”

Dowda said the production crew developed a very fluid relationship with the city, including City Manager John Bubier and Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson. She said they were able to help secure locations such as a basketball court.

“They would really just make it happen within moments,” she said.

Bubier said city employees approached working with filmmakers the same way they do with other projects by using a team approach. Biddeford is trying to develop and grow a creative arts industry in addition to industrial and recreational development, he said.

“The key for us is we’d love to have additional indie films come to Biddeford,” he said.

He also said he would love the filmmakers to show the movie at City Theater when it is complete.

Dowda said she is fairly certain the filmmakers will want to do test screenings in Biddeford because “this is where it all started.” The movie will be put on the film festival circuit.

“We intend this to be a promotional film for Maine,” she said. “This is really going to be great for Maine.”