Or, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation”*.

As I’m sure our twelve dedicated readers will remember, I posted a rare non-Octoberween review last week (Still Ohio, check it out). I saw that film at the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF). Run by the Maine Film Center in Waterville, ME, the festival showcases work from local filmmakers in Maine and New England alongside films from artists around the globe.

During a jam-packed week, I watched films from Rwanda, the Philippines, Peru, China, the US, and France. I only caught a fraction of the over one hundred movies being shown, but the films I did see lead me to conclude that MIFF had an excellent program this year**.

MIFF may be over, but an amateur critic’s job is never done. I don’t think I have it in me to write fifteen more full-length reviews, so I’ll be posting mini-reviews of the movies I watched at the festival, organized by day. Look out for the following over the coming week (I’ll also embed links here as the new posts go up):

MIFF, Pt. 1: ‘Still Ohio’ & ‘Past Lives’
Still Ohio (2026) shown with short: Final Girls (2026)
Past Lives (2023)

MIFF, Pt. 2: ‘Late Fame’, ‘Filipiñana’, & ‘Ice Grave’
Late Fame (2026)
Filipiñana (2026)
Ice Grave (2025)

MIFF, Pt. 3: ‘Union County’, ‘Ju Dou’, & ‘The Condor Daughter’
Union County (2026)
Ju Dou (1990)
The Condor Daughter (2025)

MIFF, Pt. 4: ‘Queen Kelly’ & ‘Didy’
Queen Kelly (1923)
Didy (2024)

MIFF, Pt. 5: ‘In Transit’, ‘Caity’, & ‘The Musical’
In Transit (2025) shown with short: The Art of Inflation (2025)
Caity (2026)
The Musical (2026)

MIFF, Pt. 6: ‘Mallory’s Ghost’, Maine Narrative Shorts, & ‘Fucktoys’
Mallory’s Ghost (2026) shown with short: Something Greater Than You (2025)
Maine Narrative Shorts: Swine (2025); A Game of Chance (2026); Beachside Motel (2026); She Had Some Work Done (2025); Cloudbound Eagle (2026); The Voyagers (2025); Abandoned Buildings (2026)
Fucktoys (2025)

MIFF, Pt. 7: Maine Documentary Shorts & ‘Downeast Hardcore: Stories from the Kave’
Maine Documentary Shorts: On the Sea (2025); They Called Me a Rabble-Rouser (2025); Second Responders (2025); Home For Now (2025); May the Water Not Freeze (2026); Samland (2025); Tides (2026)
Downeast Hardcore: Stories from the Kave (2026) shown with short: North of Ordinary (2026)

*“Rooster Illusion Gets MIFF’d” just didn’t hit the right tone.
**Perhaps even every year?