Entirely made-in-Maine by former Mainer Doug Bost, THE BRIDE IN THE BOX is Bost’s first feature—and it’s both an offbeat ghost story and an offbeat family story, navigating all terrain with equal finesse, and always skirting the pitfalls that befall films that make everything too direct and in-your-face. THE BRIDE IN THE BOX’s central character is Iris, the lively, imaginative young daughter of Don and Heather, who are returning to their favorite Downeast area (around Northwest Harbor) from the city to chill out, play, and be together. But Heather’s job demands delay her, so Don and Iris arrive before her, taking up residency in a new spot, a house with an old trunk at the end of the hall. “What’s in there?” Iris wonders—it’s locked, and can’t be opened. Don and Heather communicate with each other by cell with some increasing tension as Heather prepares to get back to her family, as Iris communicates with…what? And is it inside her head or inside the box? That’s one of the questions this tense yet playful Maine original, world premiering here, hinges on.

Sponsored by Patricia Clark