The documentary film 76 Days Adrift will be shown Sunday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m., at the Strand Theater, as a benefit for the Shields Fund, a mission of the First Congregational Church in Camden.

​A six-foot-wide inflatable life raft was all Steven Callahan had to cling to during a solo crossing of the Atlantic when his sailboat had a catastrophic collision with something, he thinks a whale.

"76 Days Adrift is a harrowing first person account which thrusts you into the heart and soul of Callahan’s astonishing survival tale," said a news release. "It is a heart rendering journey of human despair, endurance, and an indomitable spirit with a profound will to survive."

​The filming of the documentary 76 Days Adrift involved recreating Steven Callahan's 76-day ordeal at sea after his boat sank in 1982. The film combines interviews with Callahan, footage from the time, and newly filmed scenes with director Joe Wein in a life raft, using Callahan's original gear and a raft identical to the one he used. The filming took place off the coast of St. Croix, with the goal of providing an immersive, first-person perspective of Callahan's survival experience.  

The film is accompanied by the haunting score of Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. Academy Awards Best Director Ang Lee is an Executive Producer.

Post-screening Q&A to follow with author Steven Callahan and executive producer Robert Sennott.

The Shields Fund 501(c)(3), currently in its 23rd year, works cooperatively with local social services agencies to provide financial assistance to Knox County and Lincolnville residents.  A referral-based program, requests are brought by a client’s Case Manager via application.

Examples of covered requests include: