A movie written, directed, and filmed locally will premiere at The Strand Theater in Rockland on Friday, July 5. Rivers Edge has been a labor of love for Piper Pavelich and Michael Russillo. 

 Pavelich was raised in Rockport, Russillo in Camden. Together they attended Camden Hills Regional High School and then Keene State College in New Hampshire. And they have created a movie together — with a little help from their friends. 

 Pavelich holds a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism while Russillo studied film production and business management. So when Pavelich decided she wanted to write something with Russillo in August 2021, Russillo suggested they write and make a movie. 

 “How do you even do that?” Pavelich asked him.

Russillo had some experience. He and fellow Keene students Dylan Tavitian and Coleen Finn founded production company Room 310 Media, through which they had made a few small films. 

 “Short, fun films,” Russillo said. Rivers Edge is his first feature-length film. Russillo said the production has been a big learning experience. The script for Rivers Edge was finished around December 2023 and filmed around Rockport in Summer 2024. The story is set in an unidentified “everyplace” Maine town.  

 Rivers Edge is a coming of age tale about three teenagers who want to travel after high school, two are twins. 

 Pavelich said the plot may seem simple, but really it is not. 

 “It’s about testing relationships, finding who you are,” Pavelich said.

She also said there’s lot of her and Russillo in the characters. When they wrote the story, their main goal was to create relatable characters. 

 “All their experiences, we have gone through or know people who have gone through those experiences,” Russillo said. 

 Russillo broke the script down section by section, then by scenes, then locations. Then Room 310 began working on a budget and a shot list.

"The crazy behind the scene stuff people don’t know goes into making a movie,” Pavelich said.

They launched fundraisers on Seed & Spark and IndieGogo, which netted more than two-thirds of their $9,000 budget. Russillo said they are almost happy with the amount, but they would love to pay their cast and crew, who have volunteered their time. 

 Rivers Edge had an amazing crew working the lights, sounds, camera, and directed photography, Russillo said. They employed 14 crew members, all fellows from Keene. He also said “Rivers Edge” features astounding actors with a great level of experience. 

 “I would not change anything about production and cannot thank them enough,” Russillo said. 

 “Rivers Edge” was filmed over two and a half weeks, mostly at an AirB&B in Northport. A few locally famous locations also served as sets.

 Camden Public Library, Harbor Park and Amphitheater, Camden Hills Regional High School, and the Camden-Rockport YMCA all appear in the film. 

 Rivers Edge finished filming the first weekend of August 2024. Then Russillo returned to Massachusetts, where he works full time for a local community-access television station. 

 Russillo said any and all of his free time has been spent working on Rivers Edge, editing scenes. Every morning he reviews those rough cuts with Tavitian and Will Cribb, who served as Director of Photography and Editor, Russillo said.

 “It’s so cool, so many things I had imagined and I’m glad we could execute. There are no words to describe the feeling,” Pavelich said. “This is what I saw. It is really cool there’s a way to think it up and make it real.” 

 Pavelich said she will forever be grateful to the Rivers Edge cast and crew for making her dream a reality. Pavelich had so much fun on set, as soon as the last shot was done she decided she wanted write something else. 

 Russillo and Room 310 also have other projects in the works, and Russillo does hope to write again in the future. 

 For now, Pavelich and Russillo are excitedly awaiting their world premiere. Rivers Edge will show for one night only, Friday, July 5, at The Strand Theater in Rockland, 345 Main St.

Go to rocklandstrand.com for more information or to purchase tickets.