ROCKPORT — Organizers of the Camden International Film Festival bring their 2015 Aging in Maine screening tour will stop in Rockport Tuesday, July 1. The tour, a two-year statewide program sponsored by Camden National Bank, will bring documentary films and discussions to more than twenty different communities between April and July 2015.

This is the second part of CIFF's second annual Engagement Summit: Aging in Maine, which connects nonprofit leaders, healthcare professionals and community leaders from across the state to harness the power of documentary film to spark a public, intergenerational dialogue around the challenges and opportunities of Maine's aging demographics.

The 2014 Aging in Maine screening tour reached eighteen different communities and included more than twenty different screenings, many of which were free and open to the public.

"We were completely overwhelmed and excited by the success of last year's screening tour," said CIFF's Founder and Executive Director Ben Fowlie, in a news release. "The power of this program lies in the partnerships created between CIFF and many nonprofits across the state. Together we've started a conversation with thousands of community members in Maine, and we're thrilled to continue this conversation on aging with even more communities in 2015."

Last September CIFF and Working Films, a national media advocacy organization, brought together more than twenty Maine-based nonprofit leaders and healthcare professionals in a closed-door session to implement strategies to use film to as an engagement tool for building healthier communities and to enhance the work being done by the participating organizations.

Since then, CIFF has worked alongside these organizations to develop the upcoming screening tour.

The 2015 Tour launched in Portland last Wednesday, April 8 at the Maine Medical Center's Geriatric Day conference. The guest speaker was Joann Lynn from Altarum's Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness, and MMC screened clips from Sundance winner Alive Inside to support a general session topic on Dementia: Beyond the Medicine to highlight better ways to treat patients with dementia. The day culminated in a public screening of Alive Inside at Space Gallery, followed by a conversation with Heidi Wierman, Medical Director, MMC Division of Geriatrics.

Support for the Engagement Summit comes from the Fledgling Fund, Camden National Bank, the Maine Arts Commission, the Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation and the Bingham Program.

"Camden National is proud to once again lend our support to the Camden International Film Festival's Aging in Maine initiative and statewide screening tour," said Joanne Campbell, executive vice president, risk management, Camden National Bank, in the release. "It was a pleasure to collaborate on last year's inaugural program, and we look forward to helping continue this conversation and raise awareness for a second year."

Films screened as part of the Aging in Maine tour range from poignant personal tales of the challenges of living with a loved one going through dementia to uplifting stories of survival and new chapters of life. Titles include Alive Inside, CIFF's 2013 Harrell Award for Best Documentary The Genius of Marian, Age of Champions, First Cousin Once Removed, Last Dreams (CIFF 2013 Special Jury mention), The Age of Love, You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t, and two short film series: Golden Shorts and Living with Alzheimer's.

Aging in Maine Screening Tour Schedule:

Aging in Maine launched on Wed, April 8 in Portland at Maine Medical Center, in partnership with Maine Medical Center's Annual Geriatrics Day Conference, followed by a public screening at SPACE Gallery that evening.

Upcoming dates and locations include:

Tue, April 14 - Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association - Maine Chapters' 2015 Statewide Educational Conference

Sun, May 3 - Lincoln Theatre, Damariscotta

Early May - Bangor, in partnership with Bangor YMCA and the Community Care and Geriatrics division of Penobscot Community Health Care

Wed, May 13 - Witherle Memorial Library, Castine, in partnership with the Thriving in Place program of Healthy Peninsula

Fri, May 15 - Fort Fairfield Community Center, Fort Fairfield, in partnership with Cary Medical Center, AAA of Northern New England and the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce

Sat, May 16 - Caribou, in partnership with Cary Medical Center's Healthy You Program

Tues, May 19 - Northern Maine Community College Wellness Center, Presque Isle, as part of the Aging Well, Living Well Expo, in partnership with the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging

Tues, May 19 - Rockport, in partnership with the Penobscot Bay YMCA

Thurs, May 21 - University of Maine, Orono, in partnership with the University of Maine's Center on Aging

Fri, May 22 - Cross Insurance Center, Bangor, as part of the Senior Expo, in partnership with Eastern Area Agency on Aging and Bangor Daily News

Sat, May 30 - Strand Cinema, Skowhegan, in partnership with Somerset Public Health, Kennebec Behavioral Health, Redington Fairview General Hospital, Maine General Health, Spectrum Generations, United Way of Mid Maine, Hospice Volunteers of Somerset County, the Maine Hospice Council and the Jackman School Community Leadership Team

Sun, May 31 - Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft, in partnership with the Charlotte White Center

Sat, June 20 - Augusta Colonial Theater, Augusta, in partnership with experiential and interactive documentary installation, Home/Resilience

Tues, July 21 - Rockport, in partnership with the Penobscot Bay YMCA

Many screenings will be free and open to the public. Additional screenings will be added. For more information on the Engagement Summit, this Aging in Maine tour and these specific screenings, visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.

The Camden International Film Festival's Engagement Summit: Aging in Maine is made possible by generous support from the Fledgling Fund, Camden National Bank, the Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation and the Bingham Program. The Aging in Maine screening tour is sponsored by Camden National Bank.

For more information visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.