Camden International Film Festival announces “The Shepherd and The Bear” as a surprise closing film

The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has revealed a surprise addition to its 2024 lineup, with “The Shepherd and The Bear” set to close the 20th edition of the prestigious event, as per Deadline exclusive report. Directed by Max Keegan and produced by Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, and Emmy winners Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, the documentary is described as a “modern folk tale” that captures the conflict between tradition and nature in the French Pyrenees.

Taking place in Camden and Rockland in Maine, CIFF’s lineup for this year now includes Keegan’s highly anticipated debut feature. According to CIFF, “The Shepherd and The Bear” follows an aging shepherd grappling with the reintroduction of brown bears threatening his flock, alongside a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking these animals. “It’s a modern folktale about tradition, community, and humanity’s relationship with a vanishing natural world,” the festival said.

Keegan, who moved to France and spent three years on location, lived with the shepherding community in some of the country’s most remote mountainous terrain. The film was edited by Sabine Emiliani, renowned for her work on the Oscar-winning “March of the Penguins,” and features a score by acclaimed composer Amine Bouhafa, performed by the 12 Ensemble.

Sean Flynn, CIFF’s program director, expressed excitement about premiering the film: “We’re thrilled to be working with this star-studded team… It’s one of the most unforgettable, visually stunning works of cinematic nonfiction we’ve seen all year.”

Producers McBaine and Moss, who are known for acclaimed projects such as “Boys State” and “The Overnighters,” shared their enthusiasm for mentoring Keegan through the process: “This film was a hugely challenging proposition, particularly for Max, a first-time director… It’s a beautiful, bold film which we feel belongs in its own category, ‘mythical realism.’”

The 20th edition of CIFF features 31 documentaries, 22 short films, and two immersive experiences from 37 countries.

List of feature films:

Agent Of Happiness | Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó | Bhutan, Hungary

Apocalypse In The Tropics | Petra Costa | Brazil, USA, Denmark

Apple Cider Vinegar | Sofie Benoot | Belgium, Netherlands

Blink | Daniel Roher, Edmund Stenson | USA

Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin 

DRIVER | Nesa Azimi | USA

Eastern Anthems | Matthew Wolkow, Jean-Jacques Martinod | Canada, USA, Ecuador

Eno | Gary Hustwit | USA

A Fidai Film | Kamal AlJafari | Germany, Palestine, Qatar, Brasil, France

The Flamingo | Adam Sekuler | USA

Homegrown | Michael Premo | USA 

I’m Not Everything I Want To Be | Klára Tasovskà | Czechia, Slovakia, Austria

Kix | Bálint Révész, Dávid Mikulán | Hungary, France, Croatia

The Last Republican | Steve Pink | USA

Mistress Dispeller | Elizabeth Lo | China, USA

Mother Vera | Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson | United Kingdom

No Other Land | Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor | Palestine, Norway

Oasis | Tamara Uribe, Felipe Morgado | Chile

Patrice: The Movie | Ted Passon | USA

Reas | Lola Arias | Argentina, Germany, Switzerland

Rising Up At Night (Tongo Saa) | Nelson Makengo | Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar

Seeking Mavis Beacon | Jazmin Renée Jones | USA

Soundtrack To A Coup D’etat | Johan Grimonprez | Belgium

The Stimming Pool | The Neurocultures Collective: Sam Chown Ahern, Georgia Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker; Steven Eastwood | UK

Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other | Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet | UK, Denmark, USA

Union | Stephen Maing & Brett Storey | USA

Welcome Interplanetary And Sidereal Space Conquerors (Bienvenidos Conquistadores Interplanetarios Y Del Espacio Sidereal) | Andrés Jurado | Colombia, Portugal

The White House Effect | Bonni Cohen, Jonathan Shenk, Pedro Kos | USA

Wilfred Buck | Lisa Jackson | Canada

Will & Harper | Josh Greenbaum | USA

Yintah | Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano | Canada

List of Short Films:

A Body Called Life | Spencer MacDonald | USA, Switzerland, Poland

Adura Baba Mi | Juliana O. Kasumu | Nigeria, Jamaica, United Kingdom | World Premiere

Bisagras | Luis Arnías | USA, Senegal, Brazil

The Comeback Mill | Josh Gerritsen | USA

Contractions | Lynne Sachs | USA

Diary Of A Sky | Lawrence Abu Hamdan | Lebanon | North American Premiere

Dull Spots Of Greenish Colours | Sasha Svirsky | Germany | North American Premiere

An Extraordinary Place | Tom Bell | USA

Familia | Picho García, Gabriela Pena | Chile

Four Holes | Daniela Muñoz Barroso | Cuba, France

The Great Big Nothingness: Conversations with Creators | Chase Overland | USA | World Premier

Heritable | Eli Kao | USA

History Is Written At Night | Alejandro Alonso | Cuba, France

Meditations On Silence | Sebastián Quiroz | Chile | International Premiere

Motorcycle Mary | Haley Watson | USA

One Night At Babes | Angelo Madsen Minax | USA

Perfectly A Strangeness | Alison McAlpine | Canada | US Premiere

Take me to the Ocean | Elena Mozzhelina | USA

The Tengu Club | Hilary Hutcheson, Britton Caillouette | USA | World Premiere

Through The Storm | Charles Frank, Fritz Bitsoie | USA

Two Refusals (Would We Recognize Ourselves Unbroken?) | Suneil Sanzgiri | India, Portugal, USA

Waldo County Woodshed | Julia Dunlavey | USA

You Can’t Get What You Want But You Can Get Me | Samira Elagoz, Z Walsh | Netherlands, Finland

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