FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2024
Contact:
Steve Lyons
Director, Maine Film Office
[email protected]; 207-624-9815

AUGUSTA, Maine — A new Maine-filmed drama proved to be a major draw at theaters across the state. "The Ghost Trap," based on the novel by Midcoast author K. Stephens, tells the story of a young lobsterman who is forced to choose between right and wrong after a tragic accident.

Shot mostly in Maine, the movie was filmed over 16 days in the summer of 2022, and employed 21 Maine residents as cast and crew members. Director James Khanlarian credits the local community's support for the project's success.

“Filming in Maine was a dream, simply because of the people. We came to Maine and found enthusiasm and friendliness. People wanted to help out any way they could and were excited to be a part of something. That sort of thing doesn’t happen in Los Angeles or New York or even Georgia,” said Khanlarian. “It’s really beautiful for people to come together to support a large artistic project like this, and yes we paid people, but you can’t pay people to have that positive attitude. The novelist, K. Stephens had lobstermen friends who wanted to help support the film like Cheri Savage, Ryan Post, and Dan Merriam. I keep saying we could never have made this movie without the support of Mainers. It’s true, and that’s why we gave them the dedication on the credit roll at the end of the film.”

“The local community rallied around the film because the characters felt authentic and it shows off the beautiful scenery in Maine that can’t be duplicated. We’re confident that projects like this help set the stage for future films to be shot in the state,” stated co-producers Cheri Savage and Ryan Post.

The film has seen strong attendance, particularly at The Strand Theater in Rockland and Belfast's Colonial Theatre, where nearly 100 viewers attended each of the first three screenings.

“Theatre management has been absolutely floored by our patrons' consistent attendance for “tThe Ghost Trap” at the Colonial,” said Kyle Walton, executive director of the Colonial Theatre. “To date, moviegoers have come in droves–and from as far as York County–to downtown Belfast so they could see the film!”

Maine Film Office Director Steve Lyons noted the production's impact: "Seeing Maine on the big screen instills a sense of pride, particularly because lobstering is such an important part of our state's identity. In addition to featuring Maine’s scenic beauty, the production spent more than $700,000 in the state, benefiting our local economy."

The film features Zak Steiner ("White Men Can't Jump," "Euphoria"), Greer Grammer ("Awkward," "Deadly Illusions"), Sarah Catherine Hook ("First Kill," "The White Lotus"), and Steven Ogg ("The Walking Dead," "Westworld").

"The Ghost Trap" has played to sold-out festival audiences at the Maine International Film Festival, Vacationland, and Maine Outdoor Film Festival, where it was an official 2024 selection. The film is now available through streaming services and to rent or own on all digital platforms and DVD. Click here to view the trailer.

By Renee Cordes

While it's a turbulent time for small cinemas, some Maine venues are getting an unexpected off-season boost from screenings of a new, independent feature film set on the midcoast and shot at several locations in the state.

“The Ghost Trap" is a drama based the eponymous novel by K. Stephens, about a young lobsterman forced to choose between right and wrong when his girlfriend suffers a traumatic head injury and a rival lobstering family sabotages his gear.  

The film, released Nov. 1 on streaming platforms and select theaters, is doing well in small cinemas across the state where the story takes place.

“Early November, before Thanksgiving weekend, is always a deficit month to operate a movie theater,” Kyle Walton, executive director of the Hawthorne Theatre and Arts Collaborative, told Mainebiz.

The nonprofit was formed in 2023 to rescue Belfast's Colonial Theatre, which dates back to 1912 and was forced to go dark in September 2022 due to financial difficulties. It reopened in November 2023.

While the Colonial is still operating in the red, Walton is encouraged by the fact that after nine shows there, 450 cinephiles had come to see "The Ghost Trap."

“'The Ghost Trap' has been a lone bright spot on the balance sheet,” Walton said. "There have been operating days where it accounted for 80% to 90% of daily box office receipts.”

The movie made its New England premiere in July at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville, and was the opening-night show of the inaugural Vacationland Film Festival, in August at Biddeford's City Theater.

The film later returned to Waterville's Maine Film Center, which is housed inside the Paul J. Schupf Art Center.

Mike Perreault, executive director of the center, told Mainebiz about screening "The Ghost Trap" — via email, as he was returning to Maine from a film festival in Rwanda.
“It was a thrilling experience to screen ‘The Ghost Trap’ as the centerpiece film during the 27th Maine International Film Festival, and audiences returned to see it again at the Maine Film Center in October, ahead of its regular run release, with the filmmakers in attendance for a discussion,” Perreault said.

“We're honored to showcase filmmaking that's produced in Maine, especially when the communities and neighbors that support these projects can proudly see themselves on the big screen."

Steve Lyons, director of the Maine Film Office, sees the film as a success on multiple fronts.
"The film's reception indicates that seeing Maine on the big screen instills a sense of pride, particularly because lobstering is such an important part of the state's identity," he told Mainebiz. "Strong box office sales for films like 'The Ghost Trap' are an encouraging sign for film production in Maine, and great news for the theaters that screen them.”

'Not a Marvel film'

James Khanlarian, the film’s director, told Mainebiz that the production crew had a good experience filming in Maine.

"We were very fortunate to befriend and get the support of the local lobstermen early on, and we filmed along the Penobscot Bay from Port Clyde to Northport," he told Mainebiz.

"It makes a big difference when you show people that you're here to tell a meaningful story instead of exploiting them, so we had a ton of working lobstermen take time off and donate their boats ... The best way to pay them back is to show their profession and their way of life in an accurate and honorable fashion. By the reactions, I think we've achieved that."

He's equally pleased at the support from small Maine cinemas screening the film.

“It would be wonderful for the film to play in a thousand theaters across the country, but we’re not a Marvel film. We’re not even a studio film,” he said. “So it’s really wonderful to get support from theaters like the Colonial in Belfast, the Strand in Rockland and others," he said. 
“It’s a film about real people in real situations, and so these intimate theaters are a better fit for us. We’d love for the film to run yearly during lobster season, but there are hurdles.”
The support is especially welcome given that the independent filmmakers didn’t have a distribution deal in place beforehand, as a bigger production would have.

“We raised the money from private investors and made the movie and had to show distributors that it was a good film,” Khanlarian said. His team is still looking for a good international distribution deal, and he said he's confident of landing one soon.
While "The Ghost Trap" was the first film Khanlarian has shot in Maine, he said, “I can’t wait to do more.”

And in Belfast, the Colonial hopes to screen more films with a Maine connection or identity, according to Walton.

"As independent movie theaters continue to gravitate toward independent or enterprise content," he said, "the production of commercial-level films that reflect the locale they were shot in is extremely vital to theatrical exhibition within the state of Maine."

K. Stephens on bringing her new Midcoast movie, 'The Ghost Trap,' to the Colonial Theatre
as told to Kyle Laurita, reporter for Midcoast Villager

If you have a subscription to Midcoast Villager, you can read it online here or pick up a physical copy of the newspaper this week, starting November 7.