About Maine Mayhem
Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is proud to present the 16th annual Maine Mayhem Film Festival, a dynamic showcase of short films created by second-year students in the College’s Communications and New Media Studies (CNMS) program. What began in 2011 as a student-led effort by CNMS Professor Corey Norman and student Jimmy Crocco has grown into a must-see event for film enthusiasts across Maine. The festival offers students a real-world opportunity to write, direct, produce and premiere original films as part of their capstone experience, reflecting the program’s emphasis on hands-on learning and professional-level production. Please follow the Maine Mayhem Film Festival student-led Facebook page.
Screenings & Tickets
Screenings will take place at two locations:
• Thursday, May 7 — Nickelodeon Cinemas, Portland, ME at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. BUY TICKETS
• Friday, May 29 — City Theater, Biddeford, ME at 6 p.m. BUY TICKETS
An encore screening at the Portland Museum of Art will be announced following the premiere.
Featured Films
This year’s festival will feature eight short films alongside 15 micro shorts, highlighting a wide range of storytelling styles and creative voices from across the CNMS program.
Fret | Director – Elliot Alfreds
“Fret” follows Quinn, an obsessive bedroom guitarist, whose last minute chance to perform at a local bar forces them to confront the gap between their ambitions and their reality, and find the cost of giving everything to their art, even when it means losing themselves in the process.
Not So Different | Director – Marina Bannister
When a young man, Joe, finds himself back home, he is met with reconnecting with his past partner, Cameron. Joe builds the courage to share a part of himself to Cameron and doesn’t get the best response in return from Cameron’s friends- Cameron by association. Joe questions himself and his identity. Cameron has self-doubt towards his own character. Through conversations with each other, and their support systems, the two find closure and a better understanding of each other.
It’s Just a Common Nightmare | Director – Chloe Falkner
After a bout of mischief, 10-year-old Aster knocks herself out and wakes up in the nightmare realm of a being with sinister motives. Escape is the only option, but the path home must be forged.
Blueprint | Director – Logan Files
Percy, suffocated by his father’s constant pressure to choose a future, retreats to his room and builds a mysterious device. When the invention—a wristwatch-like time machine—springs to life, he ignores his brother’s warnings and activates it. Hurled into a neon-soaked, chaotic future, Percy discovers a world under the control of a ruthless figure who reveals himself as Percy’s own corrupted evil self. Confronted with the consequences of his invention and the man he could become, Percy must outwit his future self and undo the damage before his destiny and time itself are permanently destroyed.
The Dog | Director – Grace Hustus
In the heart of rural Maine, Chloe works as a waitress at her local diner. Though, after the tragic death of her father, Chloe puts her grief on hold to try and gain some sort of normalcy. Until a mysterious dog begins following her, causing her to second guess her everyday life.
Social Kews | Director – Emmerson Madsen
While her husband is away, Kristen Kew must plan her mother-in-law’s funeral all while hosting her contumacious sister-in-law, trying to keep her daughter in line, and avoid getting caught lying about the cause of death.
Pushover | Director – Pirx Rhodes
Pushover follows Stanley, a timid young man who is roped into a scam by his freeloading roommate, Aris. The plan is simple: impersonate their recently deceased landlord, and cash his winning lottery ticket. What could go wrong?
The Loon | Director – Charles Stacey
After discovering that his lineage-obsessed father can no longer continue the family legacy, Benji Loon decides to carry it forward himself, not out of devotion to tradition, but in a desperate attempt to reconnect and finally earn his father’s acceptance. As Benji embarks on this emotional journey, he uncovers how silence, expectation, and disappointment have passed from father to son for generations. This revelation shatters the relationship he once longed for with his father, forcing Benji to confront the tension between fulfilling a legacy he never fully understood and forging his own path.
Press & Media
2025 Press
Students showoff final productions at SMCC’s Maine Mayhem Film Festival
Maine Mayhem film festival explores post-COVID themes — on a student budget
