The film tells the story of a distraught Maine woodsman who reluctantly agrees to guide two New Yorkers on a buck hunt in the frozen wilderness of northwestern Maine and finds his sanity slipping away as the wreckage that his hunting set in motion a year before catches up with him.

The film’s writer-director, John Meyers, of Rangeley, said, “The hero of the story, Maine Guide Joe Dawkins, embodies the quiet nobility that comes naturally to so many folks who live in these isolated mountains.”

Rangeley businesswoman Nancy Aggers Bessey served as the project’s executive producer and pulled together a cadre of local residents who together raised the film’s entire budget because they recognized in Meyers’ screenplay and vision a Maine story that deserved telling.

Meyers cast the film out of Los Angeles and New York except for one character who was portrayed by emerging Rangeley actress Ashley Quimby. With just a crew of eight, Meyers managed to squeeze what most independent films take four weeks to shoot into the 12 shortest days of the year in December’s waning daylight.

“I wanted a winter’s film, and that we surely got,” said Meyers. “Zero degree temps and two feet of snow made the filming a constant and often dangerous challenge for everyone. The payoff for the collective sacrifice, however, is a movie that feels as cold to audiences as it actually was for all of us. I believe it gives the film real heart.”

Showings of “The Guide” will be at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 14, at Railroad Square Cinema, and at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Waterville Opera House.

For more information, visit www.miff.org, www.TheGuideTheMovie.com or www.facebook.com/theguidethemovie.