LEWISTON – The newly released film “Northrunner: The Allagash Wilderness Waterway” will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in Callahan Hall. Co-sponsored by the library and the Maine Department of Conservation, the event is open to the public free of charge.

The 52-minute documentary features breathtaking film footage of the waterway enhanced by interviews with those who know the Allagash best – residents of northern Maine. Sporting camp operator Phyllis Jalbert and retired teacher and lifelong St. John Valley resident Melford Pelletier tell their stories of the waterway, as do State Sen. John Martin and Fort Kent high school student Chace Jackson.

Filmmakers Andrew Collar and Kyle Hockmeyer of Ursus Productions were commissioned by the DOC last year to produce the documentary to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

“The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is a special place, not just to those of us who live in Maine, but to canoeists and outdoors lovers everywhere,” said Maine’s Commissioner of Conservation Patrick McGowan, who served as executive producer for the film. “We wanted to capture the history of the place and the affection for the Allagash that shows in the faces of those who live and recreate on the waterway.”

The waterway’s main artery, the Allagash River, has fulfilled many roles over the centuries: highway to Native Americans, a vital corridor to Maine’s lumber business and a world-class canoe trip to sporting folk. The liner notes to the Northrunner DVD describe the Allagash Wilderness Waterway as “a gem of a park in the middle of a working forest” with a “mystical hold on visitors … unlike that of no other place in Maine.”

Previous showings of the film in Fort Kent, Augusta and Brunswick drew full-house crowds. “Given the artistic quality of this production and the level of interest locally in preserving our natural landscapes, we are very pleased to be partnering with MDOC to offer a venue for this film here in our Marsden Hartley Cultural Center,” said library Director Rick Speer.

Following the Lewiston screening, the filmmakers will offer their perspectives on the creation of the film and answer questions from the audience. Signed copies of the DVD will be available for purchase, or may be ordered through the DOC office by calling 287-2211.

The library is at 200 Lisbon Street, near Pine Street in the downtown. For more information, call the library at 784-0135, ext. 210.