This story was originally published on Sept. 28, 2026, by The Free Press and has been republished through the UMS Exchange student media partnership.
On September 13th, I had the honor of attending the Portland premiere of Saving Black Bear, the new Maine-made film from the Cassidy Brothers. Cassidy Pictures brings us their sophomore film, telling the tale of a fictionalized Black Bear Cinemas in jeopardy and the misfit employees that must assemble to save the theater that brought them together.
Saving Black Bear feels so natural and organic on almost all fronts: the dialogue, the acting, the camera work. Done in a mockumentary style, the entire movie is filmed with a handheld camera, with the cameraman as a character in the film, and the characters knowing they’re being recorded, even giving interviews occasionally. Some shots and camera angles may have been a little too convenient for reality, but it’s all necessary, and with suspension of disbelief, it totally works. Watching the film, I just kept thinking, “Wow. Either the script is really good, or half of this is improvised.” Come to find out, the entire film was improvised! The Cassidy Brothers had the overall story worked out and an outline for each scene, but all of the actors were tasked with making up their dialogue as they went. That is not easy, so shout-out to all the actors, because the performances were great across the board!
I spoke with actor Devan Zorn, who plays Dom in the film, after the screening, and I was surprised to hear that he hasn’t really acted at all before, besides being in a few of his own music videos. He said that actually helped his performance because he didn’t feel like he was acting, and it was far easier to come across as genuine with everything he said. Honestly, I think he may have given the best performance in the film!
As the theater is revealed to be in trouble, our characters hatch a plan to save it. Admittedly, their tactics to obtain the money are certainly unconventional, and do feel like an out-of-place moment in the film, but it does lend itself to some great comedic bits and higher stakes. The best part is that when we do get to this point in the film, we’ve already fallen in love with the characters. The first third of Saving Black Bear almost feels like a hangout movie, giving us time to get to know our characters and spend time with them at the theater. Our main characters feel like a true friend group, the kind that most of us strive to find. The third act and ending are a bit rushed, but I’ll take that sacrifice if it means getting the fleshed-out first third that we did. The movie does, however, clock in at only around 66 minutes. I think it totally could’ve benefited from a slightly longer runtime to balance out the action.
Possibly my favorite part of the film is a moment near the end, after all the action has concluded. Our main characters all sit in the seats of the theater, silent at first, exhausted, savoring their first chance to catch their breath. Because of the mockumentary style, and handheld cinematography style, this is one of the few times we get a still shot. In the front, two of our main characters whisper to each other, with subtitles appearing on the screen. The subtitles aren’t even necessary, but the colors and the way they appear so unexpectedly made the scene all the more intimate and sincere.
At its heart, Saving Black Bear is a story of family, found in the workplace, chasing dreams, and coming together to save a place that has meaning to a community. The romance and certain story beats may be a bit cliché, but in the end it’s still rewarding. The film is playful, relatable, well put together, and very funny. Saving Black Bear is now screening in select theaters across Maine, and soon, the rest of the country!
