Films

Spring in Buck’s Harbor is about preparing for the fishing season ahead. Work on lobster traps and on halibut hooks begins in earnest. But it is rarely a solitary activity. Every day people come and go from George’s dooryard – offering advice, seeking help, and enjoying companionship in the chilly days that follow winter.

George’s Place comprises seven films that document a year in the life of Maine lobster fisherman, George Sprague. The series offers an intimate view of a distinctive way of life that unfolds according to the seasons and coastal landscape of Downeast Maine. George Sprague has long been known for his "cellar" (affectionately called the whine cellar), a place where people gather to talk, make lobster traps, and to share news and stories. The different films explore the skill and knowledge of a lobster fisherman, honed over decades of living and working in Buck’s Harbor. At the same time, they reveal how together, George and his friends, forge a rich sense of community and belonging through shared practice, experience, and humor.

Anna Grimshaw is the author of The Ethnographer’s Eye and co-author of Observational Cinema. For the last 10 years, she has been making films in Machiasport, a small fishing town in Downeast Maine. In 2013 she completed a four-part film work, Mr Coperthwaite: a life in the Maine Woods (Berkeley Media/RAI), a companion piece, A Chair: in six parts (RAI), and At Low Tide (RAI). She teaches at Emory University.