Films

George has been smoking fish for as long as he can remember. The smokehouse has a place of pride in his dooryard, and he lovingly tends the racks to ensure perfection. The end of fishing is in sight. The weather is closing in, creating uncertainty. Traps have to be hauled ashore and the last lobsters of the season must be banded. George prepares for 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 humour.

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.