Filmmakers from Maine!

Nick and Cash Cassidy grew up in Southern Maine. A mutual interest in movie-making took the brothers West to Hollywood, where they spent some time honing their craft.

Saving Black Bear. Cassidy Brothers Pictures

The pair decided that, rather than waiting for the big studios to help them tell the stories they wanted to put on film, they would do it themselves as independent filmmakers.

"I've seen too many people waste years waiting for permission from Hollywood to succeed in the movie business. We knew there had to be another way, so we took a chance, and we found it here at home," says producer Cash Cassidy.

Mainers make their own way!

They founded Cassidy Pictures, an independent film production company in 2024. The company has one foot in L.A. and the other in South Portland, giving the brothers the best of both worlds. With that, the men got to work making movies that "tell stories centered on authentic performances and real, relatable characters."

Their first offering was a film called "Childish Things", which was released last year, says filmmaker Nick Cassidy.

"My brother and I shot our first movie together, Childish Things, in the summer of 2024, and had the time of our lives driving a bus across the country and filming with our friends and family. After a less-than-ideal experience trying to go the traditional distribution route with my first movie, Fallen Drive, we decided to keep complete ownership of Childish Things and take a more hands-on approach, doing our own theatrical run and teaming up with theaters around Maine and beyond. We had fantastic screenings in Los Angeles and New York City as well, and tried to make each screening feel like an event worthy of getting off the couch and into a theater. We did Q&As, sold original movie merch, gave tours of the bus, and generally tried to create a unique experience that allowed us to connect with our audience in a really memorable way."

An inspirational screening!

The brothers brought their movie home to Maine for its debut. One of the showings took place in Orono at Black Bear Cinemas.

"One of the theaters we screened at was Black Bear Cinemas in Orono, where we had an incredible turnout of enthusiastic moviegoers. "

Black Bear Cinemas co-owner Zack Hussey, said the experience hosting the screenings of "Childish Things" was positive for both the community and the production company.

"The screening with the Q&A after was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the film. It was also the first Independent film we had a screening for at the Theater made by Maine filmmakers. I think it was at the second screening where I told them, 'No pressure, but if you guys ever want to film something here in the future, let me know.' I didn't expect to hear from them anytime soon, but they hit me up 4-5 months later with a great idea for a plot."

Nick Cassisy said Hussey's offer was just the inspiration the brothers needed to make their second film, "Saving Black Bear."

"After our two screenings there last September, Zach casually threw out the offer that if we ever wanted to use his theater to shoot a future project, he would be more than happy to open his doors for us."

A great new idea!

"My brother and I are indie filmmakers, which means we're always looking for ways to use the resources available to us and keep production costs down. So when we started brainstorming our next project in January, we thought, Why don't we tell a story that takes place in a movie theater? And that's where Saving Black Bear came from. Luckily for us, Zach kept his word and then went above and beyond to help us make the movie."Saving Black Bear."

The result is a movie they're calling a "love letter to indie films, indie cinemas and the state they call home."

"Shot on location in Orono, Saving Black Bear is a coming-of-age comedy-drama that celebrates the communities that shape us. On-screen, the film tells the tale of a fictionalized Black Bear Cinemas in hard times and the misfit employees who fight to save the independent theater that brought them together."

"Black Bear stars South Portland native Julia Steady and legendary character actor Xander Berkeley, a Cornish resident known for Terminator 2, Apollo 13, and The Walking Dead."

A cool experience for everyone!

Hussey says having the brothers film at the theater was an overall awesome experience.

"We love movies, so to see the behind-the-scenes aspect of it and all of them working at their craft was really cool. They really cared about the Theater parts being realistic too. The whole first day was the cast learning the job and what our employees do. They learned how to open and close the Theater, Concessions, and tickets, even cleaning the theater and bathrooms."

Hussey says they didn't even have to close down the theater when the brothers were filming.

"I think it was a 10-ish day shoot, and we gave them complete access to the whole theater anytime during that period. Naturally, they filmed quite a bit during operating hours in between shows, and some customers got to participate as well."

"They had some late nights filming. We wanted them to feel like part of the team during the whole shoot, so they got all the same perks our employees have, which included free drinks and popcorn while working!

"A handful of our employees got to be in it, which was a really cool experience for them!
Some of them were in it quite a bit too, which was cool to see, and they had a lot of fun doing it."

Where YOU can see "Saving Black Bear"!

Folks can get a sneak preview of the "Saving Black Bear" movie the Cassidy brothers filmed in Orono at the Vacationland Film Festival in Biddeford on August 23rd.

The official "World Premiere" will take place on Wednesday, September 9th at 7 pm at the very theater it was filmed in, Black Bear Cinemas in Orono. From there, it will go to Portland, sponsored by StreamState) at O'Maine Studios on September 13th.