Maine filmmaker Lucas McNelly is racing to finish his micro-budget feature Maine Noir — and he’s looking for backers and local sponsors to help get it over the line.

The premise is pure classic noir: what would you do if you found $3 million hidden in the walls of your house? A mother and daughter inherit a coastal Maine home, a romance starts, the money turns up… and then the wrong people come looking for it.

Shot in just 14 days almost entirely in Waldoboro — Medomak House, The Waldo Theatre, Moody’s Diner, Bear Hill True Value, Odd Alewives, The Narrows Tavern, and more — it would be the first feature film ever made there. Inspired by lean ‘40s/‘50s noirs like Detour and Woman on the Run.

The Kickstarter (all-or-nothing)

Lucas is crowdfunding $10,000 in finishing funds for original score, sound mixing, color correction, and VFX — the work that turns a rough cut into a real movie. The campaign runs through Black Friday (Nov 27, 2026) and is all-or-nothing: miss the goal and the film loses everything already pledged.

Help finish the film on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lmcnelly/maine-noir-finishing-funds

Local businesses: want in as a sponsor?

Beyond Kickstarter backers, Lucas is building support for Maine indie film — and looking for sponsors who want their name on a hometown-shot noir headed out into the world. If your business wants to back Maine-made cinema (logo placement, screening shout-outs, community goodwill — the works), this is a great one to jump on.

Interested in sponsoring? Reach out via the campaign or mainenoir.com, or contact the Temple and we’ll connect you.

Also from Lucas: Up Country teaser

While you’re at it, check out the teaser for Lucas’s other Maine project, Up Country:

More at mainenoir.com. Let’s help get this Maine noir finished and into the world.