A Recent Movie Was Filmed and Set Entirely in Portland, Maine

Did you know there was a movie recently filmed entirely in Maine and the story is set in Portland?

Downeast Filmed in Portland, Maine

Director Joe Raffa brought Portland to life in the film Downeast, a gritty movie involving crime, drug smuggling, violence, and love. IMDb shares the synopsis as:

“When Emma returns to her hometown of Maine, she rekindles a romantic flame with Tommy, a local lobster fisherman. The two are forced to confront their past after a local drug lord reemerges.”

As the Portland Press Herald shared, the movie was filmed right here in Portland in the early 2020s so if you’re as caught off guard about this as I am, I think we missed the memo and didn’t see them filming because we were locked up inside of our homes quarantine-style.

I’ll blame it on that and not me seemingly living under a rock.

The Herald’s article shared a quote from the director that I thought was stellar: “... Portland basically acts as another character in the film, a crucial one.”

I love that quote because as a Mainer, I truly feel as if Portland is its own character. The smells of the coffee shops, eateries, and salty air; the constant sound of seagulls and fog horns; the historic brick and cobble stones, working wharfs, rugged fishermen, the list goes on. It’s such a special and unique place and that quote really stood out to me.

Maine Native Actors

According to the same article, two Maine natives were involved with the production, Greg Finley as the lead actor and Edwin Stevens as the cinematographer and producer. Finley grew up right near us Portlanders in Scarborough and worked for five years on the ABC Family Channel Series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Which, if you grew up in my era, was a hit.

The movie was released in 2021 and is available on Prime Video through Amazon, if you want to check it out and fangirl over the Old Port’s iconic backdrops.

Here’s the trailer:

You’ll notice Commercial Street right away and you can practically smell the waterfront just watching the video.

If you have seen it, did you like it? If you haven’t, will you watch it?