WATERVILLE — Filmmakers and theater producers Michael Gorman and Donna Daly, of Rockland-based The Forty Hour Club, will premiere their new film, A Phantom Song, at The Maine International Film Festival, July 20 and 21, in Waterville.

Filmed last summer in Augusta during a theatrical production that the couple staged in a crumbling theater on the Kennebec river, A Phantom Song follows a theatrical journey intertwining Fedallah and the Phantoms (Captain Ahab’s mysterious stowaway crew), a blues opera, and the Maine opiate crisis — symbolizing a quest for recovery and inclusion in Maine’s Capitol City.

“Through a cast drawn from the recovery, reentry, and unhoused community, the film confronts stigma and biases, echoing the haunting atmosphere of Moby Dick and the spirit of The Blues to illuminate the intersection of past traumas and future hopes in the soul of a long-abandoned theater and its community,” said Donna Daly, in a news release.

The film will play as part of MIFF’s short film program “Maine Music Shorts”. Screenings will take place on Saturday, July 20,  at 1 p.m., at The Waterville Opera House, and on Sunday, July 21, at Maine Film Center 1. Tickets and info at www.miff.org.

About MIFF: Founded in 1998, the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) is a project of the Maine Film Center. The 10 days of the festival showcase nearly 100 films, representing the best of American independent and international cinema, and spotlight some of Maine and New England’s most exciting and innovative filmmakers.