By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Walpole local Jimmy Martin is celebrating the upcoming release of his latest short film, “The Painter”. This film tackles grief and artistic expression and will be featured in the local film festival circuit very soon.
Martin grew up in Walpole and began filmmaking during Walpole High’s Film Fest. “You know it’s funny, I still work with a handful of people from Walpole High who ended up pursuing film,” Martin said about his hometown in the film industry. “So every once in a while I see some old alum in passing.” Fellow WHS alum Brain Hazerjian was the film's composer.
“The Painter” is Martin’s most recent project. He described it in his own words: “‘The Painter’ is about an aging artist painting a portrait of a beachside home. As the story goes along we intercut between the details of the painting of the house and his progression through it and events from his past,” he explained. “We also start to see events from his past happen on the beach and by the end, he’s interacting with them, so it’s kind of a mixed reality thing.”
Martin also spoke of his father, Tom Martin who was a Walpole resident for over 20 years. “The Painter” is inspired by his own experiences with grief and losing his father. “You’ll know you’re making something worth sharing if you’re uncomfortable sharing it,” Martin said on the difficulties of telling a story of grief. “You don’t want to just trauma dump, but you want to make something that’s going to resonate and be moving for people.”
Beyond the ties to Walpole, the film was very local. “The movie was shot in Biddeford, Maine. New England’s DNA is in the film.” The crew spent three days in November filming on the beach, with a few days thrown in during the winter. A small crew contributed to “The Painter” and is patiently awaiting its release.
“The Painter” was officially released on July 27th at the Shawna Shea Film Festival in Southbridge, MA, and will also be running at the Mystic Film Festival on September 19-22. More information can be found on the official website: https://www.jimmymartinproductions.com/thepainter.html as well as on Instagram @thepainter.shortfilm. Once the film is available through film festivals, Martin plans to release it widely through streaming.
