What a journey its been getting to Maine…celebrating with my family and friends at dinner!
Check out the Pilot Episode of Mumbai to Maine! Mumbai to Maine – (my third child), was born right here in this kitchen, at this very kitchen table.
My hubby, Guy, pictured above, is my BIGGEST cheerleader, my BEST friend and the LOVE of my life! It took Guy almost three years to build this beautiful kitchen for me. No detail was overlooked, every appliance I could wish for was thoughtfully purchased and carefully built in to ensure efficient workflow without compromising any aesthetics. Guy called this labor of love – his Taj Mahal for his wife, Cherie (his Mumtaz)! Only in this case there were only a few hands that did all the work, not 20,000 laborers.
He knew I loved to cook and to be candid I’m sure he was tired of hearing me talk about food. One day he surprised me with a book on food photography and said, “For heaven’s sake please stop talking about food and now go blog about it!” The kitchen would have been enough to keep me busy for a long time experimenting with Indian inspired dishes. But Guy just knew that would not be enough for his wife. When I left Mumbai 23 years ago, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that Boothbay, Maine would one day be my home, my happy place, my creative muse. I knew I had to find a portal to share my passion for Mumbai and Indian cuisine and tie it into my deep love for my new hometown -– Boothbay and Maine’s dynamic food scene.
I created my culinary blog: Mumbai to Maine
Flash forward a couple of years, in the midst of what felt like the longest winter ever, between loads of laundry on a quiet Sunday afternoon, I felt this wave of inspiration come over me. I took out my laptop and sat down at my kitchen table and outlined what would become Mumbai to Maine’s six-part tv series.
I listened to my intuition and knew that I would only produce this series if I could collaborate with two incredibly talented filmmakers – Ryan Leighton, of Walking Home fame and Cody Mitchell, renowned cinematographer and BRTV Media Center’s station manager. Before I could talk myself out of it, I composed an email to them both and hit send. I went back to folding laundry relieved that I reached out and didn’t chicken out. Within minutes I heard from them both – they were on board.
My happy place, my Mumbai to Maine incubator, my kitchen.
Mumbai To Maine series will feature what life IS like in Maine and not just how it SHOULD be. ( Maine’s state slogan: Maine, the way life should be.)
Both Ryan and Cody were born and raised in the coastal Boothbay Harbor Region.
Ryan Leighton, directing Cody Mitchell for a scene. The incredibly talented Kim Martin, co-owner of Eventide Epicurean Specialties store in Boothbay Harbor, Maine showing me how to make Naan!
I’ve always been a big fan of Ryan’s award-winning work as a news reporter for the local newspaper, the Boothbay Register, and his award-winning documentary, Walking Home. (We once found ourselves in an html coding class together – how random is that?) Ryan is an exceptional storyteller. He just knows how to curate a richly layered narrative and I knew he would know how to bring out the best in me on paper and on the screen. I was lucky enough to catch him at the right time as he was in between projects. Ryan was intrigued by Mumbai to Maine because it gave him an opportunity to delve into a creative blend of culinary and documentary narrative on screen.
Cody is a formidable cinematographer, a sensitive and deeply thoughtful human being. A true artist. I am convinced Cody screens the world around him like no one else does. I knew this series needed someone with Cody’s creative eye and who would approach it with a unique perspective – one of a native, a local artist with a cinematic lens for a brush. So many of us are guilty of not being able to appreciate the simple beauty in the chaos of our daily lives. Cody has a way of capturing all the intangibles. His captures are cinematic gold and take my breath away. Just take a look at the Boothbay Region promo shot by Cody and directed by Ryan. Guy, my hubby, produced an original score for the promo!
Cody capturing a dock sunrise -March, 2018. I had a cup of chai in my hand; he had a 40 pound camera. And yet a smile on his face.
My dock. My sunrise. My Maine.
I can’t wait for this pilot to air on December 11, 2018, in the very town it was created in. Here we are in the winter of 2018 working hard in post-production to produce a meaningful cinematic story that we hope will be embraced by a local and international audience. Driven by a love for culinary arts and “foodie culture,” the first season of Mumbai to Maine consists of 6 episodes; each taking a different narrative approach that highlights the characters and culture inherent to life here in Maine. What surfaces is a beautiful cinematic journey that seeks to connect us by our relationships through the people and places we call home.
We all have a story to share.
This is my story!
I hope you are captivated by it and feel inspired to perhaps one day share your story!
Kim Martin sharing her story on how she and her partner Denise Demeter decided to launch their dream store in Boothbay Harbor, Maine: Eventide Epicurean Specialties.
If you would like to attend the screening, check out this link to purchase tickets. We would love to see you there!
If you can’t join us, Mumbai to Maine will be available on demand via Roku, Apple TV, and the BRTV website boothbaytv.com.
