By Delcenia Cosman

Homer Independent Press

The Porcupine Theater will hold an independent film screening, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday, July 29.

Written and directed by Samuel Dunning, “Canoe Dig It?” is a mockumentary comedy that follows a group of canoeists competing for the title of “Top Paddler” in Maine. Freestyle canoeing, for those who haven’t heard of this rather niche sport, is a canoeing discipline in which rowers perform technical moves in one place, rather than rowing through a section of river. Some forms of freestyle canoeing, such as interpretive freestyle, can involve paddling routines choreographed to music.

Dunning, who also stars in “Canoe Dig It?”, likened the film to actor, comedian and screenwriter Chrisopher Guest’s “Best in Show,” the 2000 mockumentary comedy about a prestigious dog show, or the Independent Film Company’s comedic fictional documentary series “Documentary Now!”

It’s also a love letter to New England and canoeing culture.

Dunning, who now splits his time between New York and Los Angeles, is originally from Maine, though he said he didn’t know anything about freestyle canoeing when he started writing “Canoe Dig It?” The film is a pandemic project — Dunning had traveled home to Maine for what was supposed to be a long weekend in March 2020 and ended up with more time on his hands than he’d expected. A viral video a friend sent him of now world-famous interpretive freestyle canoeist Marc Ornstein performing a set to Chris de Burgh’s “The Lady in Red” became the inspiration for the mockumentary. 

“I saw this video and I was like, ‘I’ve never seen this before, what is this?’ It’s beautiful and wholesome, and also a little bit silly, just all these different things wrapped into one,” Dunning said. 

A week later, he started writing a mockumentary “just to make myself chuckle,” he said. About a month after that, he had a script, which he sent to a producer friend who was immediately interested in taking the script to the screen.

“Canoe Dig It?” premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival in March 2025 and won “Best Maine Film” in the 2025 Maine Outdoor Film Festival. Dunning has continued touring with his film, partnering with theaters to host screenings and Q&As throughout New England and will soon be taking it to the Midwest, the West Coast and Canada. 

In the midst of all that, they’re making a pit stop in Alaska. In addition to Wednesday’s screening at The Porcupine, “Canoe Dig It?” will be shown at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage on Aug. 3 and at the Gold Town Theater in Juneau on Aug. 4. 

But why would a film about a niche sport set in Maine come to Homer?

According to Porcupine Theater co-owner Susannah Webster, “there are a lot of Mainers here in Homer,” and the film’s focus on water-related activities pairs well with a coastal town.

“We do really like to play as many independent movies as we feasibly can, and certainly ones like this that have interests that overlap,” she said. “I think there’s definitely a niche community in Homer that would get the joke.”

The mockumentary’s Homer premiere is also thanks to old family ties.

Webster approached Dunning about hosting a screening after she learned about the film from her father, David Webster, who was a longtime friend of Dunning’s late father. David Webster and several of his high school classmates from Maine hold a weekly Zoom meeting, which Dunning’s mother still occasionally attends.

“She was talking about (how) her son just made this movie, and it’s getting great reviews. So my dad watched the trailer and then sent it to me,” Susannah Webster said. “I thought it was hilarious — it looked really great.”

The Porcupine has hosted Q&As along with film screenings several times in the past.

“It’s always really great to get directors who are willing to travel all the way to Homer,” Webster said.

Dunning said he’s excited to see how “folks in Alaska take to the film.”

“In my mind’s eye, it seems like it would be a really great … because of the canoeing culture but also because it’s about a small community in Maine (and) I don’t know how folks from small communities in another part of the States would not find some sort of kindred appreciation for that,” he said. “I hope people come out and see this … and tell me whether they liked it or they don’t. Independent film really lives and dies on word of mouth.”

Watch the official trailer on the “Canoe Dig It?” Linktree. Purchase tickets through the Porcupine Theater website.