Maverick: The Middle Coast Spirit Animal

There’s a reason everyone has a favorite movie. It’s the same reason that an audience filing out of a theater after a great film is buzzing with conversation.

Because film is personal.

It shows us slices of the world we don’t know about. It introduces us to characters that act as mirrors to our own lives or portals into someone else’s. It puts heartbreak and impossible decisions in our face. It brings us together, in a flock of captivated subjects.

That flock is here, in the middle of the country, at Middle Coast.

We’re creating a celebration of all things film here in Bloomington, showcasing our local talent and welcoming filmmakers from across the country into our colony.

A colony of flamingos.

Why flamingos? Well, if our festival had a spirit animal, it is undoubtedly the flamingo. It’s a coastal bird but doesn’t need the ocean. A flamingo can most definitely fly, but is often content on land. It thrives in groups, often helping other flamingo raise their children.

It is everything Middle Coast is. Pulling talent and projects from the coast to the middle of the country, and congregating to celebrate a common love of film.

We wanted to introduce you to Middle Coast’s specific flamingo, our boy Maverick. He’s a badass, like his namesake, and the symbol that pulls the festival together. Look for him around town during the festival and in the weeks leading up.

Behold, your guide to all things Middle Coast, Maverick the flamingo.