Student filmmakers and staff gather at the Smooth Feather Theater moments before the film premiere for “Silently United” in 2023. Photo courtesy of Smooth Feather

In 2011, Silas Hagerty bought the old movie theater in his hometown of Porter, Maine.

The theater, built in 1880, had seen better days. Long shuttered as a movie palace, the beautiful but abandoned old theater had been used as a furniture warehouse when Hagerty, home from a world-spanning journey as a freelance filmmaker, approached the longtime owners, who cut him a good deal.

Still, as Hagerty says with a chuckle, “My girlfriend — now wife — said, ‘So now you own a yurt, a Winnebago… and a movie theater?’” The implied question, of course, being, “What are you going to do with this place?”

Well, Silas Hagerty built a film school.

Now boasting state-of-the-art editing suites and a recording studio as well as a screening venue, Smooth Feather is the nonprofit, community-based film school Hagerty has now run since 2016 out of that old theater, lovingly and painstakingly restored to act as the creative nerve center of a truly unique moviemaking hub right in Porter’s Kezar Falls neighborhood on the banks of the Ossipee River.

Smooth Feather is now moving into its 10th season, a remarkable feat Hagerty could enjoy a bit more if he weren’t prepping for the school’s new film. As Hagerty explains, each Smooth Feather production involves a set of creative and logistical challenges that will keep a guy up at night.

“People come in on Monday for an opening circle where we discuss ideas,” says Hagerty. “That’s when I tell everyone, ‘Saturday night, this place is gonna be packed, which invariably leads to someone asking, ‘Whoa, this Saturday?’” Smooth Feather’s creative process is as dynamic and unpredictable as the films that Hagerty, his hand-selected cast and crew of local teen filmmakers, and a handful of dedicated filmmaking professionals ultimately turn out. Not that it’s ever a guarantee.

Smooth Feather youth take questions after a film premiere at their theater in Kezar Falls in 2022. Photo courtesy of Smooth Feather

“Last week we met with 10 totally new youths for the new film, which is being shot over April vacation,’ says Hagerty. “It’s a fresh, new crew, which is exciting — and logistically a little more high stakes.”

Each Smooth Feather film comes at production in a different way, depending on the group dynamic and the way the pre-filming creative brainstorming goes. As Hagerty says, “Out of our circle discussions and writing workshops (this week aided by writing instructor volunteer Chris Lombard), themes develop. Some films, we go into filming having nailed down the actors, locations — other times, as with (last year’s) ‘Watcha’ Washin’,’ we literally just gave props, had our laundromat location, pulled some cues from a hat and filmed it on the fly.”

That’s a lot to expect from a largely neophyte crew of teenage professionals, not to mention the film pro tasked with helping pull together a finished film. Says Hagerty, “It’s empowering to go into that Monday morning and knowing you have to all figure it out, but it’s also stressful. It raises the stakes.”

For Hagerty and Smooth Feather, creative risks and youth empowerment go hand in hand. “No matter how many times I try to replicate the process, each time we just read the room, the moment and ourselves. That’s what I’m excited about going into our April 26th premiere this year. It’s what the group gets excited about.”

For Porter native-turned-director Hagerty (his stirring 2012 documentary “Dakota 38,” about the symbolic ride of Native American spiritual leader Jim Miller to the site of an infamous mass execution is free to watch on Tubi), Smooth Feather’s mission is as focused on empowerment of the region’s young people as it is filmmaking. He shares the story of a young girl named Liv, who took part in one of Smooth Feather’s latest films — reluctantly.

Gwyneth Hibbert films behind the scenes footage for “Dude, Where’s the Snake?” in 2023. Photo courtesy of Smooth Feather

“Liv couldn’t make eye contact at first,” explains Hagerty. “She didn’t want pictures taken of herself and was battling serious anxiety until I asked if she’d take part in one of our acting workshops. She was 90 percent terrified, but completely rocked her scene. Everyone was looking around shocked, and she just flourished. Cut to the film premiere a week later and she’s up on stage talking to 200 people — and then later doing the same at the Boston International Kids Film Festival. That’s what gets me so fired up, and it happens almost every time. We empower each other. It’s honestly where I feel most alive.”

Still, with next week’s filming in preparation for that April 26 premiere looming, Hagerty still confesses to some butterflies. Not that they’re going to stop him and his intrepid teen team.

“The bottom line is just showing up,” says Hagerty. “Now is the time I get stressed. I think about my own ego, the expectations of the community and the crew, and worry about making a powerful, meaningful film. But the more and more I do this, the more it always works out.”

Watts Watson runs sound for “Dude, Where’s the Snake?” in 2023. Photo courtesy of Smooth Feather

As Hagerty says, praising the unending creative courage of his young collaborators, “It’s not about the film in the end, but about the creative process. When we’re really dialed into the process being the most important thing, that’s when the films are the most powerful. What’s most empowering for the kids, just focusing on that.”

Smooth Feather’s films have seen its youthful filmmakers delving into their own lives here in Maine for subject matter and themes, with past films tackling issues like social anxiety and the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For Hagerty, a lifelong obsession with filmmaking led him around the world — and then right back home, where he uses his skills to help other aspiring Maine moviemakers realize their unique visions on the big screen. Right in their hometown.

“We literally roll a red carpet over our rough-looking sidewalk for each premiere and, weather permitting, we make audiences wait to build up the anticipation. It’s a scene, a real sense that something’s happening,” says Hagerty proudly. “And the community has really embraced us. It’s a beautiful journey.”

Even if nobody at Smooth Feather currently knows how they’ll get there.

Smooth Feather’s latest film premieres at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 26. If there’s one Maine movie event guaranteed to provide moviegoers with something they’ve never seen before, this is the one. Check out Smooth Feather’s previous films at www.smoothfeather.com.