Filmed entirely within 70 acres of Whitefield wilderness, the 90-minute “A Peace of Forest” is a uniquely Maine nature documentary.

Such everyday Maine animals, from deer to ducks, weasels to foxes, turkeys to eagles all make their unhurried appearance in the film thanks to the filmmakers’ patient, unobtrusive approach to filming their animal neighbors.

“It’s a documentary heavy on showing how wildlife in Maine behaves when man is not watching,” explained Lee Ann Szelog, who made the film with her husband, Thomas Mark Szelog. “There’s minimal narration to guide the audience. We don’t want to create a story, we want the wildlife to create their own stories.”

“A Peace of Forest” represents a decade’s work.

Filmed over the course of nearly five years, “A Peace of Forest” only took its final shape after the couple spent almost that same amount of time editing the massive amount of footage they captured. “It was disappointing to delete some of them,” Lee Ann said of the filmmakers’ endlessly photogenic subjects. “But it had to not only be great footage, there had to be an emotional connection. We constantly had to ask, ‘How does this fit into the film?’”

The filmmakers went to extraordinary lengths to capture Maine’s creatures in their natural habitat.

Both award-winning nature photographers, Lee Ann and Tom still marvel at the specific difficulties of catching Maine’s animals going about their business.

“Maine is one of the most difficult places to do nature photography,” said Tom. “There are mechanical restrictions involved in filming in Maine’s forests. Unlike the wide open spaces elsewhere in the country, an animal has to approach within 50 feet. We had to be so much a part of the environment that we could eliminate some of their natural fear.”

Added Lee Ann, “It’s about sitting in a photography blind on a three-legged stool and being patient for hours at a time in all kinds of weather, from freezing winter cold to heat like today.” (We spoke during last week’s heat wave.) “It was not uncommon to spend 40 hours in the same place and come away with nothing.”

What the filmmakers did come away with will startle even lifelong Mainers.

Have you ever spotted a snapping turtle determinedly climbing a tree? The Szelogs have, with that eye-opening event being just one of the evocative and surprising animal behaviors captured by the filmmakers’ ever-spying cameras.

“One day, we came upon a dead turkey in the snow,” said Lee Ann. “And, this is our opinion, it appeared that other animals, from fox to deer, were mourning the loss. We don’t know that, don’t say that, but we allow viewers to make up their own minds about these interactions.”

Said Tom, “There are obvious behavioral patterns we observe where viewers won’t know what’s going on. And neither do we. There’s so much behavior all around us that’s very intimate that the average person doesn’t get to experience with Maine’s wildlife.”

“A Peace of Forest” was the married filmmakers’ ultimate relationship test.

“I don’t recommend a new filmmaker do what we did,” Tom said of the couple’s ultimately decade-long journey to making their first feature film. “I strongly suggest doing something much smaller.”

Born from the award-winning photographers’ and authors’ frustration with dwindling lab expertise for their preferred physical film processing, the Szelogs became digital experts only after exhaustive effort.

“It was a long, bad trip,” said Tom, with Lee Ann chuckling in the background, “There was fighting, squabbling – after one year-long period, I nearly threw the computer in our pond. But we got through it.”

Added Lee Ann, “We didn’t shed any blood, but there was plenty of sweat and tears alongside the joy. It was the ultimate test of a marriage, but we’re excited to share it.”

The film’s message is as simple as it is eloquent.

“I met Tom 36 years ago when I was racing through life, oblivious to the world around me,” said Lee Ann. “He opened my eyes to the natural world and Mother Nature opened my heart.”

The authors of the books “Our Point of View – Fourteen Years at a Maine Lighthouse” and “By a Maine River – A Year of Looking Closely,” the filmmakers are intimately connected to the state they call home.

“Nature provides restorative benefits, but we need to stop, slow down and listen,” advised Lee Ann. “Nature speaks without words. We’re not the only species making a living on this planet, and if we’re going to survive, we need to be aware, to be inspired to care about finding a better balance in our own lives and with the lives all around us.”

Come to a screening, then go outside.

Look for Lee Ann and Tom Szelog to introduce “A Peace of Forest” at the world premiere Lincoln Theater screening on Sunday and hold a Q&A afterward. The film will then embark on a series of Maine and New Hampshire screenings during the summer (see apeaceofforest.com for details) before Blu-Rays and a streaming run become available. But don’t look for news on social media.

“We don’t want to encourage any more screen time than that,” said Lee Ann. “Look out from your porch or a park, no matter where you live. Experience Maine’s nature in person, even for just a couple of minutes a day. We are part of nature if we have the self-awareness to stop, look, and listen.”

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