GARDINER — Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner plans to screen its first movie in 68 years this Saturday, beginning a new era in the recently restored building’s history.

Maine filmmaker Lee Ann Szelog answers a question Thursday during an interview in Hallowell. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The showing of the locally made film, “a Peace of Forest,” breaks a movie-less streak that began in 1958, with the hall’s final showing of “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

The 87-minute film is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Johnson Hall’s 407-seat upstairs theater at 280 Water St.

Mike Miclon, the executive artistic director at Johnson Hall, said the movie also serves as a new opportunity to test the theater’s waters after a decadeslong $9.3 million building renovation. He said the theater includes a new sound system, state-of-the-art acoustics and a large screen.

“What we’ve always talked about,” Miclon said, “is a really well-made local film like this is a great opportunity to invite people in, where they may not be able to see this kind of a movie on a big screen anywhere else.”

The film was made over four years by Lee Ann and Tom Szelog on 35 acres of their Whitefield property, marking the first time a feature-length wildlife movie was filmed and produced in Maine. The Szelogs filmed the movie from their blinds in the woods on just two cameras, and edited the movie — also over four years — on a laptop computer at their home.

The film is made up of scenes recorded by the Szelogs from the blinds on their property, and has minimal narration. The couple intentionally avoided using bait or other methods of drawing in wildlife to ensure they captured the animals in their most “comfortable” state, which Lee Ann Szelog said most people will never see firsthand.

“It’s not our intent to create the story,” Lee Ann Szelog said. “We allow the audience to watch it and experience it, just as we were experiencing it sitting in our blinds.”

She said she hopes the film brings attention to the “delicate balance” of Maine’s wildlife, especially given recent challenges with climate change and habitat conservation. After all, she said, she and her husband may own the property on which the film was shot, but “it’s the wildlife’s home.”

Many filming days, which Lee Ann Szelog said often included sitting in blazing heat or freezing cold, did not bring any new footage. Other days, she said, included wildlife she and her husband had not seen before.

“On a hot, humid morning in June, I sat for four hours,” Lee Ann Szelog said. “And about 3 1/2 hours in, a doe and her newborn fawn came out of the woods. It brings emotion to me just thinking about it. And I was able to record that, and the doe and the fawn were oblivious because I was quiet.”

Both Miclon and Lee Ann Szelog said bringing the film to Johnson Hall was a serendipitous experience: Johnson Hall was looking to expand back into showing films with the newly renovated theater, and the Szelogs were looking for places to show the film on a big screen.

“I know the heart — the blood, sweat and tears — that goes in to making a film like this,” Miclon said. “You really have to be dedicated to the process, and then you fall in love with the process. So, I loved these guys’ energy as soon as I met them. And then, when we popped the film up, just to test, we just looked at it and were like: ‘Oh my gosh. Iit’s gorgeous.'”

Tickets to the film Saturday are available online at www.eventbrite.com, and will be sold at the door. Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for those 18 or younger.