The Last Lightkeepers

Directed by Rob Apse

An award-winning feature documentary about lighthouse preservation in New England and the people behind the rescue.

A Lighthouse Film Odyssey

This "gorgeous" and “important” documentary film across New England explores the region's final act to save these American sentinels that once defined a nation. Now deemed excess, individuals fight to preserve lighthouses and recount their folklore before their lights go dim.

The film was featured in festivals across the US and as far as South Korea, winning Gold at the Spotlight Documentary Film Awards and an Award of Merit at the Impact Doc Awards.

“Like the kaleidoscopic foliage of fall, the coastal lighthouse is an emblem of our region, one that Apse is memorializing with a cast of colorful characters — historical custodians”

— Thomas Farragher, Boston Globe

Landing on Halfway Rock

What was my most harrowing experience filming The Last Lightkeepers?

Imagine being 20 miles out to sea and coming across a rock sticking out in the middle of the ocean. This island, better known as Halfway Rock, is positioned in Casco Bay, halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small.

Surrounded by 360 degrees of crashing waves, the only way on the island is by inflatable, navigating the rocks and landing on a small wooden ramp that’s covered in slick ocean seaweed.

Press