'Out at 6' documentary premieres in Maine, spotlighting domestic abuse timeline
September 24, 2026
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ROCKLAND, Maine — Movie theaters in Rockland, Portland, and Waterville are teaming up with the statewide nonprofit 'Finding Our Voices' to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month next month.
"Out at 6" premieres in North America on Thursday, October 1, at the Strand Theatre in Rockland. The documentary follows the eight-step timeline experts say could lead to domestic homicide. The nonprofit hopes the film will empower people trying to escape abusive situations.
The 55-minute film, directed by international filmmaker Livi Kessel, tells her story of psychological abuse and coercive control that began when she was 17. It includes interviews with friends and family who watched each stage unfold from a distance as isolation set in.
The film shows how loved ones, friends, and Kessel herself overlooked early warning signs until they felt helpless.
Kessel marks each stage of the relationship using an eight-stage framework of patterns by perpetrators of domestic abuse to show how abuse and coercive control can progress to homicide. The framework was featured in a published study by criminology expert Dr. Jane Monckton-Smith.
“She got out at the sixth step. When you hear "Out at 6," that becomes a very powerful title,” McLean said.
McLean believes the film could help people in Maine better understand the reality of domestic abuse.
“If you have a friend and you are in a relationship, and they start pulling away from you, that's when they need you more than ever," McLean declared. Screenings of the documentary will be followed by a community discussion led by survivors like Mia Mantello. She is featured on the Finding Our Voices poster displayed throughout Maine. She escaped an abusive marriage earlier and resonates with Kessel’s story.
“This film brilliantly shows the people who loved her knew something was wrong, but they froze, paralyzed, not knowing if or how to intervene,” Mantello explained. The discussion will also offer ways for community members to support a loved one or neighbor who may be at risk and to connect them with resources.
The nonprofit has provided more than half a million dollars in "Get Out, Stay Out' funding. The money can be used for emergency shelter, motel stays, and security deposits. Gas cards, car repairs, car insurance, and registration, home security devices, utilities, phones, legal help, and food.
Screenings are scheduled for Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Strand Theatre in Rockland, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Portland Museum of Art, and Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. at Maine Film Center in downtown Waterville.
