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Every year in the town of Golden Hill, contestants gather for two important competitions in the National Outdoor Show. Local high school girls compete to become "Miss Outdoors," queen of the show and its representative for the coming year. On the very same stage, the world's best muskrat skinners compete to see who can skin the fastest. MUSKRAT LOVELY is a documentary that follows the events leading to the 50th crowning of "Miss Outdoors." It's an ironic and tender look at the yearly event of a close-knit community in a remote area of the Chesapeake Bay. A place where men still make their living off the water, and the opportunities for glamour are few. MUSKRAT LOVELY was filmed entirely on location in Dorchester County, Maryland, home of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and a couple of unlucky muskrats.
Director Amy Nicholson is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. Currently living in New York City, she has worked as an advertising art director since birth. While she has created numerous commercials for every imaginable type of product, she shot her first documentary two years ago, a short about the New York School of Dog Grooming titled BEAUTY SCHOOL.
BEAUTY SCHOOL was screened at many film festivals including Hot Docs,
The Atlanta Film Festival, and The Woodstock Film Festival, and is currently appearing on the PBS program "The Short List."
Nicholson was inspired to make documentaries after spending her life surrounded by "real people." She is currently doing research for her next film: a very serious piece involving plastic reindeer.
MUSKRAT LOVELY is her first feature.
"An enlightening, charming, and often very funny film." -Maryland Life
Muskrat Lovely is a smart, charming and idiosyncratic piece of work." -Baltimore Magazine
"Sincere and funny. -What's Up Eastern Shore
Nicholson’s movie paints a wonderful portrait of a regional story, highlighting the natural beauty of a land most of us will never visit and the connection of its residents to that land. A story that will make you laugh at its characters, root for its underdogs, recoil or gag at its violence and laugh…a lot, all as your heart goes out to them. -The Austinist
The documentary is a delight -The East Hampton Star
