About Cinema on the Bayou
Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival is committed to advancing the understanding of Cajun and Creole cultures through film screenings, film panels and cultural exchanges among French Louisiana, the United States and the Francophone countries of the world. The festival is focused on presenting nationally and internationally acclaimed humanities themed documentaries and filmmakers with truly original voices. Cinema on the Bayou will also showcase new, cutting edge, fiction and non-fiction films from around the world in a relaxing environment, laced and embellished with Cajun culture's unique identity markers, exquisite cuisine and great music.
About Cinema on the Bayou
Pat Mire, Artistic Director
Rebecca Hudsmith, Festival Director
The 4th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival was a great success thanks to our enthusiastic filmgoers and the wonderful filmmakers in attendance from New York; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Clarksdale, Mississippi; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington, New Orleans and Lafayette. We must also thank our incredible scholars, folklorists John Laudun and Carl Lindahl, who moderated the post-screening audience discussions of our roots culture films, both new and classic, and added so much to the richness of the Festival experience. Thanks also to our local treasures, guitarists and song-writers Gerry McGee and Sam Broussard, for their invaluable contributions to the Festival. We also thank Shadow Distribution, Duke University and the Dallas Art Museum for their support in getting quality films to Lafayette . As in year's past, we screened uncompromising, thought-provoking films that made us laugh and cry; engaged in serious discussions about matters important to filmmakers, such as Fair Use Rights and Music in Film; had a lot of fun and good times with old friends, and made important connections with new friends who share our commitment to quality film. We congratulate David Redman and Ashley Sabin, whose film "Invisible Girlfriend" was named Best Humanities-Themed Documentary; Roger Stolle and Jeff Konkel, whose film "M for Mississippi" was named Best Roots Culture New Film; Deborah Cohen, whose film "Going, Going, Going," was named Best Roots Culture Classic Film; and Sarah Knight, whose film "Hot Flash" was named Audience Favorite.
Beginning in 2010, the five-day Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival will move to January and will be competitive. The long-term goal is for Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival to be sanctioned by the Academy of Sciences and Motion Pictures and also to become a world-class point of destination for filmmakers, film enthusiasts and tourists from around the globe.
Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival is funded, in part, with grants from The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Consulat General de France a La Nouvelle-Orleans.
Community partners include LITE, Cite des Arts, Pack and Paddle, Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio, Teche Bed and Breakfast, Acadiana Center for Film and Media, the Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, KRVS, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Folkstreams, the Southern Humanities Media Fund, and the National Film Board of Canada-ONF.
Festival sponsors include Breaux's Mart, Shadow Distribution, Marcello's Wine Market and Johnson's Boucaniere.
David Egan performs at closing party at Teche Theater in St. Martinville in 2008.
Film screenings at Pack and Paddle in 2008.
The 2007 festival's red carpet opening night screening of "Little Chenier" drew more than 700 in attendance, along with the film's director, screenwriter and several actors.
2007 Festival Film Scoring Panel: David Greely, Pat Mire, Dirk Powell and Sam Broussard.
Photos by Cinema on the Bayou 2006 official photographer Robin May. Click any to enlarge.
Panel discussion at Lafayette Natural History Museum. From left to right: Cajun folklorist Barry Ancelet and filmmakers Jean-Pierre Bruneau, Glen Pitre, Andre Gladu and Pat Mire. These four filmmakers are internationally recognized by the global film community as the primary film documenters of French-Louisiana culture, and Ancelet has served as research consultant with each of the directors at various times throughout the past 30 years.
Film screening at Cite des Arts