Cinema on the Bayou

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

6:00 PM Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Reception for Darrell Bourque, Ph.D

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

As the film follows the amazing performances and behind-the-scenes action from the tour created by World Music Institute, we discover the real lives of these musicians. We visit Macedonia, Romania, India and Spain, meet their families and see what music brings to their lives. The tales of these characters are woven between their performances - allowing us to understand and celebrate Romani culture and the prejudice of their shared ancestry.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

6:45 PM Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Introduction of Film and Poetry Reading

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

7:00 PM Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Screening of Film

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

8:50 PM Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Discussion of Film

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

2:00 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Film Screening

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

6:00 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Forever (Louisiana Premiere)

Heddy Honigmann, Director 2006 95 min. Color

Reception for the Honorable Olivier Brochenin, Consul General de France a La Nouvelle-Orleans

This is a documentary film by award-winning filmmaker Heddy Honigmann about the power and vitality of art and about a place where love and death go hand-in-hand and beauty lives on: the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Pere-Lachaise is one of the world's most famous and beautiful cemeteries and is the final resting place for a group of artists, including Maria Callas, Proust, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Ingres, Modigliani, Simone Signoret, Jim Morrison and many more, whose graves, admirers and art are the subject of this film. In "Forever" we see the mysterious, calming and consoling beauty of this unique cemetery through the eyes of its visitors. Through them, the graveyard gradually reveals itself not only as a resting place for the dead, but also as a source of peace and inspiration for the living. This film was named by Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com as one of the best independent movies of 2007. In French with English subtitles.

Inspiration Award-2007 Full Frame Documentary Festival

7:00 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Forever (Louisiana Premiere)

Heddy Honigmann, Director 2006 95 min. Color

Film Screening

This is a documentary film by award-winning filmmaker Heddy Honigmann about the power and vitality of art and about a place where love and death go hand-in-hand and beauty lives on: the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Pere-Lachaise is one of the world's most famous and beautiful cemeteries and is the final resting place for a group of artists, including Maria Callas, Proust, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Ingres, Modigliani, Simone Signoret, Jim Morrison and many more, whose graves, admirers and art are the subject of this film. In "Forever" we see the mysterious, calming and consoling beauty of this unique cemetery through the eyes of its visitors. Through them, the graveyard gradually reveals itself not only as a resting place for the dead, but also as a source of peace and inspiration for the living. This film was named by Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com as one of the best independent movies of 2007. In French with English subtitles.

Inspiration Award-2007 Full Frame Documentary Festival

Pack and Paddle

6:30 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Pack and Paddle

Bayou Landfall (Louisiana Premiere)

The Houma Nation vs. The Hurricanes

Leslye Abbey, Director 2006 17 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This documentary film tells the story of the Houma Indians, a state-recognized tribe that has been fighting for federal recognition for decades, and the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on their communities and way of life. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, a number of the smaller Houma Indian settlements in lower Plaquemines, lower St. Bernard, and lower Jefferson Parishes were devastated. As the tribe struggled to bring aid to its citizens and channel its few resources to their benefit, Hurricane Rita entered the Gulf of Mexico. While the Houma Indian populations of the lower bayou regions of Laforche and Terrebonne Parishes were spared a direct hit, the near miss by Rita pushed a massive storm surge into the bayous, inundating several Houma communities. This resulted in the loss of an additional 4000 tribe members' homes. Nevertheless, as this film shows, the Houma Indians, despite environmental stresses that have made them and their lands extremely vulnerable, continue to persevere as a tribe and a people.

Filmmaker's web site: www.snowflakevideo.com

2006 Alan Fortunoff Humanitarian Award

7:00 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Pack and Paddle

Angels of the Basin (Louisiana Premiere)

Leslye Abbey, Director 2007 50 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This documentary by New York filmmaker Leslye Abbey chronicles the history and way of life of the Cajuns of Louisiana who live and work among the moss-draped cypresses of the Atchafalaya Basin. Through interviews with these individuals, as well as government officials, the film addresses the issue of the adverse impact on the culture, homes, and way of life of these Cajuns as a result of the environmental changes, both man-made and natural, to the Atchafalaya Basin.

Filmmaker's web site: www.snowflakevideo.com

Best Historical Documentary, 2007 New York International Independent film and Video Festival

8:30 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Pack and Paddle

Panel Discussion On The Impact Of Environmental Stress On A Culture

Following the screening of New York filmmaker Leslye Abbey's "Angels of the Basin" and "Bayou Landfall," there will be a panel discussion on the issues raised by those two films regarding the impact of environmental stresses and damage, both man-made and natural, on the unique cultures and ways of life found in South Louisiana and possible ways to preserve both the environment and those cultures. Among those participating in the panel discussion will be cultural anthropologist Ray Brassieur; Mike Bienvenu, President of the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association; photographer, author and lecturer Greg Guirard; and Michael Dardar, Vice-Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

2:00 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Arizona Seaside (Louisiana Premiere)

j. Pil Pilegaard, Writer/Director 2007 93 min. Color

Film Screening

Elana, a young Kazakhstan factory worker with Nashville dreams, is duped by a wannabe pimp and oddball gangster. Through a comedy of errors, she crosses paths with a sweet con man moonlighting as a Robin Hood for stray animals. Both on the run from gangsters, they end up at ARIZONA SEASIDE, a rundown motel. Their short but very eventful stay has some unexpected consequences.

Filmmaker's web site: www.arizonaseaside.com

Best Cinematography, 2007 FAIF International Film Festival

Cite des Arts

4:00 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Let The Good Times Roll (Louisiana Premiere)

Leslye Abbey, Producer/Director 2004 33 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

Jambalaya, Zydeco, gumbo: exotic sounds from the beloved culture of southern Louisiana. In this documentary film by New Yorker Leslye Abbey, the Cajun people welcome us into their lives to enjoy their hospitality and share their good times. Featured musicians include Bruce Daigrepont and his Cajun Band, Warren Storm, the Godfather of Swamp Pop, the lengendary Miss Molly and guitarist Walter, Jr.

Filmmaker's web site: www.snowflakevideo.com

Best Feature Documentary, 2007 Long Island Film Festival

5:00 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Weeding By Example

Kathleen Ledet and Sarah McKnight, Producers/Directors 2007 13 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

City Park, one of the oldest and most-visited public parks in America, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The 1,300 acre park, a retreat for New Orleanians since 1854, sustained over $40 million in damages and lost 90 percent of its employees. Less than twelve months after the storm, the "Mow-Rons," a small group of residents from City Park's Lakeview neighborhood, decided to come together to bring their community back, one weed at a time. This documentary tells the story of these New Orleanians as they rebuild their personal lives and work to preseve the park and the city they love.

Filmmaker's web site: www.weedingbyexample.com

Finalist, Best Short Documentary, 2007 Anchorage International Film Fest.; Wiinner, Best Documentary, 2007 Magic Lantern International Film Fest

5:45 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

West Nickel Mines Massacre (World Premiere)

Glenn Stewart, Director/Producer 2008 3 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

With original music composed and performed by Doug Gauthier, whose lyrics become the storyteller, this film is a tribute to the peaceful-living Amish community and its young victims of a mass murder in Pennsylvania in October of 2006. They grieved the way they live: through forgiveness.

Filmmaker's web site: www.creativejuiceskc.com

6:00 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Canadaville, USA

Abbey Jack Neidik, Susan Shore, Producer/Director 2007 52 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf coast in late August 2005, devastating the city of New Orleans and particularly the Lower Ninth Ward, home to some of the city's poorest residents. In response, Austrian-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, chairman of auto-parts giant Magna International, offered to spend $10 million to relocate over 200 Katrina evacuees to another part of Louisiana and build them homes where they could live rent free for five years. The new 800-acre community near Simmesport that arose as a result of Stronach's efforts has been dubbed "Canadaville" and was intended to be a kind of self-sustaining model community. This documentary, shot over a period of two years, tells the story of this grand experiment by following the lives of several of the families who made their way to Canadaville after the storm, as well as by documenting the response of the local townspeople to the development and its people. Filmmaker Susan Shore of Marksville began the film as an indepedent documentary three weeks after Katrina hit in 2005, and was later joined by two Canadian documentary teams to complete the project. The film debuted on Canada's CBC television. Due to mature subject matter, the film is not recommended for young children.

7:30 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Reconstructing Creole

Jennifer John Block, Executive Producer/Director 2006 56 min. Color

Film Screening

In the vivid memoir of a 19th century Creole matriarch, and the restoration of her old plantation home, a Louisiana legacy comes to life. Fire stripped the Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana naked to its beams, bricks and plaster. A team of builders attempts to save the unusual timber-frame design -- a blend of African, French and Native American building styles. As they begin a careful 2 year restoration, the memoir of Laura Locoul Gore opens up a world of slavery and society balls, of race mixing and family bonds, of cruelty, love, and joie de vivre. This full-length documentary film by New Orleans native Jennifer John Block weaves past and present with music by 19th century Creole composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, as well as original works from Louisiana musicians Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, Mitch Caponetto, and Adam Kennedy.

LEH 2008 Humanities Documentary Film of the Year

9:00 PM Friday, March 28, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Rhythm 'N' Bayous

A Road Map to Louisiana Music

Robert Mugge, Director 2000 105 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

In this documentary film, filmmaker Robert Mugge takes us on a musical journey across the state of Louisiana, beginning at Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium, once the home of the Louisiana Hayride. There we see performances from Dale Hawkins, Claude King, and Buddy Flett, among others. From Shreveport, Mugge takes us across North Louisiana to an Easter Rock ceremony in Winnsboro. We also meet up with Henry Gray in Baton Rouge and Henry Butler and Kermit Ruffins in New Orleans. In Southwest Louisiana we see the Jambalaya Cajun Band, Moise and Alida Viator, Rod Bernard and Rosie Ledet, along with many others. The film "is a joyful celebration of Louisiana music in all its permutations, a guided tour by experts illustrated with generous helpings of the real thing. Expertly filmed exuberant performances. Wonderful performers." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post.

Filmmaker's web site: www.RobertMugge.com

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Acadiana Center for Film and Media

10:00 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Acadiana Center for Film and Media

Etrangement Courts

81 min total

Film Screenings

This is a series of 15 short French language amusing films of between 4 and 15 minutes.

1:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Acadiana Center for Film and Media

Vivre Ensemble

Film Screenings

This is a group of contemporary short French language feature films on life in the immigrant communities of France.

4:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Acadiana Center for Film and Media

Revivre a La Nouvelle-Orleans 2006

80 min Color

Film Screening

This French language documentary film follows a dozen francophone New Orleanians as they reconstruct their lives immediately after Hurrican Katrina, and then one year later.

6:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Acadiana Center for Film and Media

Forever (Louisiana Premiere)

Heddy Honigmann, Director 2006 95 min. Color

Film screening

This is a documentary film by award-winning filmmaker Heddy Honigmann about the power and vitality of art and about a place where love and death go hand-in-hand and beauty lives on: the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Pere-Lachaise is one of the world's most famous and beautiful cemeteries and is the final resting place for a group of artists, including Maria Callas, Proust, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Ingres, Modigliani, Simone Signoret, Jim Morrison and many more, whose graves, admirers and art are the subject of this film. In "Forever" we see the mysterious, calming and consoling beauty of this unique cemetery through the eyes of its visitors. Through them, the graveyard gradually reveals itself not only as a resting place for the dead, but also as a source of peace and inspiration for the living. This film was named by Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com as one of the best independent movies of 2007. In French with English subtitles.

Inspiration Award-2007 Full Frame Documentary Festival

Cite des Arts

9:00 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

New Filmmaker Cultural Documentary Series

Film Screenings and Filmmaker Q & A

This segment of the Festival, moderated by folklorists John Laudun and Conni Castille, focuses on the screening of documentaries from new regional filmmakers whose work primarily addresses various aspects of the culture of Southwest Louisiana. Several new filmmakers will be in attendance for the screening of their films and audience discussions of those films and the filmmaking process.

9:15 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Mais, Look at You!

Erik Charpentier, Director 2008 23 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A as part of New Filmmaker Cultural Documentary Series

Filmmaker Erik Charpentier takes us on a journey through contemporary South Louisiana in this new documentary film.

9:45 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

King of Kings

Patrick Flanagan, Director/Producer 2008 20 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A as part of New Filmmaker Cultural Documentary Series

This documentary film addresses the continuing effects of "Americanization" on the people of South Louisiana in the context of rooster fighting and the federal government's Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act. The story is told through the voice of rooster fighter Mr. Meche and the crows of his roosters, and reveals his deep-seeded passion for God, his country, and ultimately his hobby - rooster fighting.

10:15 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Histoire Vivante

the cultural preservation of Cajun fiddle music

H. Lee Domingue, III, Producer/Director 2007 10 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A as part of New Filmmaker Cultural Documentary Series

The story of the Cajun people is one of tragedy and perseverance. This tenacious group of south central Louisianians pride themselves on a culture rich with food, music, and good times. This documentary explores the origins of their music along with its most enduring instrument: the fiddle. It is here that their story begins.

10:30 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Looking For Trouble

David M. Brasseaux, Director 2008 3 min. Trailer Color/Black and White

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A as part of New Filmmaker Cultural Documentary Series

Violence at Cajun dances, bars, and night clubs increased exponentially after the Civil War. Locals coped with economic collapse and the horrors of total war by formulating an honor code: one that defined how Cajuns settled disputes. "Looking for Trouble," the first feature-length documentary by David M.Brasseaux, examines the often bloody conflicts that raged in two Acadia Parish communities during the twentieth century. This film portrays the dramatic memory of knife-toting bullies and their pistol-carrying victims who interrupted social life in Pointe Noire and Marais Bouleur.

11:00 AM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

How To Make A Roots Culture Documentary Film

Panel Discussion with Filmmakers Robert Mugge and Pat Mire

Panel discussion on how to make an independent documentary film on roots culture led by guest filmmaker Robert Mugge. Stephen Holden of the New York Times writes of Mr. Mugge: "To describe the recent films of the documentarian Robert Mugge as cultural reference books doesn't mean to imply that these explorations of the musical byways of Southern rural America are lacking in pungent musical sap. It's the careful balance between music and scholarship that lends Mr. Mugge's films a foundation of academic seriousness that flirts with dryness without becoming mired in trivia. Documents of a flourishing below-the-radar culture, often involving older musicians who won't be around for much longer, they are archival records as well as entertainments. For every obscure blues or folk musician shown performing in these films, there is usually an expert standing by to explain where this artist or group stands on the family tree of American vernacular music. Instead of concentrating on the trunk and larger branches of that tree, Mr. Mugge likes to examine the smaller branches and even the twigs." Jeff Shannon of The Seattle Times adds to this assessment: "Just as Alan Lomax made and preserved valuable recordings of Mississippi Delta blues, Mugge has been traversing the continent for more than 20 years, capturing the music of America -- the music that really matters -- on 16mm color film, as performed by the masters of their chosen forms."

12:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Kingdom of Zydeco

Robert Mugge, Director 1994 71 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This documentary focuses on the world of Zydeco in southwest Louisiana and the important battle for the title of "King of Zydeco," pitting Boozoo Chavis and Beau Jocque against each other for the crown. The film includes interviews with and performances by Boozoo Chavis, Beau Jocque, Nathan Williams and John Delafose. Gene Seymour of New York Newsday writes that "'Kingdom of Zydeco' is both a cunning little comedy of manners and a sweet-tempered celebration of American roots music. It chronicles the sea change that took place in the black Creole music scene of southwest Louisiana with the deaths of both Clifton Chenier and Rockin' Dopsie, king and crown prince, respectively, of zydeco music. [Beau Jocque and Boozoo Chavis] kick out the jams in thrilling performances filmed with blissful authority by Mugge."

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

1:30 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

A Well Spent Life

Les Blank, Producer/Director 1971 44 min. Color

Film Screening and Discussion

This film is a deeply moving tribute to the Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb, considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. "The film captures Mance's music, sets it off with scenes of his hometown of Navasota, and combines it all with the miracle of his love" -- Michael Goodwin and Maureen Gosling. Les Blank, a long-time indepedent documentary filmmaker, is well-known for his portraits of American traditional musicians and the roots culture from which they come. This is a superb example of his incredible body of work. This film is included on Oxford American Magazine's list of Essential Southern Documentaries.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.lesblank.com/more/wellspent.html

2:45 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Bright Leaves

Ross McElwee, Director, Producer 2003 107 min. Color

Film Screening and Discussion

This documentary, by acclaimed filmmaker Ross McElwee,describes a journey taken across the social, economic, and psychological tobacco terrain of North Carolina by McElwee, a native Carolinian whose great-grandfather created the famous brand of tobacco known as "Bull Durham." "Bright Leaves" is a subjective, autobiographical meditation on the allure of cigarettes and their troubling legacy for the state of North Carolina. It's about loss and preservation, addiction and denial. The film also explores the notion of legacy -- what one generation passes down to the next -- and how this can be a particularly complicated topic when the legacy under discusssion is a Southern one and is tied to tobacco. This film is included in the Oxford American Magazine's list of Essential Southern Documentaries.

Filmmaker's web site: www.rossmcelwee.com

5:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

True Meaning of Pictures, The

Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia

Jennifer Baichwal, Director/Co-Producer with Nick de Pencier 2002 71 min. Color/B&W

Film Screening and Discussion

An audience favorite at Sundance, this feature length documentary film is an introduction to the work of renowned photographer Shelby Lee Adams. Born in Eastern Kentucky, Adams has devoted 30 years of his life to visiting and making portraits of families living in Appalachia, those who have been mirepresented in the media and derogatorily referred to as "hillbillies." Adams' photographs confront the viewer with representations of reality that do not avoid difficult subject matter as he continues to pursue his personal, expressive view of the human condition. A provocative exploration of Appalachian life, this film also delves into the controversy that surrounds Adamns' work, with hot debate amongst the critics and revealing commentary from his friends and subjects, raising questions regarding the meaning of art itself. This film is listed on Oxford American Magazine's list of Essential Southern Documentaries.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.mercuryfilms.ca/true_intro_06.html

Sandance Film Festival Official Selection; Toronto Film Festival Official Selection

6:45 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Nobody (Louisiana Premiere)

Alan Spearman, Lance Murphey, Directors 2007 66 min. Black and white

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

In the winter of 2001, a drifter walked into the Memphis Coast Guard station seeking a boat to take on the Mississippi River. He spoke about a red-haired vixen named Mitzi; a Midwestern steel shop where he worked 90 hours a week; and an epic journey down four rivers from Marion, Indiana to Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry Bell, the central character of "Nobody," neglected to tell the Coast Guard that he made his trip to Memphis in an inflatable canoe,a canoe that he and his friends earned by smoking 20,000 cigarettes. When his canoe snagged a tree branch, Jerry patched it with duct tape to stop it from sinking. Coast guard Lt. Dale Folsom introduced Jerry to filmmakers Lance Murphey and Alan Spearman. A few months later, a tragic phone call sent Jerry hurtling over the edge -- and sent Jerry and the filmmakers on a five-year journey that would transform all of their lives. The result is a deeply personal portrait of a man running from his demons while finding grace in unlikely places. Nancy Buirski, Director of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, describes this film as "the most cinematic" of all the documentaries shown at the festival in 2007.

Filmmaker's web site: www.nobodythefilm.com

Winner, Best Documentary, 2006 Indie Memphis Film Fest; Official Selection, 2007 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

8:15 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

Deep Blues

Robert Mugge, Director 1991 90 min. Color

Film screening and Filmmaker Q & A

Named by Oxford American Magazine as an Essential Southern Documentary, Robert Mugge's "Deep Blues" "is a travelogue of sorts, a scenic concert film that benefits largely from the strength and novelty of its unsung artists," Derek Jenkins writes in the magazine. Jenkins continues that music writer Robert Palmer acts as "our own funky Virgil, a streetwise and erudite guide through the juke joints and clapboard farmhouses that have housed authentic country blues since its crossroads conception." Filming in Memphis and all across Mississippi, veteran filmmaker Mugge documents the music of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Big Jack Johnson, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, to name a few. In so doing, he "documents a living and breathing blues," as Jenkins puts it, that might have otherwise been given up for dead. According to Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times, this film, which played at the Sundance Film Festival, among others, is "a movie no blues lover, no popular music aficionado, and no devotee of American culture and folkways shoud miss. It's a genuine document, deep and earthy; a peek into our national soul."

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

10:15 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Cite des Arts

True Believers

The Musical Family of Rounder Records

Robert Mugge, Director 1994 86 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

During its distinguished history, Rounder Records has been home to an astonishingly eclectic array of roots music performers, including Allison Kraus, Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, Bruce Daigrepont, Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers, and Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. This documentary by respected filmmaker Robert Mugge takes you behind the scenes with these artists, including a visit to Festivals Acadian, and with the music aficionados who are the true believers who have made this label great for more than 20 years. According to Philip Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner, "True Believers" is "a wonderful journey through Rounder Records' eclectic musical landscape."

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

Pack and Paddle

6:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Pack and Paddle

Atchafalaya Houseboat

Christina Melton, Director/Producer for LPB 2008 30 min. HD Color

Reception for Filmmaker

This documentary film produced for Louisiana Public Broadcasting is based on the LSU Press book "Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp." The critically acclaimed story shares the experiences of Gwen Roland and her companion, Calvin Voisin, who left civilization in the turmoil of the early 1970s to return to the simple, quiet lifestyle of their great-grandparents in the vast, unspoiled beauty of the nation's largest river swamp, Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin. Along their journey, they befriended a young photographer named C.C. Lockwood, whose stunning photographs of the Atchafalaya, featuring Gwen and Calvin going about their daily routine, were published in National Geographic magazine in 1974. Producer Christina Melton has been recognized with several of the television documentary world's top awards, including the coveted Emmy Award, the Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the International CINE Golden Eagle, The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival Award for Best Historical Documentary and three Telly Awards. Her last three projects, all produced for Louisiana Public Broadcasting, have broadcast nationally on PBS.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.lpb.org/programs/houseboat/

7:00 PM Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Pack and Paddle

Atchafalaya Houseboat

Christina Melton, Director/Producer for LPB 2008 30 min. HD Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This documentary film produced for Louisiana Public Broadcasting is based on the LSU Press book "Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp." The critically acclaimed story shares the experiences of Gwen Roland and her companion, Calvin Voisin, who left civilization in the turmoil of the early 1970s to return to the simple, quiet lifestyle of their great-grandparents in the vast, unspoiled beauty of the nation's largest river swamp, Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin. Along their journey, they befriended a young photographer named C.C. Lockwood, whose stunning photographs of the Atchafalaya, featuring Gwen and Calvin going about their daily routine, were published in National Geographic magazine in 1974. Producer Christina Melton has been recognized with several of the television documentary world's top awards, including the coveted Emmy Award, the Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the International CINE Golden Eagle, The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival Award for Best Historical Documentary and three Telly Awards. Her last three projects, all produced for Louisiana Public Broadcasting, have broadcast nationally on PBS.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.lpb.org/programs/houseboat/

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

1:30 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Arizona Seaside (Louisiana Premiere)

j. Pil Pilegaard, Writer/Director 2007 93 min. Color

Film Screening

Elana, a young Kazakhstan factory worker with Nashville dreams, is duped by a wannabe pimp and oddball gangster. Through a comedy of errors, she crosses paths with a sweet con man moonlighting as a Robin Hood for stray animals. Both on the run from gangsters, they end up at ARIZONA SEASIDE, a rundown motel. Their short but very eventful stay has some unexpected consequences.

Filmmaker's web site: www.arizonaseaside.com

Best Cinematography, 2007 FAIF International Film Festival

3:30 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Celebrity Theatres - Broussard 10

Gypsy Caravan

When the Road Bends . . . tales of a Gypsy Caravan

Jasmine Dellah, Director/Writer/Co-Producer with Sarah Nolan 2006 110 min. Color

Film Screening

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. And with humor and soul in their voices, they celebrate the best in Gypsy culture and the diversity of the Romani people in an explosion of song and dance. The sounds of Roma (Gypsy), a culture interminably misunderstood, oppressed and stigmatized, are increasingly heard on the dance floor, and have attracted fans like Johnny Depp, who is in the film. TIME Magazine declares, "Gypsy music is escaping its 'ghetto' in Romania to become a worldwide sensation." Tribeca Film Festival's Steven Snyder writes, "Given extraordinary access to a world known by few outsiders, Dellah takes full advantage by reaching out to the community's key players, including a violin virtuoso who also must beg for change in order to keep his family afloat." This film is a celebration that will leave your toes tapping, your heart pumping and your soul uplifted by a glorious journey that is the Gypsy Caravan.

Filmmaker's web site: http://www.gypsycaravanmovie.com/

Audience Favorite Awards at San Francisco Indep. F.F. and Belgium Flanders Intern'l F.F.

Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio

3:00 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio

Iguanas In The House

Robert Mugge, Director/Producer 1996 27 min. color

Film Screenaing and Filmmaker Q & A

This film about the New Orleans band, the Iguanas, documents a recording of one of their Tex-Mex/R&B/roots albums in a New Orleans reocrding studio.

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

3:30 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio

Blues Divas: Irma Thomas (World Premiere)

Robert Mugge, Director 2004 74 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This film is part of a series of long-form concert documentaries shot by veteran filmmaker Robert Mugge at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The film is hosted by co-owner of the club, actor Morgan Freeman, who introduces and interviews Ms. Thomas. In addition, Ms. Thomas performs a wide variety of songs, including many of those for which she is so well-known.

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

5:00 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio

New Orleans Music In Exile

Robert Mugge, Director and Co-Producer with Diana Zelman 2006 113 min. Color

Film Screening and Filmmaker Q & A

This documentary film, shot by veteran filmmaker Robert Mugge in the fall of 2005, tells the story of Hurricane Katrina from the perspective of New Orleans' many displaced musicians. Mugge and fellow producer Diana Zelman follow such well-known musicians as Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville, Kermit Ruffins, the Iguanas, and the Rebirth Brass Band to their new homes in their adopted cities, including Houston, Austin, Lafayette, and Memphis. They also go with many of the musicians back to New Orleans to view the devastation to their worlds there. In the end, the question arises whether New Orleans will ever be the same place that produced such musicians, a question that remains to be answered. Eddie Cockrell of Variety writes that "Robert Mugge's leisurely and peripatetic NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE is all about the music. Historically invaluable . . . an intimate and eye-opening meditation on the resiliency of the artists and the magnitude of the loss." We will also screen with this film a director's outtake of KRVS's Dave Spizale relating his experience, along with his son, in assisting in the rescue efforts in New Orleans immediately after Katrina.

Filmmaker's web site: www.robertmugge.com

Official Selection, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

7:30 PM Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Teche Theater Music Hall and Recording Studio

Closing Reception

Reception and awards ceremony with live music

At the closing reception for the Festival, filmmaker Robert Mugge will be guest of honor. Film awards will be announced. There will be live music and a cash bar.