LOUISIANA DAY AT THE 17TH CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL
SOMEWHERE SOMETHING'S BURNING (24 min) is a narrative short film by Pineville, Louisiana native Graham Holt, and tells the story of a family struggling with the loss of their patriarch. The film screens at 5:00 p.m. and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
MR. ASHLEY LIVED HERE (27 min) is a documentary short film by New Orleans native Hannah Timmons. The film, which screens at 5:45 p.m., relies on interviews and hand-drawn animation to reflect on the lives of six former sharecroppers who grew up on the filmmaker's family farm and former plantation in the heart of central Louisiana. The film will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
ZYDECO HERITAGE (58 min) is a documentary feature by Emma Hernandez Sangaré, originally from Lafayette, and Toumani Sangaré, filmmakers based in Senegal. Over the course of 10 years, they visited Louisiana and worked on this film, an ode to the Zydeco history and culture of Southwest Louisiana. Emma and Toumani introduce the film from Senegal. It will screen at 6:45 p.m.
The film screenings will end with a special surprise tribute to Cajun musician Ray Abshire with the screening of raw film footage (6 min) of him by filmmaker Pat Mire. A reception with a Catfish Courtbouillon "tasting" and music by Les Babalous will follow the film screenings at 8:30 p.m.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM AND MUSIC PEFORMANCE
The eight-day Festival will close on Wednesday, February, 2, 2022, with the World Premiere of the documentary feature film BIG OLD GOOFY WORLD - THE STORY OF OH BOY RECORDS (51 min), a film from two COTB alums, Nashville-based musicians and filmmakers Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard. The film tells the story of Oh Boy Records, co-founded over 40 years ago by the great John Prine, through interviews of him and his family, along with interviews of other music world professionals and vintage film footage. The screening will be followed by a sampling of John Prine music from some of Nashville's and Lafayette's finest musicians and a reception for the filmmakers at Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Doors open at 6:00 pm, and the film screens at 7:00 pm. There will be a cash bar. Tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased at the door and online at: https://cinemaonthebayou2022.eventive.org/schedule
16TH CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Last year's Festival, as with so many arts events during the Pandemic, was virtual, with all films screening online along with discussions with filmmakers, judges and Festival alums, as well as the Festival's award ceremony. Our distinguished judges awarded our coveted "goujon caille" (spotted catfish) awards as follows:
EXPERIMENTAL
Nominees:
Lumen / Canada / Dir. Sarah Seené – Best Experimental Short
Digits of Pi / U.S.A. / Dir. Tom Bessoir, Joshua Pines – Special Jury Award
Matin Ecchymose / Canada / Dir. Emilie Peltier
Boomerang / Canada / Dir. Nayla Dabaji
Organ Failure / United Kingdom / Dir. Alex Sultoon
Drink Some Darkness / U.S.A. / Dir. Trevor Mowchun
8x8 / Canada / Dir. Maiza Dubhé
Wave Form / Canada / Dir. Daniel Tysdal
Lairs / U.S.A. / Dir. Emma Penaz Eisner
Salvage / U.S.A. / Dir. Christopher Boulton
ANIMATED SHORTS
Nominees:
The Bear Hunter / Japan / Dir. Sayaka Hara – Best Animated Short
Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster / U.S.A. / Dir. Catherine Chen – Special Jury Award
Home? / U.S.A. / Dir. Helena Giersz
Überfrog / Finland / Dir. Tuomas Kurtakko
Mex and the Animals / Canada / Dir. Elisa Gleize
Lèvres bleues / Canada / Dir. Philippe Hamelin
52 – A Tale of Loneliness / U.S.A. / Dir. Johnny DePalma
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Nominees:
Stefanos Rokos: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ No More Shall We Part, 14 Paintings 17 Year Later / Greece / Dir. Rinio Dragasaki, Araceli Lemos – Best Documentary Short
Our Roots Weave the Land / Canada / Dir. Guillaume Baillargeon – Special Jury Award
Koppmoll / U.S.A. / Dir. Charles M. Pepiton – Special Jury Award
Une façon d’etre ensemble (A Way of Being Together) / Canada / Dir. Francine Hébert
Hyphen / Canada / Dir. Laura Kamugisha
Pitoc e icinakosian / Canada / Dir. Jos-Onimskiw Ottawa-Dubé and Gerry Ottawa
Guardians of the Gulf / Canada / Dir. Cait Martin Newnham, Ulla Laidlow
Blue Arvida / Canada / Dir. David D.D.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Nominees:
Les Derniers Vilains (The Last Villains), Mad Dog & the Butcher / Canada / Dir. Thomas Rinfret – Best Documentary Feature
The Falconer / U.S.A. / Dir. Annie Kaempfer – Special Jury Award
Sapelo / Switzerland / Dir. Nick Brandestini – Special Jury Award
Jazz Club Owner / Canada / Dir. Guylaine Dionne
Ale / Switzerland / Dir. O’Neil Bügi
Passage / Canada / Dir. Sarah Baril Gaudet
NARRATIVE SHORTS
Nominees:
L’Âge D’or (The Golden Age) / Canada / Dir. Emmanuelle Lacombe – Best Narrative Short
Roseline comme dans les films (Roseline Like in the Movies) / Canada / Dir. Sara Bourdeau – Special Jury Award
Je suis amoureaux de mes souvenirs (I’m in Love with My Memories) / Canada / Dir. Étienne Galloy – Special Jury Award
Rembobine (Rewind) / Canada / Dir. Hugo Chetelat
Idol / Japan / Dir. Ryushi Lindsay
Old Hen / U.S.A. / Dir. Todd I. Gordon
Brothers / U.S.A. / Julia Coulter
Biche & Louve (Doe & She-Wolf)/ Canada / Dir. Sandrine Béchade
What’s This Country Called Now? / U.S.A. / Dir. Joseph Pierson
Padmavyuha / U.S.A. / Dir. Raj Krishna
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Nominees:
Small Town Wisconsin / U.S.A. / Dir. Niels Mueller – Best Narrative Feature
Love / Albania / Dir. Dionis Papadhimitri – Special Jury Award
Monkey Beach / Canada / Loretta Todd—Special Jury Award
Bone Cage / Canada / Dir. Taylor Olson
Electric Jesus / U.S.A. / Dir. Chris White
Best Louisiana Film:
Broken Down / U.S.A. / Jessy Cale Williamson
Inspiration Award:
Red Balloon / Canada / Dir. Avi Federgreen
Cinematography Award:
Je finirai en prison (I’ll End Up in Jail) / Canada / Dir. Alexandre Dostie
Le Train Bleu Award:
Old Hen / U.S.A. / Dir. Todd I. Gordon
Audience Award:
Theatrics of Space: Colleagues and Students Remember George Loli / U.S.A. / Dir. Miguel Lasala
Director’s Choice Award:
Vidéographe 50th Anniversary Program: The Vidéographes – Behind the Frames
THE COTB 2021 JUDGES
The Narrative Feature Films Jury is made up of Olivier “Bill” Bilodeau, founder of and long-timer programmer for the Festival de cinema de la ville de Québec (the Québec City Film Festival), world film-festival traveler and a long-time partner with Cinema on the Bayou; and Andy Cope, a film producer based in Austin, Texas, whose films, including the COTB-award-winning “Flutter,” have screened at Cinema on the Bayou.
The Documentary Feature Films Jury includes the award-winning, internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaking team of Mélanie Carrier and Olivier Higgins of MÕ Films, and Cinema on the Bayou alums, based in Québec City, where Ms. Carrier also serves on the Board of Directors of the Québec City Film Festival; Helgi Piccinin, a Québec independent documentary filmmaker and Cinema on the Bayou alum, who is based primarily in Montréal.
The Narrative Short Films Jury includes Louise Lamarre, an independent filmmaker-researcher who is a professor of film production at Concordia University in Montréal and has been involved in more than 40 film productions; Shaan Couture, a French-American film director and producer based in New York and Paris, who has directed award-winning documentary and narrative films; John Blouin, based in Québec, is an award-winning director and writer of narrative and documentary films and the creator of LUX, a cinemographic installation and his most recent touring work. All three are COTB alums.
The Documentary Short Films Jury includes Edward Tyndall, who is an independent filmmaker, writer and producer of both documentary and narrative films and who serves as assistant professor of film and television at the University of Colorado in Denver; Bonnie Friedman, who is a documentary filmmaker who has worked in the film industry nearly 30 years and is based in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
The Cinematography Jury includes Greg Milneck of Baton Rouge, founder of Digital FX, and filmmaker and cinematography Jimmy Ferguson of JWJ Films in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Animiated Short Judge is Wendell Riley, who is based in Shreveport, Louisiana, is an Emmy-nomiated producer, production manager and former member of the Academy Award winning Mootbot Studios.
The Experimental Short Judge is Bruce Allen, an artist and filmmaker who is also based in Shreveport, and who is a retired professor in the Department of Art and Visual Culture at Centenary College of Louisiana.