Following a Brief and Historical Snow Delay, Cinema on the Bayou 2025 Continued With Determined Filmmaker Friends Who Made Their Way to Lafayette, Despite the Weather, from L.A., New York City, Austin, New Orleans, Shreveport and across the United States, as well as Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Moncton, Canada, and Berlin, Germany, and Paris, France
The historical 2025 snow storm resulted in a one-day delay in the start of the 20th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, an annual eight-day juried international film festival. Despite the weather, filmmakers made their way to Lafayette to attend the Festival from across the U.S., including L.A., New York City, Austin, New Orleans and Shreveport, and Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Moncton, as well as from Paris, France and Berline, Gernmany. A few of our visitors had to spend the night in the Atlanta airport and a few others had to rent cars to get to Lafayette timely.
Cinema on the Bayou 2025 Award Winners
The Festival Awards Ceremony was held on Sunday, Jan. 26th at 8:30 pm at Cite des Arts. Winners are:
Best Narrative Feature: Hotel Silence / Canada / Dir. Lea Pool
Narrative Feature Special Jury Award: Home Free / Canada / Avi Ronn Federgreen (in attendance)
Best Documentary Feature: Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story / Canada / Dirs. Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee.
Documentary Feature Special Jury Award: Mar Moussa / France / Dir. Justine Aurelia Malle (in attendance)
Best Narrative Short: A toi les oreilles / Canada / Dir. Alexandre Isabelle
Narrative Short Special Jury Award: I'm Not A Robot / Netherlands / Dir. Victoria Warmerdam
Narrative Short Special Jury Award: This Is Jan / U.S.A. - Louisiana / Dir. Robert Larriviere (in attendance)
Narrative Short Special Jury Award: Brotherly / Canada / Dir. Gavin Seal (in attendance)
Narraive Short Special Jury Award: Cannes Affair / Germany / Dir. Robin Czerny (in attendance)
Best Documentary Short: Jan Beauboeuf: The Creative Spirit / U.S.A. - Louisiana / Dir. Graham Holt.
Documentary Short Special Jury Award: Mataperra / Canada / Dir. Rachel Trudeau
Best Animated Short: Maybe Elephants / Canada / Dir. Torill Kove
Animated Short Special Jury Award: Le Charade / U.S.A. / Dir. Erika Totoro
Best Experimental Short: Somber Tides / Canada / Dir. Chantal Caron
Experimental Short Special Jury Award: Torii / Germany / Dir. Martin Gerigk
Inspiration Award: Gorgeous Journey / U.S.A. - Louisiana / Dir. Jamie Ward
Best Louisiana Film: Across the Quiet / U.S.A. - Louisiana / Dirs. Syd Horn, Olivia Luz Perillo
Le Train Bleu Award: Paris Lost & Found / France / Dir. Kartik Singh (in attendance)
Director's Choice Award: Ababooned / Canada / Dir. Marc-Andre Forcier (in attendance)
Audience Award: To Be Announced
Cinema on the Bayou 2025 Reschedules Opening Night Film to Closing Night
The U.S. Premiere of POINTE NOIRE has been moved to Wednesday, January 29th at St. Landry Cinemas in Opelousas. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., and the film will screen at 7:00 p.m. The film screening will be followed by an Opening Night Reception at Cite des Arts in Downtown Lafayette.
POINTE NOIRE, which was shot throughout the Acadiana area, stars Roy Dupuis and Myriam Cyr and features Micheal Bienvenu and Zachary Richard. It tells the story of filmmaker and crawfisherman Louis Leger (Roy Dupuis) and criminal defense attorney Dolores Arceneaux (Myriam Cyr), who join forces in the Cajun prairie community of Pointe Noire in an effort to save the life of Joel Richard (Michael Bienvenu), a falsely accused man on Louisiana's Death Row. What follows is a search to find out what really happened 30 years ago when two people were killed on the night of the traditional courir de Mardi Gras. Along the way, Louis and Dolores uncover a hauntingly beautiful, isolated community suffering from secrecy and deceit, yet ultimately striving to achieve its own form of folk justice.
As director Pat Mire explains: While I have dedicated most of my long filmmaking career to revealing Cajun culture to the world by way of documentary films, I have longed to return to the experience of working with actors, once again, in a narrative setting. During the COVID lockdown, my partner, Rebecca Hudsmith, and I committed to writing a screenplay that combined our two lives and loves -- my Cajun culture and her work as a criminal defense lawyer representing people on Death Row. The result is "Pointe Noire," a story very much based in the realities of both of our worlds.
20th CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL – OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Ababooned / Canada / Dir. André Forcier
Bonjour Switzerland / Switzerland / Dir. Peter Luisi
Home Free / Canada / Dir. Avi Ronn Federgreen
Hotel Silence / Canada / Dir. Léa Pool
Mysterious Behaviors / U.S.A.-Louisiana / Dir. Elijah Gwen Alfred and 17 additional directors
Paris Lost & Found / France / Dir. Kartik Singh
Pointe Noire / U.S.A.-Louisiana / Dir. Pat Mire
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
After the Odyssey / Canada / Dir. Helen Doyle
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story / Canada / Dirs. Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee
The Battle of Saint-Leonard / Canada / Dir. Félix Rose
City of Hate: Dallas and the Assassination, 60 Years Later / U.S.A. / Dir. Quin Mathews
Dirty Dogs / U.S.A.-Louisiana / Dir. Tye Turner
Le Peuple Lezard / Canada / Dir. Julien Robichaud
Mar Moussa / France / Dir. Justine Aurelia Malle
A Mother Apart / Canada / Dir. Laurie Townshend
Wasted - Overtourism and the French Quarter / U.S.A.-Louisiana / Dir. Laura Cayouette
