Cinema on the Bayou 2025 Has Rescheduled the U.S. Premiere of Pat Mire's Narrative Feature Film "Pointe Noire" for Wednesday, January 29, 2025
The 20th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, an annual eight-day juried international film festival, was scheduled to open on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, with the U.S. Premiere of POINTE NOIRE, a Pat Mire film.
Due to severe winter weather conditions in Lafayette and Acadiana, which have resulted in road, school and business closings, the U.S. Premiere of POINTE NOIRE has been rescheduled for 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. All tickets purchased for the Opening Night event will be honored at the Closing Night screening of POINTE NOIRE.
Weather conditions permitting, we will begin the Festival on Thursday, January 23rd at Cite des Arts, with films screening from 11:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
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.
A complete film guide and schedule of film screenings and events will be posted soon!
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
