The 14th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival will be held on January 23-30, 2019, at venues in and around Lafayette, Louisiana. Come join us in French Louisiana as we present nearly 200 films from across the United States and around the world along with expert panel discussions, filmmaker Q&A's and nightly parties with live local music.
Cinema on the Bayou is pleased to announce the 14th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival’s opening night film, BLACK INDIANS, which will make its U.S. Premiere screening on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion, Lafayette, LA, 70501. Doors open at 6:00 pm, and the film screens at 6:30 pm, followed by a short Q & A with Paris-based filmmakers Edith Patrouilleau and Christian Pfohl. Music will be provided by Yvette Landry and the Jukes, with special guest Warren Storm, along with a gala reception with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/14th-cinema-on-the-bayou-film-festival-jan-23-30-2019-tickets-52650685618. This beautifully shot and moving documentary film, from an outsider’s perspective, pays tribute to the passion, spirit and traditions of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Indians, whose Call and Response musical form is a living tradition of African culture and one of the sources of American Jazz.
The eight-day Festival will close on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, with the World Premiere screening of FINDING CAJUN, which provides an in-depth and historically informed perspective on the origin and evolution of Cajun identity and how it has evolved over the last 70 years. Director Nathan Rabalais will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film. The film will screen at 7:00 p.m. at Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion, Lafayette, LA, 70501, and will be followed by a reception with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $10.00 and can be purchased through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/14th-cinema-on-the-bayou-film-festival-jan-23-30-2019-tickets-52650685618.
This year’s Festival will include our first Artist in Residence, Québecois filmmaker John Blouin, who will present his LUX 35mm film installation at Acadiana Center for the Arts, beginning with Art Walk on January 12, 2019, throughout the Festival, and concluding with Art Walk on February 9, 2019. Cinema on the Bayou brings Mr. Blouin to Lafayette with the assistance of CREATE Lafayette. Among the judges in attendance throughout this year’s Festival is “the bad boy of Quebec cinema,” filmmaker Marc-André Forcier. In addition, the Québec Government has funded partnerships between Cinema on the Bayou and two prominent film festivals in Canada: Festival Les Percéides, a film festival based in the city of Percé, and the Québec City Film Festival. The founders and directors of both Festivals will be in attendance, along with filmmakers from Québec, and will present films and participate in bi-lingual roundtable discussions about filmmaking and the role of film festivals in support of the culture.
The eight-day Festival will take place from Wednesday, January 23th through Wednesday January 30th and will screen over 180 films from COTB’s open call for submissions from independent filmmakers from around the world along with panel discussions, workshops, music and parties. Over 200 directors, producers, cinematographers, distributors, actors, grant sources and other industry professionals are expected to attend the Festival from across the United States and Canada, as well as from Japan, China, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Thailand, India, Australia, Lebanon, Haiti, Brazil, Italy, Belgium and France.
The 2019 Festival lineup was chosen from a total pool of more than 1,000 submissions and includes 40 feature-length narrative fiction and documentary films and over 140 short films, including narrative, documentary, animated and experimental films. The majority of the films are World, U.S. or Louisiana Premieres.
Films in competition are eligible to win our coveted “goujon caille” award created by local artists Pat and Andre Juneau.
A complete schedule of films and events will be available in early January 2019. Festival Passes are available now through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/14th-cinema-on-the-bayou-film-festival-jan-23-30-2019-tickets-52650685618.
2019 CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FEATURE FILM OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
NARRATIVE FEATURES
About An Age / Australia / Directors and Screenwriters: Evan J. Martin and Harley Hefford – The final year of high school can be paradoxical. Having found some passions and close friends, you often begin to understand your own identity for the first time. And yet, still so young, you can’t deny that you’ve so much to learn about yourself and the world. On a Friday night, five friends gather at a house in rural Australia to celebrate the end of another school week and, as the night grows later, the friends reveal secrets, crushes and an unintentionally cruel streak and learn more about themselves in the process. Cast: Daniel Cockburn, Rachel Lee, Eddie Orton, Keith Purcell, Ashley Stocco, Fredricka Arthur. Louisiana Premiere.
Ailleurs (Elsewhere) / Québec, Canada / Director: Samuel Matteau, Screenwriters: Guillaume Fournier, Jacques Laberge -- This urban drama deals with youth homelessness and addresses the transition from adolescence to adulthood, the discovery of love, freedom and the experience of resilience from the street. This film is presented by the Québec City Film Festival. Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Noah Parker, Emmanuel Schwartz, Claude Robinson. Louisiana Premiere.
A Chance of Snow / U.S.A. / Director and Screenwriter: James Christopher – When it’s Christmas time in Texas, all things are possible as long as there is a chance of snow. The Walsh family is going through a lot of changes this year, and it makes for a bleak holiday when the family issues all come to a head on this snow-less Christmas. The family needs a little help from ol’ St. Nick if they’re going to stay together. Cast: Jae McCain, Alyssia Rivera, Shelby Cullinan, Alejandro Patino, Hoyt Richards. Louisiana Premiere.
Call Me Brother / U.S.A. / Director: David Howe, Screenwriter: Christina Parrish – After years of separation, Lisa, an awkward girl in her late teens, is reunited with her brother Tony and her father Frank for a summer weekend while her mother goes on a trip. Revisiting their past, Lisa and Tony find comfort in each other in an off-kilter world. Alongside an ensemble case of shitty friends and dysfunctional family members, Tony and Lisa grow more intimate and discover feelings that they did not know where there. Cast: Christina Parrish, Andrew Dismukes, Asaf Ronen, Charlie Reid. Louisiana Premiere
Din Ratrir Golpo (A Tale of A Day & A Night) / India / Director: Prosenjit Choudhury, Screenwriters: Prosenjit Choudhury and Supriti Choudhury – In this crime thriller, a Christian nun reminisces over two deaths: one that filled her heart with light and another that darkened her soul forever. Cast: Supriti Choudhury, Rajatava Dutta, Debesh Roy Chowdhury, Pradip Mukherjee. Louisiana Premiere.
Kill Ben Lyk / United Kingdom / Director: Erwan Marinopoulos, Screenwriters: Erwan Marinopoulos and Oliver Maltman – What would you do if your namesake had been killed in your city? Within 24 hours three people have been murdered in London, all by the name of Ben Lyk. Scotland yard decides to gather together all the other Ben Lyks located in London until they can figure out who’s after them and why. Cast: Eugene Simon, Andrew Hall, Ashley Thomas, Bronson Webb, Bruce Mackinnon, Dimitri Leonidas, Gretchen Egolf, Simone Ashley. Louisiana Premiere.
La Bolduc / Québec, Canada / Director: François Bouvier, Sceenwriters: Benjamin Alix, Frédéric Ouellet. This is the life story of Mary Travers, also known by her stage name of La Bolduc. Mary Rose-Anna Bolduc, née Travers Gaspé Peninsula, Québec), was a musician and singer of French Canadian music. She was known as Madame Bolduc or La Bolduc. During the peak of her popularity in the 1930s, she was known as the Queen of Canadian Folk Singers. Bolduc is often considered to be Québec's first singer/songwriter. Her style combined the traditional folk music of Ireland and Québec, usually in upbeat, comedic songs. This film is presented by Le Festival Les Percéides. Cast: Debbie Lynch-White, Émile Prolx-Cloutier, Bianca Gervais. Louisiana Premiere.
Nothing Special / Montréal, Canada / Director and Screenwriter: Paul Ballerini – This Point-Saint-Charles-set crime story in one of Montreal’s most iconic working-class neighborhoods, is a story of three siblings from the perspective of the youngest, Ben, who has drifted apart from Jackie and Mark over time. In an attempt to mend troubled fraternal bonds, Ben makes a decision to help his siblings out of a difficult situation, which comes at great personal costs for all involved, and sends the trio spiraling down a path of petty criminality. Cast: Nick Houde, Christian Daoust, Julien Houde. World Premiere.
Palace / U.S.A. / Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Paul Davis – The family-fractured lives of a stubborn auto-mechanic, a retired widower, and a repressed college student intertwine at a bar in rural Indiana. Cast: Todd Bruno, Joe Martyn Ricke, Emily Sweet, Benjamin Bethel. Louisiana Premiere.
Pour mieux t’aimer (To Better Love You) / Moncton, NB, Canada / Directors: Denise Bouchard and Gilles Doiron, Screenwriter: Denise Bouchard – This is the story of a family whose mother disappeared 30 years ago, without leaving a trace. Her husband and two sons have reconstructed a semblance of life as they could, haunted by this ghost and tortured by questioning. When an unknown young Romanian arrives to bring them what seems to be the missing pieces of their story, everyone has to face their demons. Cast: Mélanie Léger, Pascal Lejeune, Donat Lacrois, Pierre-Guy Blanchard. World Premiere.
Rag Doll / U.S.A. / Director: Bailey Kobe, Screenwriter: Darren Longley – Nora is that girl: the one who works overtime, helps out her family by all means, and leaves little for herself. But with her one free hour a day, she takes out life’s hardships at the local mixed martial arts gym, where she is no longer who she is, if just for that hour. Cast: Shannon Murray, Roxana Sanchez, Dot-Marie Jones, Dante Basco, Stephanie Erb. World Premiere.
Rise: Dharma Within You / Japan / Director: Katsunori Sato -- When his wife becomes pregnant, Akihiro gives up on his dream to become an actor and returns to his home in Shirakawa, Fukushima. However, as time goes by, he begins to lose sight of himself. One day, Akihiro learns about a local character contest and decides to enter it, modelling his costume on Shirakawa's traditional Daruma doll, he creates 'Dharuriser'. This soon leads Akihiro to encounter 'Dice', a mysterious group that seeks to shape the city of Shirakawa into their own utopia. Though both Dice and Akihiro wish to revitalize Shirakawa, their different ideas come into conflict and lead them into battle. Dharuriser, a man with no lethal abilities or superpowers who will always rise up even if he is defeated or collapses. A man who questions what a true hero is. Louisiana Premiere.
The Astronot / U.S.A. / Director: Tim Cash, Screenwriter: Pennan Brae – Daniel longed to touch the moon; with Sandy’s help, he’d reach the stars. It was 1969 and America was embarking on the biggest adventure known to humankind with its voyage to the moon. Daniel too was pursing the unknown, leaving the path of isolation he had known for so long to embrace the love of another. The only question was would he be able to maintain that trajectory or would he veer off course never to be seen again. Cast: Pennan Brae, Kiran Cash, Yuvia Storm, Brittany Dixon, Sandy Silver, Tim Cash. Louisiana Premiere.
The Gift of Love / South Korea / Director: Gim Gyu-min – Based upon a real life event in North Korea, Lee Sojung is a woman who has done her best to deal with her husband’s illness and to feed her family, and ultimately resorts to selling her body. In her efforts to explain her situation to her husband and daughter, she has to lie and comes up with the best lie of all involving their Dear Leader Kim Jong Un. Cast: Kim So Min. U.S. Premiere.
The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan / U.S.A. / Director: Burt Grinstead, Screenwriters: Burt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg – An unedited memory card from a lost camera shows Leah Sullivan’s project as a young journalism student who returns to her hometown to investigate a brutal murder that took place 30 years ago. As the facts unravel, Leah begins to realize that this cold case murder may not be so cold after all. With the help of a deputy police officer, she begins to uncover the horrifying truth of what really happened that night 30 years ago. As she gets closer to discovering the truth, she edges even closer to her own demise, blinded by her ambition to get the story. Cast: Anna Stromberg, Denise Walker, Jimmy Driscoll, Matthew Pilieci, Maureen Keiller. Louisiana Premiere.
Two Pictures / U.S.A. / Director and Screenwriter: Eric Stone – Ruth, a burn unit nurse who is a consummate professional on the outside and a spiritual seeker on the inside, and Conrad, an alcoholic shipyard worker who dreams of being a cutting edge artist, are two seemingly unrelated characters. They live close to each other in the city of Seattle, and both long for some change in their lives. Following their separate adventures over the course of a long weekend, the film explores a society made up of contradictory individuals co-existing within the same spaces. Cast: Trin Miller, Wes Ramsey, Matt Dy, Darren Keefe. Louisiana Premiere.
Ultra Low / U.S.A. / Director and Screenwriter: Nicholas Gyeney – Described as a cross between Clerks and Entourage, this film, this film follows a real-life filmmaking team in an unfiltered look behind the scenes as they struggle to break down the doors of Hollywood. Cast: Lauren Holly, Yuji Okumoto, Tami Stronach, Nicholas Gyeney. Louisiana Premiere.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
A Man and His Trumpet / U.S.A. / Director: Cameron Washington, Producers: Cameron Washington and Ramfis Mrythil – In a city full of musicians, Leroy Jones, trumpet virtuoso and consummate New Orleanian, is a musician’s musician. The film follows Jones’ life journey as he came up playing on the streets of the St. Bernard Projects and the 7th Ward, and then quickly established himself as one of NOLA’s most sought after trumpeters, founding the legendary Fairview Baptist Brass Band and Hurricane Brass Band and playing for 20 years with Harry Connick, Jr.
And Those Who Dance It Surrender Their Hearts To Each Other / U.S.A. / Director and Producer: Cody Edison – This film presents a musical journey in New Mexico with young musicians, Lone Piñon, who are preserving and sharing traditional string band music of the southwest. Through relationships with elders, study of field recordings, and connections to parallel traditional music and dance revitalization movements in the U.S. and Mexico, they have brought the language of New Mexico traditional music and related regional traditions back onto the modern stage, back onto dance floors, and back into the ears of a young generation. World Premiere.
Anote’s Ark / Montréal, Canada / Director, Writer, Producer: Matthieu Rytz – Kiribati faces the unstoppable rise of the sea, which will engulf the nation before long. The people of Kiribati will soon be “climate change refugees.” Can these people survive if their country disappears? Louisiana Premiere.
A Work In Progress: The World’s Oldest Emerging Filmmaker / U.S.A. / Director: Philip Harder, Executive Producer: Erik Helgeson – At age 97, Al Milgrom, a life-long film fanatic, professor and entrepreneur, has worked for over 60 years filming around the world. He shares exclusive shots, including color film from 1959 Russia behind the Iron Curtain. Al, who founded the Minneapolis – St. Paul Film Festival, takes us on a journey, sharing his secrets of long-living and film. Louisiana Premiere.
Black Indians / France / Directors and Writers: Jo Beranger, Hugues Poulain and Edith Patrouilleau, Producer: Christian Pfohl – For more than 150 years, a culture from both natives and black slaves takes place in New Orleans on Mardi Gras: the Black Indians Carnival. In this beautifully shot and moving documentary film, made from an outsider’s perspective, the filmmakers pay tribute to the passion, spirit and traditions of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Indians, whose Call and Response musical form is a living tradition of African culture and one of the sources of American Jazz. U.S. Premiere.
Bras de fer / Québec City, Canada / Directors and Writers: Jean-Laurence Seaborn and Jonathan Seaborn, Producer: Jonathan Seaborn – On October 26, 2012, a red dust covered the neighborhood of Limoilou in Québec City near the Port of Québec and contained iron oxide, nickel, zinc, arsenic and other heavy metals. Véronique Lalande lives there with her one-year-old son and her husband and is determined to fight for a healthy environment for her family. U.S. Premiere.
Cajun and Creole: Black and White / U.S.A. / Director: Chantelle Trahan, Producers: Chantelle and Horace Trahan – This story revolves around two principle characters in the Cajun/Zydeco band “Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express.” Horace talks about his upbringing and his path to becoming an accomplished accordion player. His father-in-law, Rodney Bernard (scrub board player) also talks about his musical background growing up in rural 1950’s Louisiana and the many legendary musicians he has played with over the years. Both men are connected by their strong cultural roots, Louisiana French, and their love of music. World Premiere.
Finding Cajun / U.S.A. / Director: Nathan Rabalais – This documentary presents a critical and historically informed perspective on the origin and evolution of Cajun identity and the complex issues being debated today. It shows how Cajuns compare to the present-day Acadians, a community that is supposedly at the historical root of Cajun ethnicity. The film examines how cultural and racial labels in Louisiana have shifted, especially over the last 70 years, and considers the stakes of maintaining (or losing) heritage languages in the U.S. Through interviews with leading experts filmed in Louisiana, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, viewers will discover the diversity and complexity of South Louisiana’s French and Creole-speaking communities and see how Americanization, racism, and language have reshaped the cultural landscape of Louisiana. World Premiere.
Innu Nikamu: Resist and Sing / Montréal, Canada / Director: Kevin Bacon Hervieux – This film tells the story of the Innu Nikamu Native Music Festival through the eyes of its founders and musicians. It is a story of healing and a duty of remembrance. U.S. Premiere.
La maison des Syriens (A House for the Syrians) / Québec, Canada / Directors, Writers and Producers: Nadine Beaudet and Christian Mathieu Fournier – In the region of Portneuf, an encounter is slowly unveiled between the her and there, and comes to life through the long wait and small gestures of love of the Saint-Ubalde Sponsoring Committee, which works tirelessly towards the ultimate dream of welcoming a family of Syrian refugees. U.S. Premiere.
La veille (The Visit) / U.S.A. / Director and Writer: Marshall Woodworth, Producer: Brian Tarney – Louisiana native Marshall Woodworth has witnessed the near-death of his childhood language of Louisiana French. He searches the state in search of others who either speak regional French or are actively learning this beautiful heritage language. World Premiere.
Les terres lointaines (Far Away Lands) / Montréal, Canada / Director and Producer: Félix Lamarche -- On a cargo ship a crew of eight drift on the seas, from port to port, longing for home and searching for freedom. U.S. Premiere.
Living on a Dollar a Day / U.S.A. / Director and Writer: Thomas Nazario – This film, based on the book Living on a Dollar a Day, follows the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Renée C. Byer as she explores the personal experiences of women, children and families who live in extreme poverty in ten countries around the world. Louisiana Premiere.
Minority / Montréal, Canada / Director: Simon Gaudreau – This film offers a point of view from the interior on the activists of the Mouvement des Insoumis, a small militant group, and their political actions from 2011 to 2016. It reflects the social phenomenon, in Québec and elsewhere, of the rise of nationalist movements and their dark side. U.S. Premiere.
Modified / Nova Scotia, Canada / Director and Writer: Aube Giroux, Producers: Aube Giroux and Camelia Frieberg – Addressing the issue of why GMO’s are not labeled on food products in Canada and the U.S., this film interweaves the personal and the political and his anchored in the filmmaker’s relationship with her mother, a passionate gardener and food activist. Louisiana Premiere.
New York Scherzo / U.S.A. / Director, Writer and Producer: Shaan Couture – This feature documentary follows the lives of three diverse classically trained musicians as they try to make it in New York City. Originally from Seoul, Paris and Nashville, they are passionate about their art, but struggle to make a living and face a crossroads where they must decide if they can sustain a career doing what they love. This is the story of the hustle and what happens before the fame and fortune. Louisiana Premiere.
Nos hommes dans l’ouest (Shadow Men) / New Brunswick, Canada / Director and Writer: Renée Blanchar – This film follows three Acadian families whose spouses spend more time earning a living in distant job sites like Fort McMurray than with their families. The film explores exile, life choices, ecology, our consumer society and, above all, absence, which might be the biggest price to pay when one is forced to work far away from home. Louisiana Premiere.
Snowbirds / Québec City, Canada / Director and Writer: Joannie Lafrenière – With tenderness and human, this sociological documentary follows Canadians in their golden age as they live in Florida and go about their daily lives in the “French District” during the winter season. Louisiana Premiere.
Song of a Seer / France / Director and Producer: Aïda Maigre-Touchet – According to Haitian poet, art critic and actor Dominique Batraville, his bedroom-office-library, while a only a matchbox, contains entire worlds. There he sings, recites poems and alludes to the struggles and triumphs of his life as a writer and actor. Louisiana Premiere.
Thank You for Supporting the Arts / U.S.A. / Directors: Carolann Stoney and W. Alexander Jones, Producers: Jessica Daugherty, Danielle Higgins, and Cintamani Calise – Viva Las Vegas is a preacher, just like her Lutheran minister father. Unlike her father, Viva preaches “Thank you for supporting the arts” to people who throw bills on stage while she dances naked in a Portland strip club. Viva celebrates the female form, advocates for the empowerment of all women, and commands respect for women whose careers depend on their bodies. Louisiana Premiere.
Les artisans de l’atelier (The Artisans) / New Brunswick, Canada / Director: Daniel Léger, Producer: National Film Board of Canada – This film chronicles the daily lives of a colorful and courageous group of individuals who work in the small New Brunswick community of Memramcook at The Artisan Workshop, which provides employment for people with intellectual disabilities. “We’re beautiful, the whole gang,” says Jean, the self-described “handyman and best-looking” member of the group, who also narrates the film. “We are special.” U.S. Premiere.
The Foreigner’s Home / U.S.A. / Directors and Producers: Rian Brown and Geoff Pingree, Producer: Ford Morrison, Executive Producer: Jonathan Demme – “Who is the foreigner,” asks author Toni Morrison at her “The Foreigner’s Home” exhibition at the Louvre. Morrison invited artists whose work addressed the experience of migration and displacement to join her in conversation about issues she had long examined in her own writing and teaching. Through extensive archival footage, music and animation, this film expands that conversation. Louisiana Premiere.
The Tempest Stela, Revisiting the Roots of the Exodus / Belgium / Director and Producer: Olivier Vandersleyen – Is the Book of Exodus based on real events? This is the starting point of a fascinating investigation by Egyptologist Claude Vandersleyen which sheds light on the history of Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs, as well as upon parts of the Old Testament. Louisiana Premiere.
This Is North Preston / Nova Scotia, Canada / Director, Writer and Producer: Jaren Hayman – The largest black community in Canada started out as a safe haven for escape slaves, but has more recently been painted as one of the biggest hubs of pimping and human trafficking in the country. The film explores how the town of 4,000 has dealt with generations of pimp culture, economic struggle, violence, and systemic racism through native and R&B artist Just Chase. U.S. Premiere.
Photo: Cinema on the Bayou 2018 award winners Fanny LeFort and Olivier Normandin along with Artistic Director Pat Mire and Festival Director Rebecca Hudsmith.
Photo: Cinema on the Bayou 2018 award winners Moïse Marcoux-Chabot and Melinda Raebyne with Artistic Director Pat Mire.
