Cinema on the Bayou Film Society will open its 13th year by offering the premiere screening of “Rifles & Rosary Beads” at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion, Lafayette.
Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the film screens at 7 pm, followed by a discussion with Nashville-based filmmakers Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard and singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier, who will perform songs from her upcoming album of the same name. The evening will end with a reception with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at cinemaonthebayou.com or at the door on the night of the event.
Gauthier, who is originally from Louisiana and is now based in Nashville, has been included in a class of such greats as Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Bob Dylan for “her razor-sharp eye for detail and her commitment to unsentimental self-reflection” in her songs. This commitment is reflected in her latest work with wounded veterans as part of the Songwriting With Soldiers program that led to her 10th album, “Rifles & Rosary Beads,” scheduled to be released on Jan. 26.
The film tells the story of Gauthier’s experience in songwriting with these veterans and their spouses – a life-changing experience for them and for Gauthier, who sees working with veterans in this way as a calling. Gauthier will be available to answer questions and play songs. Gauthier’s family will be at the premiere as well and, as she puts it, “it’s going to be a wonderful night in a beautiful place, with great Cajun food!”
In addition, the Québec government has funded an “Action Louisiana-Gaspésie” partnership between Cinema on the Bayou and Festival Les Percéides, a film festival based in the city of Percé near the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula along the Saint Lawrence River in Québec, Canada. The Festival Les Percéides will send a delegation of 11 people, including the festival director, filmmakers and other artists and contributors to the festival, and will present films from Gaspesian filmmakers and participate in roundtable discussions about francophone cinema worldwide. In August, Cinema on the Bayou will attend Festival Les Percéides along with Louisiana filmmakers, and present films from Louisiana.
The Québec government has also funded an “Échange cinématographique Québec-Louisiane” between Cinema on the Bayou and Spira, a Québec City film distribution cooperative. Through this exchange, Cinema on the Bayou Artistic Director Pat Mire travelled to Québec City in September 2017 to produce a film on the important cultural ties between Québec and Louisiana. Spira is sending a team of filmmakers to produce a cultural counterpart about Cinema on the Bayou and Lafayette during Cinema on the Bayou. Both of these films will screen this year in Louisiana and across Canada.
The eight-day festival will continue on Jan. 25 through 31 and will screen nearly 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, the United Kingdom and France.
The festival lineup was chosen from a total pool of more than 1,200 submissions and includes 86 narrative films, of which 10 are features and 76 are shorts; 51 documentary films, of which 20 are features and 31 are shorts; 14 animated films and 22 experimental films. The majority of the films are world, U.S. or Louisiana premieres. Included within the official selections are films from across the United States, Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Denmark, Cuba, Peru, Turkey and Qater.
Films in competition are eligible to win the “goujon caille” award created by local artists Pat and Andre Juneau.
Tickets for all festival screenings and events, including festival passes and individual tickets, are available for purchase through Eventbrite at cinemaonthebayou.com. A complete schedule of films and events will be posted on the website.
The 13th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival is presented by Cinema on the Bayou Film Society, a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit Louisiana corporation.. the premiere sponsors include Lafayette Convention and Visitors Bureau and LUSFiber. Contributing sponsors include Acadiana Center for the Arts, Vermilionville, Cite des Arts, the Hilliard University Art Museum, Teamwork Solutions, the French Quarter Festival, Acadiana Cinemas and the Travelodge.
Cinema on the Bayou Film Society will open its 13th year by offering the premiere screening of “Rifles & Rosary Beads” at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion, Lafayette. Singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will perform songs from her upcoming album of the same name. (Submitted photo)