The 2010 New Orleans Film Festival draws to a close tonight after a full week of movies, from New Orleans to China, documentaries to sci-fi thrillers, and three-minute experimental shorts to two-hour Hollywood features. The closing night features two important Louisiana documentaries: Haynesville, about the massive oil field discovery in the Northern Louisiana town, and Harry Shearer’s The Big Uneasy, which meticulously exposes the flooding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a man-made, not natural, disaster. It’s a must-see for anyone with the slightest interest in our city and the Katrina disaster. Tonight also features several narrative features of note, particularly A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Shop, a Chinese adaptation of the Coen Brothers’ modern-noir classic Blood Simple, directed by the acclaimed Yimou Zhang (perhaps best known recently for his films Hero and House of Flying Daggers). Here’s the full list of our last set of picks:

 

The Big Uneasy, 5:15 p.m., Prytania Theatre

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZdnQHgkIVM[/youtube]

 

Haynesville: A Nation’s Hunt for an Energy Future, 5:30 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3RDJJ7uFn4[/youtube]

 

Bird’s Nest: Herzog & DeMeuron in China, 6 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIYNJz6y3CU[/youtube]

 

Blue Valentine, 7:30 p.m., Prytania Theatre

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHjvh9EiiGw[/youtube]

 

A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Shop (San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi), 7:45 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGBQDpfLnc[/youtube]

 

Howl, 10 p.m., Prytania Theatre

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0nW1MA0UAg[/youtube]