New Orleans Film Festival has announced its lineup. This year the 31st annual festival will showcase over 160 films between November 6-22 through the New Orleans Film Festival Virtual Cinema, Open-Air Cinemas on the Lafitte Greenway, and Broadside, the new outdoor venue of the Broad Theater.
Overall, the directors of selected films represent 44 different nationalities. This year, films made in the American South represent 45%, and Louisiana-made films represent 26% of the lineup. Films directed by women and gender non- conforming directors account for 57% of the lineup, and films helmed by directors of color make up 58% of the lineup. Additionally, the lineup boasts 36 world premieres.
“Our programming team celebrates work that, in its form and construction, offers a rebuke to conventional means of filmmaking and forges new storytelling pathways,” said New Orleans Film Society’s Artistic Director Clint Bowie. “Through this year’s lineup, we invite audiences to engage with work that addresses the social and political inequities of our collective past and present.”
Some films to look out for at this year’s fest include:
Closed for the Storm. This 57-minute long documentary hones in on Six Flags New Orleans, which is now considered to be America’s largest abandoned theme park. The film explores the past, present, and future, to find out how this incredible theme park became frozen in time and left in an endless void of uncertainty.
A Crime on the Bayou . The feature length documentary directed by Nancy Buirski examines a case that took place in 1966 Plaquemines Parish. Black teenager Gary Duncan was arrested for touching a white boy’s arm. Systemic racism meets its match in decisive courtroom battles including a landmark case in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Inheritance. Directed by Ephraim Asili, a “flmmaker, DJ, and traveler whose work focuses on the African diaspora as a cultural force,” the film set in West Philly explores the act of collective living within the Black community and about the struggle to thrive under the weight of Late Capitalism.
The Outside Story. This Brooklyn-based comedy/drama about a writer struggling with never-ending deadlines stars Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Asia Kate Dillion (Billions), Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek:Discovery), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Olivia Edward (Better Things), and Michael Cyril Creighton (Spotlight). Stream the trailer on Vimeo here.
The festival lineup is now live and passes & tickets are available at neworleansfilmfestival.org
