FOREV
The 24th annual New Orleans Film Festival, taking place at venues across New Orleans October 10th- October 17th, 2013, announced the Narrative and Documentary Competition feature film selections that will compete for the grand jury prize. The twelve competing films include five world premieres and three U.S. premieres. The rest are Southern premieres. Several of the films have connections to Louisiana: Molly Green (one of the two directors of FOREV) is a New Orleans native; THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY is about marching bands in New Orleans; a significant portion of SEARCHING FOR BILL was filmed in Southern Louisiana; and Zack Godshall, a previous winner of the Louisiana Filmmaker of the Year award, is a Louisiana resident and his film profiles the coastal Louisiana town of Leeville.
The winner in each of the two categories will be determined by a three-person jury. Narrative features jurors include Cullen Conley, agent at ICM Partners (and former manager of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute); Michael Gottwald, producer of the films Tchoupitoulas and the Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild; and Roya Rastegar, scholar and film programmer. Documentary features jurors include Donal Mosher, director of the award-winning films October Country and Off-Label; Sadie Tillery, director of programming at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival; and Debra Zimmerman, executive director of Women Make Movies.
The winning filmmaker in each category will receive a camera package from Panavision valued at $10,000.
NARRATIVE FEATURES IN COMPETITION
ABOARD THE CAROUSEL (dir. Kevin McMullin)
Promiscuous Daphne moves back home to babysit her teenage brother Vincent while mom is away. She crushes on Vincent’s shy art tutor, Alex, and decides to take him on as a project, giving him intimacy lessons. *World Premiere*
FOREV (dir. Molly Green and James Leffler)
Sophie and Pete are kind of friends, but mostly they’re just neighbors. On a whim, they become engaged—and then stranded in the middle of the desert. Forev is romantic comedy about how far you can go without saying what you mean. Southern Premiere.
THE REPUBLIC OF TWO (dir. Shaun Kosta)
A close examination of the high-stakes game of heterosexual cohabitation in Los Angeles. Tim wants to be a doctor and Caroline doesn’t quite know what she wants. They both know their love is real, but can that love endure a town full of possibilities and temptation? Southern Premiere.
SHADOW ZOMBIE (dir. Jorge Torres-Torres)
A lonely drug dealer finds peace in the Louisiana country when he transforms into “Shadow Zombie” by merely painting his face and snorting painkillers. With its hybrid doc/narrative approach, this is an existential horror film rooted in the tragedy of its characters. *World Premiere*
SKOOK (dir. Connor Hurley)
New York City fashion student Amy returns home to rural Pennsylvania and unexpectedly falls for the guy who made her life hell in high school. Caught off guard by the excitement of a new love, she starts to have flashbacks of the high school event that made her leave in the first place. *World Premiere*
YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO YOUNG (dir. Zach Weintraub)
When her boyfriend lands a job at a recently renovated arthouse theater, Justine relocates with him to a small, nameless town. Dropped suddenly into an unfamiliar place and stripped of all routine and distraction, she is left to sit quietly by and observe the early signs of her own deteriorating relationship. North American Premiere.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES IN COMPETITION
FOR I KNOW MY WEAKNESS (dir. John Dentino)
At the margins of America, a filmmaker helps an alcoholic vagabond return to her children, only to find that her secret is the mother of human nightmares. U.S. Premiere.
PURGATORIO (dir. Rodrigo Reyes)
Leaving politics aside, this provocative essay film takes a fresh look at the brutal beauty of the U.S./Mexico border and the people caught in its spell. Southern Premiere.
SEARCHING FOR BILL (dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
A Louisiana man has his car and money stolen by a con man called Bill. When the car is found in Detroit, he decides to take a roadtrip to track down the man who stole his car, a journey that eventually takes him from New Orleans to Detroit, Los Angeles, and the Mojave Desert. U.S. Premiere.
TOUGH BOND (dirs. Austin Peck and Anneliese Vandenberg)
Shot over three years, Tough Bond is the story of Kenya’s “Survivors”- a fiercely loyal tribe of children living together in an urban wilderness, huffing glue to endure the hell of street life. Southern Premiere.
WATER LIKE STONE (dir. Zack Godshall)
An impressionistic portrait of Leeville, Louisiana, a small fishing village in the midst of the disappearing wetlands along the Gulf Coast, Water Like Stone is a documentary about people living in a dying landscape. *World Premiere*
THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY (dir. Richard Barber)
This documentary plunges viewers into the world of three New Orleans marching bands, where mentors help guide kids past the lures and dangers of the streets, while passing on a powerful musical legacy. *World Premiere*
Read more
The 26th New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), taking place October 14 to 22, 2015, revealed the 24 feature films selected for competition: eight films in the Narrative Films in Competition category, seven films in the Documentary Films in Competition category and nine films in the Louisiana Features category.
NARRATIVE FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Cover Me” (dir. Garrett Bradley | USA | 2015 | 60 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A young musician grapples with isolation in a changing landscape as it permeates her romantic relationships and artistic career. This film is the result of a remarkable artistic collaboration between director Bradley and avant-garde artist Tameka Norris, who plays the leading role in the picture. (Also in competition as a Louisiana Feature.)
“Cowards Do It Slow” (dir. Sean Loftus & Michael Padraic Scahill | USA | 2015 | 99 min. | World Premiere) A love letter to American films of the 1970s and late-night bar culture, “Cowards Do It Slow” looks into the funny, dark heart of an aspiring country singer, a Kentucky boy trying to take his career to the next level as he drunkenly stumbles through the Chicago nightlife and holds on to the spoils that come with it.
“Driving While Black” (dir. Paul Sapiano | USA | 2015 | 94 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A dark comedy about racial profiling, “Driving While Black” follows Dimitri (played by Dominique Purdy, who also co-wrote the script), who delivers pizzas for a living in Los Angeles. But as a young black man, he is faced with more than his fair share of unnecessary attention from the cops.
“Embers” (dir. Claire Carré | USA, Poland | 2015 | 86 min. | Southern Premiere) After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory. Five interwoven stories explore how we might learn, love and communicate in a future that has no past.
“French Dirty” (dir. Wade Allain-Marcus & Jesse Allain-Marcus | USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere)
Against the skyline of Los Angeles, Vincent ruminates on his parents’ failed marriage, his own arrested development and the choice he must make to become a better man.
“It Had To Be You” (dir. Sasha Gordon | USA, Italy | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana premiere) Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her boyfriend, Sonia has three days to decide which path her life will take. A whimsical romantic comedy that’s raunchy and yet gentle, “It Had To Be You” explores the choices women face today, while satirizing cultural expectations of gender and romance.
“Jackie Boy” (dir. Cody Campanale | Canada | 2015 | 87 min. | World Premiere) This gritty character drama centers on Jack, a self-destructive womanizer who substitutes his emotional insecurities with drinks, drugs and one-night stands. It’s only when he meets fiery, spirited Jasmine that he decides to change his ways. Little does he know she has something different in mind.
“Jason and Shirley” (dir. Stephen Winter | USA | 2015 | 79 min. | Louisiana Premiere) (pictured in main image above) “Jason and Shirley” imagines what went on behind the scenes during the filming of the landmark 1967 documentary “Portrait of Jason,” as Jason Holliday regales filmmaker Shirley Clarke with stories of racism, homophobia, abuse and prostitution in pre-Stonewall New York City.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Deal With It” (dir. Shamira Raphaëla | The Netherlands | 2014 | 58 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate family portrait, we enter the chaotic and colorful world of director Shamira Raphaëla’s loved ones: her drug-addicted father, Pempy, and her brother, Andy, who is following in his father’s footsteps. “Deal With It” is a raw and personal film about destructive family patterns and unconditional love.
“Hotel Nueva Isla” (dir. Irene Gutierrez | Spain, Cuba | 2014 | 71 min. | Louisiana Premiere) Despite the building’s imminent collapse, the last inhabitant of a once luxurious hotel in Old Havana refuses to leave: he remains convinced that treasures—hidden by the hotel’s original owners—lie waiting within its walls. The film is a meditation on a country that exists in a state of permanent resistance.
“Missing People” (dir. David Shapiro | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | Louisiana Premiere) This tense, nonfiction mystery unfurls around Martina Batan, the director of a prominent New York City gallery who investigates her brother’s long unsolved murder, while obsessively collecting and researching the violent work and life of Roy Ferdinand, a self-taught artist from New Orleans.
“Portrait of a Lone Farmer” (dir. Jide Tom Akinleminu | Germany, Nigeria, Denmark | 2013 | 76 min. | Louisiana Premiere) When filmmaker Jide Tom Akinleminu returns to his father’s chicken farm in Nigeria, his initial intention is to create a film about his parents’ marriage. But life, as is often the case, has other plans.
“Scrum” (dir. Poppy Stockell | Australia | 2015 | 54 min. | Southern Premiere) In the lead up to the 2014 Bingham Cup, the lives of a self-assured Canadian jock, a chubby Irish backpacker and a stoic Japanese outsider change when they vie for a position on the Sydney Convicts, the world’s premiere, gay rugby team.
“The Seventh Fire” (dir. Jack Pettibone Riccobono | USA | 2015 | 78 min. | Louisiana Premiere)
Terrence Malick presents this haunting and visually arresting nonfiction film about the gang crisis on Indian reservations, through the stories of a Native American gang leader recently sentenced to prison for a fifth time, and his 17-year-old protege.
“Touch the Light (Tocando La Luz)” (dir. Jennifer Redfearn | Cuba, USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate, character-driven film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn, three blind women from Havana, confront their heartbreaks and hopes, and navigate their profound desire for independence.
LOUISIANA FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Consequence” (dir. Jonathan Nguyen & Ashley George | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | World Premiere) The lives of three college coeds are shaken after a weekend camping trip results in the accidental death of a fellow student. Instead of reporting the accident, they decide to conceal the student’s death, a decision that seems logical at first, but slowly begins to eat away at their friendship—and their sanity.
“Delta Justice: The Islenos Trappers War” (dir. David DuBos | USA | 2015 | 48 min. | World Premiere) “Delta Justice” gives a true account of St. Bernard Parish’s violent fight over land rights in the mid-1920s. The film sheds new light on an important, yet little-known part of Louisiana’s history.
“Dog Man” (dir. Richie Adams | USA | 2015 | 57 min. | World Premiere) “Dog Man” recounts the life story of world-renowned trainer Dick Russell, who worked with an estimated 30,000 dogs through his basic obedience class in South Louisiana and introduced the pivotal training technique of Large Field Socialization to North America.
“Forgive and Forget” (dir. Aaron Abdin | USA | 2015 | 101 min. | World Premiere) Brian believes that he has a loving wife, brothers and grandmother but, after a tragic accident claims the life of one of his brothers, the entire family collapses into a mass of secrets, lies and emotional turmoil. Brian is led down a road of discovery, which forces him to choose between holding onto the past or striding towards the future.
“The King of New Orleans” (dir. Allen Frederic | USA | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana Premiere) In pre-Katrina New Orleans, Larry Shirt is an aging taxi driver whose fares include the city’s hustlers, tourists, socialites, musicians, housekeepers, weirdos and reporters, as well as an aimless student, with whom he shares a special bond.
“Love Me True” (dir. Kirby Voss | USA | 2015 | 85 min. | World Premiere) A debilitating fetish for blond-haired women constantly thwarts any chance that Eric has for happiness, until a hairless man named Stanley enters his apartment and claims to be the reincarnation of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky.
“The Mourning Hills” (dir. R. Todd Campbell | USA | 2014 | 81 min. | New Orleans Premiere) Mattie and Kate are sisters. They’re also orphans. Their mother died in a tragic accident, while their father took his own life in the beautiful and terrifying wilderness known as “The Mourning Hills.” When Mattie convinces Kate to run away with her, they decide to head for the very place where their father made them orphans.
“The Phantasmagorical Clarence John Laughlin” (dir. Gene Fredericks | USA | 2015 | 88 min. | North American Premiere) This documentary explores the enigmatic life of New Orleans native Clarence John Laughlin, considered the father of American Surrealist photography and often described as “Edgar Allan Poe with a camera.” The film includes the only known video footage of this unique individual, taken in 1977.
“Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town” (dir. David Rae Morris | USA | 2015 | 84 min. | Louisiana Premiere)
This film examines the history of race relations and the 1970 integration of the public schools in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Featuring interviews with local citizens of many ages and backgrounds, “Yazoo Revisited” paints a fascinating picture of the triumphs and failures of the Civil Rights Era.
