Film festival screens a wide range of movies in Uptown venues

The 33rd New Orleans Film Festival will have three Uptown venues this year to present a wide variety of films, many of which cannot be seen any other way. The festival will showcase dozens of films, including short programs, at the Prytania Uptown, 5339 Prytania St.; the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.; and Second Line Stages, 800 Richard St. The festival opens Thursday (Nov. 3) and closes on Tuesday (Nov. 8).

New Orleans Film Festival 2022 to open at expanded Second Line Stages

The New Orleans Film Society will open its 33rd annual, Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival with “The Inspection,” the narrative feature debut from multi-year New Orleans Film Festival alum Elegance Bratton, on Thursday, Nov. 3. The NOFF screening schedule and film guide are now available at neworleansfilmfestival.org. In-person screenings will take place between Nov. 3 and Nov.

New Orleans Film Festival opens with an emphasis on ‘New Orleans’

The New Orleans Film Festival’s gala red-carpet opening took place Saturday night (Nov. 6) at the Orpheum Theatre with the screening of “C’mon, C’mon.”

The public has an opportunity to see the film today (Nov. 7) at the Broadside, 600 N. Broad St. at 7 p.m.

The final third of the film takes place in New Orleans. The main character, played by Joaquin Phoenix, travels the country interviewing children about the future, what they would change and other probing questions.

Three films shot in Uptown to be shown at New Orleans Film Festival

The Uptown Prytania Theatre was slated to be a venue for the 32nd New Orleans Film Festival, until it was damaged in Hurricane Ida. The beloved single-screen movie house remains closed for repairs. But Uptown will be represented in three shorts shot in Uptown neighborhoods. 

The annual film festival kicks off in-person screenings on Nov. 4, and runs through Nov. 14.

‘King Ester’ honors Pre-Katrina New Orleans, normalizes marginalized voices

The New Orleans Film Festival turned 30 this year, and their diversity in films and filmmakers is a point that they stress. This year, they screened “232 visionary, thought-provoking films that represent a wealth of perspectives,” 26% of which were Louisiana-made and 56% directed by people of color. One series based in Uptown New Orleans made its debut on the NOFF big screen and online simultaneously. “King Ester”—directed by Dui Jarrod and presented by Issa Rae’s ColorCreative production company—takes the viewer into the world of a black trans woman right before natural disaster. Filmed all over New Orleans and based in Pigeon Town (P-Town), the series is described as such:
“Ester is a trans woman struggling to find her path in New Orleans during the week before Hurricane Katrina. In the face of an evacuation order, she is forced to make a choice that will impact her future forever.”

Celebrating Black Masking Indians, ‘Spy Boy Dow’ premieres tonight at Film Festival

Dow Michael Edwards — a lawyer from Uptown New Orleans who grew up loving the Black Masking Indian culture — is headed for a big screen debut in the short film “Spy Boy Dow.” The film directed by Carl Harrison Jr. follows Edwards’ suit-making process in preparation for Mardi Gras Day. This is Harrison’s second project to be accepted into the New Orleans Film Festival in three years, and it premieres at The Broad Theater tonight (Oct. 18). The birth of Spy Boy Dow
“The Spy Boy is first in the front… he is ahead looking for trouble.

New Orleans Film Fest: Screenings at Prytania, prominence for Louisiana films

The New Orleans Film Society kicks off the 30th New Orleans Film Festival at tonight (Oct. 16) with the Opening Night Film Marriage Story. Uptown’s Prytania Theater will screen over a dozen films, including Motherless Brooklyn, directed by and starring Edward Norton, and The Long Shadow, by Louisiana director Daniel Lafrentz. Shorts from the state and big-budget films are some festival highlights coming to the neighborhood this year. Of the 6,500 submissions from 104 countries, 232 “visionary, thought-provoking films that represent a wealth of perspectives” made it into the festival.

New Orleans Film Festival to celebrate 30th anniversary

The New Orleans Film Society is gearing up for the 30th annual New Orleans Film Festival to be held Oct. 16–23. All-Access Passes for the festival are now on summer pre-sale with up to a $100 discount at neworleansfilmfestival.org. Film and screenplay submissions for #NOFF2019 are open through June 21 via this link. The full film and event lineup will be announced in mid-August.

Film festival selection features Central City youth football team and combating violence-based trauma

The A.L. Davis Park Panthers, its players, and their mental health are the points of focus for the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) selection, The Children of Central City. The 18-minute documentary—shot and directed by Emma Scott, based on the reporting of Jonathan Bullington and Richard A. Webster—shows the impact of the youth football program based in Central City New Orleans, and the violent environment its children must go through. Purpose
The premise of the film is as follows:
For the boys on the Davis Park team, it’s not a matter of if they’ve been exposed to violence– it’s how often. In their young lives, they’ve already attended funerals for slain family and friends, and stepped off school buses to the sight of flashing blue lights and yellow crime scene tape. They can tell the difference between fireworks and gunfire, and they know what to do when they hear the latter.