Festival:
The 29th New Orleans Film Festival
Dates:
October 17-25
About:
Filmmakers and industry continue to be drawn to this popular and well-regarded Southern regional event, which presents nearly 40 docs among its 60+ feature offerings.
WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE
Among the films competing in the Documentary Competition are: Emily Harrold’s
WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE, which follows Bakari Sellers uphill struggle as he runs for lieutenant governor in South Carolina; Nadia Shihab’s
JADDOLAND, a portrait of the filmmaker’s mother, an Iraqi artist in Texas; and Hao Zhang’s
GIMME A FAITH, which follows evangelical Christian Chinese students studied in North Carolina.
BUCKJUMPING
The Louisiana Competition’s nonfiction titles include: Mark K Brockway and Timothy Givens’
MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON, about an African-American divorcee-turned-brothel madam; Allison Bohl Dehart and Peter Dehart’s
BENDING LINES: THE SCULPTURE OF ROBERT WIGGS, a portrait of an artist and his unique scientific approach to his work; and Lily Keber’s
BUCKJUMPING, a look at New Orleans’ dance traditions.
THIS TACO TRUCK KILLS FASCISTS
Other sections featuring documentaries include: Spotlight Films, with upcoming DOC NYC opening night selection, John Chester’s
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM, which follows a couple’s odyssey to establish a biodynamic farm; Caribbean Voices, with Jose Hiriart’s
PÉP SOUVREN (SOVEREIGN PEOPLE), about activists fighting for true democracy in Haiti; and Change-Makers, which includes Harry Moses’
GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, a case study exposing the injustices in New Orleans’ criminal justice system; Ada McMahon and Wendi Moore-O’Neal’s
THIS LITTLE LIGHT, about a woman forced to stay closeted to do relief work post-Katrina; and Rodrigo Dorfman’s
THIS TACO TRUCK KILLS FASCISTS, about a traveling theatre project exposing the impact of immigration on New Orleans.
what (not) to doc 