Last night, the 2010 New Orleans Film Festival awards were announced, and the local winners were Aaron Walker’s Bury the Hatchet for Best Louisiana Feature and Andrew Bryan’s Statue for Best Louisiana Short. Walker’s documentary on Mardi Gras Indians succeeded by keeping a tight focus, following only three prominent Big Chiefs (Victor Harris, Monk Boudreaux and Alfred Doucette), and not letting the broad subject matter become too overwhelming. The three personal narratives were engaging and compelling on their own, but the interviews and footage (including original footage of Tootie Montana in full dress in the late ’60s) also provided a rich understanding of the history of the tradition and the path its taken, particularly post-Katrina (although several audience members at Saturday’s screening took issue with the film’s mentions of violence among Mardi Gras Indians in the mid-20th Century).
Bury the Hatchet will have an encore screening tonight at 9 p.m. at the Theatres at Canal Place. If you missed it over the weekend make sure to catch it.
Bryan’s Statue, made along with his fellow UNO students, was some of my favorite ten minutes of the Film Festival. The story was simple: a metallic silver “human statue” who works in the French Quarter falls in love with a guitar-playing fellow busker, and tries to win her affections. However, it packed in desire, humor, heartbreak, redemption, shame and envy without crossing The Line of Sappiness. Here’s the full film:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSY9BDFz2TE[/youtube]
Notable in tonight’s screenings is Taylor Hackford’s new film Love Ranch. The director will be at the Prytania Theatre to introduce the film and to take questions after it finishes. Here’s our full list of tonight’s picks:
His & Hers, 5 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3xzY0M7BI[/youtube]
Boys of Summer, 5:15 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/12804740[/vimeo]
Love Ranch, 7:30 p.m., Prytania Theatre
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avOeflUMHn0[/youtube]
Cure for the Crash, 10 p.m., Prytania Theatre
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/14756165[/vimeo]
Life 2.0, 10:15 p.m., Theatres at Canal Place
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t89fZ0RqEw[/youtube]
