By Dion M. Harris
Five days and 16 film blocks later, this year’s incarnation of the New Orleans Film Festival is indelibly sketched in my mind. Just like its catchy, jazzy opening interlude score, which preceded each screening.
A distinct emphasis on the stories and creatives of New Orleans, Louisiana and The South, in general, sets the NOFF apart from its celluoid peers. But this festival also delivers expansive, all-inclusive programming for industry professionals, independents, student filmmakers and cinemaphiles like me. According to New Orleans Film Society Secretary Lisa Thompson on Tuesday night, attendance was up at this year’s affair. The festival ran Oct. 22-27.
In between the shorts, docs, feature films and socials, I spotted former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, Nailah Jefferson, Lynn Whitfield, Irma Thomas, Malik Longo and Derrick Tabb among the happy crowd of attendees. In addition, documentary subjects including Bobby Rush and South Carolina Sister Sens. Katrina Shealy (R) and Margie Bright Matthews (D) joined assorted directors and independent film stars to chat and answer questions about their unique stories and the films showcasing them at NOFF37.
The best, most artful and gripping films I saw at this year’s fest were “Zenón and the Rebel Boats,” “Maestro of New Orleans,” “Other Houses,” “Last Night at the Palm Court,” “Thibodeauxville: The Story of the Thibodaux Massacre” and “Tampons & Taxes.”
An engaging slate of work delivered from Next Generation filmmakers at local universities leaves me confident that the big and small stories of our collective lives will be effectively articulated on screens everywhere in the near future.
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