Thursday, January 12, 2012

7th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival Set for Jan. 25-29, 2012 in Lafayette, LA


Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, now in its seventh year, is pleased to announce that this year's Festival will open with the U.S. Premiere of Délivrance, the dramatic story of a group of courageous Acadians and their escape from the British in 1756. The narrative film premiered across Canada this past fall with great fanfare. The amazing cast and crew created a “great snapshot of the hell Acadians were subject to during the great expulsion,” says film and music writer Jim Lavoie. “Well written, directed, shot and acted,” this is “one film that ‘Delivered’ as promised.”

The film will screen on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at Acadiana Center for the Arts in downtown Lafayette with New Brunswick based filmmakers Donovan Richard and Danny Thebeau in attendance to introduce the film. A reception for the filmmakers will follow at 7:30 p.m. Complimentary wine and appetizers will be served. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at www.acadianacenterforthearts.com or at the door.

Also, as the world mourns the death of boxing legend Joe Frazier, the Festival is proud to present Joe Frazier: When The Smoke Clears, a feature documentary which tells the story of the real Joe Frazier. The film, which has been hailed as “superb and heartfelt” and “inspirational,” is more than just a boxing film – although it is definitely that; but it is also the story of a son's love and admiration for his father and the importance of his father and the sport to the greater community. Realscreen Magazine has called it a “must see” film.

The film, which screened this fall in Philadelphia, the adopted city of the legendary fighter; in New York City, on the day of Frazier’s death; and at the 49th Annual World Boxing Council Convention in Las Vegas, will make its Southern U.S. Premiere at the Festival.

The Festival is also very pleased to announce that the Whitney Bank has come on board as a major funding sponsor for this year’s five-day festival, which includes films screenings, provocative panel discussions and nightly parties through Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. “The Festival would not be possible without the generous financial contribution of the Whitney Bank, as well as the support of our many other community partners, including Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, Acadiana Center for the Arts, LITE, Pack and Paddle, the Lafayette Parish South Regional Library, and our many loyal individual donors,” said filmmaker Pat Mire, the founder and artistic director for the Festival.

Additional attending filmmakers and films include:

World renown outdoor adventure filmmakers Mélanie Carrier and Olivier Higgins of Quebec, whose films Ice Philosophy and Encounters will make their Louisiana premieres at the Festival;

Two of Austin’s hottest filmmakers, Andy Cope and Eric Hueber, whose delightfully funny film, Rainbows End, a journey film about one bus, six men, two roosters, a dream, and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, will make its Louisiana premiere; and

The Festival will also present a series of narrative shorts with the filmmakers in attendance, including:

Brian Nelson’s Keeper of the Flame;
Ji Choi’s Holding His Rabbits;
Jon Gunnar Gylfason’s Fingers;
Chris Spear’s Shock; and
Bart Wild’s The Bingo Bandito, which will make its World Premiere at the Festival.

Other films that will be screened include Happy (Louisiana Premiere), The Natural State of America (Louisiana Premiere), Bridge To War Eagle (Louisiana Premiere), Mississippi Innocence (Louisiana Premiere), Wrestling for Jesus (Louisiana Premiere), A Weaverly Path - The Tapestry Life Of Silvia Heyden (Louisiana Premiere), Colores del Carnaval Dominicano (Louisiana Premiere), Puppet, Howard Citizen - The Man And The Music He Loves, and a host of others.

A complete schedule of events, including film screenings, panel discussions and parties, can be found at www.cinemaonthebayou.com.