20 years of patois

PATOIS Festival 2024

Wednesday, March 6, 6:30pm - The Marigny Opera House

“Get in Loser, We’re Freeing Palestine”: Making the Liberation Movement Irresistible. Partner: Palestine Film Day

An evening of conversation with four of the leaders of our local movement, Adan Murad, Mohammad Alkurd (Mo Munchies), Allen Esmail, and Thafer Danial, as they share with us how they are making the Palestinian justice struggle an irresistible movement of liberation.

Thursday, March 7, 6:30pm - The Broad Theater

Premiere OPENING NIGHT FILM: UNION  (102 min) Directed by Stephen Maing, Brett Story. Partner: Step Up LA

Heralded as the most important win for labor since the 1930s, this highly cinematic documentary captures the ALUs historic grassroots campaign to unionize thousands of their co-workers from day one of organizing.

POST-FILM DISCUSSION WITH workers who formed a union at Amazon, and New Orleans Dollar Store workers organizing here, facilitated by Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson.

Thursday, March 7, 8:00 pm - The Broad Theater

Antenna: Draw-a-thon Pop-up!

Join Patois and Antenna in the Broad Theater lobby through-out the evening with a special Draw-A-Thon pop-up!

Thursday, March 7, 9:15pm - The Broad Theater

Rebel Dykes (85 min), Directed by Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams.

A rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London, REBEL DYKES reveals the explosion that happened when punk met feminism.

Friday, March 8, 7:00pm - The Broad Theater 

No Cop Academy (59 min), Directed by Caullen Hudson, Produced by Caullen Hudson, David A. Moran, Debbie Southorn

This documentary chronicles the explosive #NoCopAcademy campaign through those who lived it IN CHICAGO.

Post-screening discussion WITH Chicago Youth organizers Destiny Bell and Destiny Harris, Director Caullen Hudson, and Producer David A. Moran, moderated by Nziki Wiltz, Voters Organized to Educate.

Friday, March 8, 9:00pm - The Broad Theater 

Alam (106 min), Directed by Firas Khoury.

A skillful examination of the fraught political awakening young Palestinians are forced to undergo, this TIFF World premiere perfectly captures teenage fearlessness and bravado along with a certain cluelessness about how the real-world works (Variety).

ZOO (8 min), Directed by Tariq Rimawi. Animated.

As Sami is wandering through the worst zoo in the world while looking for his ball, he crosses paths with a little tiger named Laziz, which follows him on his quest to find a safe place to play. Against all odds, they become friends. But the remnants of war harbor danger.

Saturday, March 9, 2:00pm - The Broad Theater

Fannie Lou Hamer's America (59 miNUTES), Directed by Joy Davenport, Produced by Monica Land, Partner: PUNCTUATE.

FANNIE LOU HAMERS AMERICA, a documentary produced by her grand-niece Monica Land, and winner of Best TV Feature Documentary or miniseries at the IDA Awards, is a portrait of a civil rights activist and the injustices in America that made her work essential.

Post-screening discussion WITH Deon Haywood of Women With a Vision and Shana M. griffin of PUNCTUATE.

Saturday, March 9, 4:30pm - The Broad Theater

Doubles (91 Minutes), Written and Directed by Ian Harnarine, Produced by Mark Sirju, Cast: Sanjiv Boodhu, Errol Sitahal.

In small-town Trinidad, Dhani is a dissatisfied man in his early 20s. He hangs out at bars with his high rolling friends, but he doesn’t belong. Dhani always leaves the party early so that he can work the nightshift with his feisty mother, Sumintra, selling Doubles, the famous Trinidadian street-food. The two share the same dream of opening their very own brick-and-mortar restaurant.After getting humiliated by a girl and Sumintra getting robbed at knife point, Dhani has lost his patience and decides to go to Toronto to confront his father.

Featuring a post-screening discussion with filmmaker Ian K. Harnarine.

Buzz (20 minutes), Directed by Mohamed Fawi, Produced by Amjad Abualala, Mohamed Alomda, & Mohamed Fawi.

A short drama from Sudan about the end of an elderly woman’s life.

Saturday, March 9, 7:00pm - The Broad Theater

KANAVAL: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF HAITI IN SIX CHAPTERS (75 MINUTES), Directed by Leah Gordon & Eddie Hutton Mills, Produced by Natasha Dack Ojumu & Leah Gordon.

Kanaval is a visually arresting award-winning feature documentary that is set in the present but tells the rich story of Haitis past, as we follow a number of carnival performers in the lead up to and during the annual Jacmel Mardi Gras.

Post-screening discussion with Co-Director Leah Gordon and New Orleans musician and culture worker Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes.

Saturday, March 9, 9:00pm - The Broad Theater

Acsexybility (87 min), Directed by

Acsexybility is a documentary that tells stories about the sexuality of people with disabilities.

Sunday, March 10, Noon - Contemporary Arts Center

Gestures of Refusal Curatorial Walkthrough

Join us for a walkthrough of the exhibition Gestures of Refusal: Black Photography and Visual Culture, with the exhibition’s curator and PATOIS Collective member Shana M. griffin.

Sunday, March 10, 3:30pm - The Broad Theater

WITH A VENGEANCE: The Fight for Reproductive Freedom (38 Minutes), Directed by Lori Hiris.

An urgent and timely history of the struggle for reproductive freedom since the 1960s, reflecting the wider history of the contemporary women's movement.

In Accordance With (7 Minutes), Directed and Produced by Sarah Ema Friedland and Alessandra Lacorazza, in co-production with the Meerkat Media Collective.

At a border check point, pregnant people are forced to endure invasive and emotionally abusive measures in order to get an abortion. The dialogue in this film is taken verbatim from State-mandated anti-choice materials, and imagines a world in which the territory of the body and the territory of the nation are collapsed into one space.

Sunday, March 10, 5:00pm - The Broad Theater

Notes on Displacement (75 Mins), Directed by Khaled Jarrar.

Notes on Displacement takes a deep dive by following a single family on a grueling journey across Europe.

Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Khaled Jarrar; Sabrine Abed, Human Rights Attorney; & Fatima Khan, ISLA Immigrant Justice Fellow.

Sunday, March 10, 7:00pm - The Broad Theater

Tomorrows Freedom (97 Minutes), Directed by Sophia Scott & Georgia Scott.

A story of Palestine's most famous political prisoner. Through the Barghouthi family and interviews from the people who know Marwan best, Tomorrows Freedom takes you on a brutally honest and transformative journey into the heart of the Israel Palestine conflict, speaking to Palestinians and Israelis.

Mar Mama (15 Minutes), Directed by Majdi El Omari.

In this beautiful and intimate drama, a father tries to distract his young daughter from the realities of life under occupation.

PATOIS 2023-2024 Events Series

In the fall of 2023, we co-sponsored several events, including screenings and teach-ins.

These included:

October 16, 2023 - “What is Happening in Gaza” - Teach in on Gaza and Palestine.

October 17, 2023 - "Telling Cuba's Untold Stories" Screening and discussion with Afro-Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández.

October 30, 2023- Gaza Teach-in: History, Context, Personal STories, and what is missing from the media.”

November 11, 2023 - Palestine Film Day.

November 29, 2023 - The Gaza Monologues. Theatrical event read by activists, organizers and artists, and written by young people in Gaza.

January 27, 2024 - Israelism Screening and discussion.

PATOIS Festival 2023

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 6:45PM, THE BROAD THEATER  – OPENING NIGHT FILM 

THE AMERICAN DREAM AND OTHER FAIRY TALES - 1 HOUR 27 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY ABIGAIL DISNEY

A FAMILY STORY ABOUT RACISM, LOW WAGE WORKERS, AND CORPORATE POWER AT “THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH.”

POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION WITH ABIGAIL DISNEY AND NEW ORLEANS LOW WAGE WORKERS AND ORGANIZERS.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 7:00PM, THE BROAD THEATER - BIRTHING MOVEMENTS

GIVE LIGHT: STORIES FROM INDIGENOUS MIDWIVES - 55 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY STEPH SMITH

INDIGENOUS MIDWIVES FROM FIVE CONTINENTS DISCUSS THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES TO THEIR PROFESSION.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 9:00PM - THE BROADSIDE - LOUISIANA CLIMATE JUSTICE SCREENING & BENEFIT CONCERT

FILMS, MUSIC AND SPEAKERS, PART OF A WEEK OF ACTION SPONSORED BY GULF SOUTH FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL.

OIL AND WATER - 9 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY MICHAEL ESEALUKA. TWO BLACK TOWNS IN COASTAL LOUISIANA, ONE YEAR AFTER HURRICANE IDA'S LANDFALL. 

DEFEND SWLA - 7 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY MICHAEL ESEALUKA. FOUR FRONTLINE LEADERS CALL OUT THE BIG BANKS FUNDING LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS EXPORTS AND CLIMATE CHAOS. 

TO RECOVER & REBUILD- 9 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY MICHAEL ESEALUKA. MEET THE LOUISIANA JUST RECOVERY NETWORK WHICH FORMED IN THE DAYS AFTER IDA TO ORGANIZE RAPID RESPONSE AND LONG-TERM REBUILDING EFFORTS FOR BLACK DESCENDANT COMMUNITIES IN THE LOUISIANA'S RIVER PARISHES, ALSO KNOWN AS "CANCER ALLEY.”

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 4:00PM, THE BROAD THEATER - CAMILLE BILLOPS AND JAMES HATCH RETROSPECTIVE

SUZANNE, SUZANNE (1982) - 26 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY CAMILLE BILLOPS & JAMES HATCH. A YOUNG AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN COMES TO TERMS WITH PERSONAL AND FAMILY STRUGGLES.

FINDING CHRISTA (1991) - 56 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY CAMILLE BILLOPS & JAMES HATCH. A FILMMAKER REUNITES WITH THE DAUGHTER THAT SHE GAVE UP FOR ADOPTION 20 YEARS EARLIER.

POST SCREENING DISCUSSION WITH KAI BARROW & ADA GAY GRIFFIN.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 6:30PM, THE BROAD THEATER - ANGOLA DO YOU HEAR US?

SHORTS PROGRAM

ANGOLA DO YOU HEAR US? VOICES FROM A PLANTATION PRISON - 27 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY CINQUE NORTHERN. THE STORY OF A DISRUPTED THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE AT THE LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY AT ANGOLA.

END PLANTATION PRISONS - 20 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY SARA GOZALO. TODAY, NEARLY 30,000 PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA ARE SERVING HARD LABOR SENTENCES AND FORCED TO WORK. THESE ARE THE STORIES OF PEOPLE DIRECTLY IMPACTED.

POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION WITH FORMERLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE AND ORGANIZERS WORKING TO END PRISONS.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 9:00PM, THE BROAD THEATER - 100 WAYS TO CROSS THE BORDER

100 WAYS TO CROSS THE BORDER - 84 MINUTES, DIRECTED BY AMBER BEMAK

A DARING, SELF-REFLEXIVE DOCUMENTARY ON THE PERFORMANCE ARTIST GUILLERMO GÓMEZ-PEÑA.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 4:30PM, THE BROAD THEATER - FIGHTING FOR SCHOOLS

LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE - 82 MINUTES, DIRECTED BY KEVIN SHAW. A THRIVING AFRICAN-AMERICAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS THREATENED TO BE REPLACED BY A NEW HIGH SCHOOL FAVORING THE COMMUNITY’S WEALTHIER RESIDENTS. PARENTS, STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS FIGHT BACK.

POST SCREENING DISCUSSION WITH EDUCATION ACTIVISTS FROM CHICAGO AND NEW ORLEANS.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 7:00PM, THE BROAD THEATER - MOSTLY FICTION: SHORT FILMS

NIGHT - 16 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY AHMAD SALEH, THE DUST OF WAR KEEPS THE EYES SLEEPLESS. 

SIRI MIRI - 5 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY LUAY AWWAD. TWO PALESTINIAN TEENS ASK SIRI FOR HELP. WILL IT WORK? 

THE FUNNEL - 17 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY CHARLENE A. CARRUTHERS. AN ENCOUNTER WITH A FAMILIAR SPIRIT OPENS TRINA’S EYES AND HEART TO A NEW GIFT. 

STREET PULSE BEAT - 8 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY ALLÍ LOGOUT & JUICEBOX BURTON. YESTERDAY'S CRISIS IS JUST TOMORROW'S CARRY. 

TAKE YOUR BAGS - 11 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY CAMILLE BILLOPS. THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY AND THE THEFT OF CULTURAL MEMORY. 

HUSH - 18 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY SAMAR QUPTY. WHEN NADINE HEARS ABOUT HER BEST FRIEND’S FEAR OF AN UNWANTED PREGNANCY, SHE TAKES ACTION.

FRESHWATER - 11 MINUTES. DIRECTED BY DREAM HAMPTON. REMEMBRANCE, FLOODING BASEMENTS, AND MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS IN THE WAKE OF CLIMATE CATASTROPHE.

PATOIs 2021-2022 - SCreening series

Because of covid disruptions, as well as hurricane ida, THE 18TH & 19th PATOIS FESTIVALs were held as a screening series.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022, 6:45pm BROAD THEATER
LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER
Featuring Post-Film Discussion with Civil Rights and Black Power Movement Veterans:
Mukasa Dada, Doratha “Dodie” Smith-Simmons, Malik Rahim, Betty Toussaint Ailsworth, & Ronald Ailsworth
And a pop-up store by Assemblage

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2022 7:00pm BROADSIDE
NEPTUNE FROST
Featuring A PERFORMANCE BY THE MAROONS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022, 6:30pm BROAD THEATER
POWERLANDS BENEFIT AND SCREENING
Featuring post-screening discussion with:
Shannon Rainey, President of Residents of Gordon Plaza
Donny Verdin, Vice Principle Chief, United Houma Nation
Powerlands Director Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso & Cinematographer Melisa Cardona
Benefitting United Houma Nation and Residents of Gordon Plaza.

Tuesday, April 19 2022, 7:00pm Broad Theater
CHOCOLATE BABIES BENEFIT AND SCREENING
Featuring Q&A w/ Director Stephen Winter
Screening and Benefit for TRANScending Women and Real Name Campaign

Saturday, April 9, 2022, 7:00pm The House on Claiborne
WORKING THE MARGINS
Screening & Discussion curated by The Patois Collective and hosted by The House on Claiborne.
Pulling from bell hooks' theory presented in her critically acclaimed Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Working the Margins explores the construction of power and its relationship to Black contemporary filmmakers and the film industry. Working the Margins asks the question, how can we redefine and re-conceptualize filmmaking practices and techniques from the margin?
Featuring four short films by emerging Black contemporary filmmakers:
T directed by Keisha Rae Witherspoon
Afronauts directed by Frances Bodomo
Seeing Sounds directed by Jason Foster
Nine Days A Week directed by Maliyamungu Muhande

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2021
A walkthrough of Displacing Blackness: Cartographies of Violence, Extraction, and Disposability with interdisciplinary artist and feminist Shana M. griffin.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021, 6:00pm - VIRTUAL EVENT
AFRO Brother Spacemen in The Day the Earth Stood Stupid

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021, 6:30PM VIRTUAL EVENT
MLK/FBI
FILM SCREENING Followed by a conversation with director Sam Pollard, New Orleans artist and activist Shana M griffin, and New Orleans cultural advocate Renard Bridgewater

PATOIs 2020 - Canceled because of coviD

THE 17TH PATOIS NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL WAS SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 25 - 29, 2020. SEE PROGRAM HERE

2020 Official Selections

WAGING CHANGE DIR: ABBY GINZBERG  | USA | 2019 | DOC | 61 min

L’EAU EST LA VIE: FROM STANDING ROCK TO THE SWAMP DIR. SAM VINAL | 2019 | USA | DOC | 24 MIN

WARRIOR WOMEN DIR. CHRISTINA D. KING & ELIZABETH A. CASTLE | USA | 2018 | DOC | 63 MIN

LA MAMI DIR. LAURA HERRERO GARVIN | MEXICO, SPAIN | 2019 | DOC | 82 MIN | SPANISH W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES

SAUDI RUNAWAY DIR. SUSANNE REGINA MEURES | SWITZERLAND | 2020 | DOC | 88 MIN | ENGLISH & ARABIC

OVERSEAS DIR. SUNG-A YOON | PHILIPPINES | 2019 | DOC | 90 MIN | TAGALOG, ILONGGO, ENGLISH

AFRONAUTS DIR. NUOTAMA BODOMO | USA | 2014 | NARRATIVE SHORT | 14 MIN | ENGLISH

T DIR. KEISHA RAE WITHERSPOON | USA | 2019 | NARRATIVE SHORT | 14 MIN | ENGLISH

SEEING SOUNDS DIR. JASON FOSTER | USA | 2019 | DOC SHORT | 3 MIN | ENGLISH

-SHIP: A VISUAL POEM DIR. TERRANCE DAYE | USA | 2019 | NARRATIVE SHORT | 13 MIN | ENGLISH

FEAR NO GUMBO DIR. KIMBERLY RIVERS ROBERTS | US | 2016 | DOC | 90 MIN | ENGLISH

MOTHER, I AM SUFFOCATING. THIS IS MY LAST FILM ABOUT YOU DIR. LEMOHANG JEREMIAH MOSESE | LESOTHO, QATAR, GERMANY | 2019 | DOC | 76 MIN | ENGLISH, SESOTHO

SCREWDRIVER (MAFAK) DIR. BASSAM JARBAWI | PALESTINE | 2018 | NARRATIVE FEATURE | 108 MIN

THE FIRST RAINBOW COALITION DIR. RAY SANTISTEBAN | US | 2019 | DOC | 55 MIN | ENGLISH

PATOIs 2019
March 21–24, 2019

The Broad Theater was the main venue for the 15th year of PATOIS. The festival featured fiction and documentary film premieres, as well as in-depth discussions featuring nationally recognized guests and local activists and community leaders. PATOIS 2019 screened new and classic fiction films from Africa, experimental short films from New Orleans, and documentaries highlighting issues including police violence, immigration, transgender liberation, Palestinian women, and gay refugees from Syria. The closing night film, Betty They Say I’m Different, is a profile of explosive 70’s funk star Betty Davis, and screened at Ace Hotel.

2019 sponsors, featured organizations, and partners included Ace Hotel, Antenna/Paper Machine, BreakOut!, BYP100 New Orleans, Congress of Day Laborers, Melissa A. Weber aka DJ Soul Sister, European Dissent, Gallery of the Streets, Innocence Project - New Orleans, Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, Jewish Voice for Peace New Orleans, Junebug Productions, Neighborhood Story Project, New Orleans Film Society, New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Noirlinians, PUNCTUATE, Shotgun Cinema, The Broad Theater, Voice Of The Experienced (VOTE), and WHIV. A special thank you to Alternate Roots and Threshold Fund for their support and solidarity.

FILMS AND PROGRAMMING

Thursday, March 21, 6:30pm – Opening Night Film
The Infiltrators – Undocumented youth - DREAMers - deliberately get detained by Border Patrol in order to infiltrate a shadowy, for-profit detention center. Documentary. Directed by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera. 93 minutes.
* Directors and guests from New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice present for screening.

Friday, March 22, 6:30pm - Prisons & Capitalism
What Is Democracy?  - Spanning millennia and continents, from capitalism’s roots to racism and class warfare in the United States. Featuring Cornel West, Angela Davis, Silvia Federici, Aja Monet, and more. Documentary. Directed by Astra Taylor. 107 minutes.
*Post-screening discussion moderated by Amina Desselle featuring Norris Henderson and Checo Yancy of Voice Of The Experienced.

Friday, March 22, 9:15pm – Borders & Spying
- After/Life – In an Arizona desert, a dystopic collective nightmare unfolds where US domestic and foreign policies collide. Experimental. Directed by Puck Lo. 15 minutes.
- The Feeling of Being Watched –- A journalist investigates rumors of surveillance in her Arab-American neighborhood in Chicago and uncovers one of the largest FBI terrorism probes conducted before 9/11 and reveals its enduring impact on the community. Documentary. Directed by Assia Boundaoui. 87 minutes.
*After/Life Director Puck Lo, The Feeling of Being Watched Co-Executive Producer Christina Abraham, and New Orleans Muslim community organizer Jenny Yanez present for post-screening discussion. 

Saturday, March 23, 12:00pm – Palestine
- The Crossing – A brother and sister arrive at a checkpoint, seeking to visit their grandfather. Drama. Directed by Ameen Nayfeh. 11 minutes.
- What Walaa Wants – Raised in a West Bank refugee camp while her mother was in prison, Walaa is determined to join the Palestinian Security Forces. Documentary. Directed by Christy Garland. 89 minutes.

Saturday, March 23, 2:15pm – Police
Crime+Punishment  – Black and Latino whistleblower cops reveal racism in the New York City Police Department. Documentary. Directed by Stephen Maing. 112 minutes.
*Post-screening discussion featuring Jee Park, Executive Director of Innocence Project New Orleans, and Greg Bright, exonerated after 27 years in prison.

Saturday, March 23, 5:00pm – New African Cinema
I Am Not A Witch  – A satiric feminist fairy-tale set in present-day Zambia. Fiction. Directed by Rungano Nyoni. 93 minutes.

Saturday, March 23, 7:00pm – New Queer Stories 
- Happy Birthday Marsha - Iconic transgender artist and activist Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson and her life in the hours before she ignited the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. Fiction. Directed by Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel. 15 minutes.
- New Deep South: House of Jxn - Queer and gender non-conforming people in Jackson, Mississippi come together to offer each other support, protection, and love in one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Documentary. Directed by Ro Haber. (9 minutes) 
- Goddess House - A courtesan is summoned to rouse a queen from her languor in this affirmative vision of consensual sex work. Fiction. Directed by Marion Hill. 6 minutes.
- Lucid Noon, Sunset Blush - A basement full of queer femme dominatrix, lovers and misfits, beautiful, carefree and as young as the night. Fiction. Directed by Alli Logout. 32 minutes.
- Tale of a Pretty Black Ass - What being constantly fetishized as a black sex worker does to your brain.Memoir. Directed by Juicebox Burton. 9 minutes.
*Post-screening discussion with filmmakers and participants from the films, including Marion Hill, Juicebox Burton, Alli Logout, and more. 

Sunday, March 24, 2:30pm – International Liberation
Mr. Gay Syria - Two gay Syrian refugees try to join Mr. Gay World, an international beauty contest. Documentary. Directed by Ayse Toprak. 84 Minutes.

Sunday, March 24, 4:30pm – PATOIS Retrospective
Touki Bouki - The fractured efforts of two lovers to leave Dakar for the glamour and comforts of Paris. A 1973 classic of African Cinema. Fiction. Directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. 84 Minutes. *This program contains a scene of violence and animal cruelty.
**Post-screening discussion with writer Kristina Kay Robinson and artist kai lumumba barrow.

Sunday, March 24, 7:00pm – Closing Night Film
Betty  –  They Say I’m Different - A profile of explosive 1970’s funk pioneer Betty Davis, who changed the landscape of music for female artists in America. Documentary. Directed by Philip Cox. 52 minutes.
*Post-screening conversation moderated between historian and researcher Melissa A. Weber, aka DJ Soul Sister, with ethnomusicology scholar Danielle Maggio, an associate producer of the film.

PATOIS 2018

In 2018 PATOIS featured a series on gentrification, including the films Not In My Neighborhood, Displacement in Central City New Orleans, and Flag Wars. Other programming included the film Losing Ground, and organizing support for New Orleans’ Human Rights Resolution.

Not in My Neighbourhood depicts citizens on the frontlines of intersectional struggles against gentrification in three cities. The film follows the daily struggles, trials and triumphant moments, as residents try to shape the cities they live in from the bottom up. Over three years South African filmmaker Kurt Orderson followed the anti-gentrification and police brutality monitoring collective Copwatch in New York, occupation movements in Sao Paulo, and gentrification in Woodstock, Cape Town. Making connections through the inter-generational stories of people fighting for the right to their city, Not in my Neighbourhood takes the viewer on a journey into the everyday lives of community members and how they experience and battle the violence of displacement on a daily basis.

Displacement in Central City New Orleans, directed by Trupania Bonner, examines the changing face of a historic African American neighborhood, rising housing costs, the policing and criminalization of black cultural tradition, and impact of gentrification and displacement in New Orleans. The short features current and former residents of Central City, community activists, cultural bearers, and affordable housing advocates.

Shot over a four-year period by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras (director of Citizenfour), Flag Wars is a poignant and very personal look at a community in Columbus, Ohio, undergoing gentrification. What happens when gay white homebuyers move into a working-class black neighborhood? As the new residents restore the beautiful but run-down homes, black homeowners must fight to hold onto their community and heritage. The inevitable clashes expose prejudice and self-interest on both sides, as well as the common dream to have a home to call your own. Winner of the Jury Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Flag Wars is a candid, unvarnished portrait of privilege, poverty and local politics taking place across America.

PATOIS 2017
APRIL 13-16, 2017

At the 2017 PATOIS Festival, nearly every event was standing room-only, and featured powerful discussions and connections. Over 600 people joined the festival, including dozens of filmmakers and organizers that participated in post-film discussions. From civil rights movement veterans like Jerome Smith and Doratha “Dodie” Smith-Simmons to youth leaders from organizations like BYP100, BreakOUT, and New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee, the discussions were beautiful and powerful.

Thursday, April 13, 7:00pm – Opening Night Film
Agents of Change – Agents of Change examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses and in the country in the late 1960’s that led to protests on college campuses from SF State to Cornell University. Through the stories of the courageous young men and women at the forefront of these efforts, the film takes viewers to the crossroads of the civil rights, black power, and anti-Vietnam war movements at a pivotal time in America’s history. Today, as the struggle continues with the Black Lives Matter, immigration concerns and concurrent nationwide student-led protests, Agents of Change links the past to the present and the present to the past, revealing how much work remains to be done. The film is co-produced and co-directed by filmmakers Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg, both of whom are Cornell alums.  Ironically, Mr. Dawson participated in the takeover at Willard Straight Hall, while Ms. Ginzberg protested in support with other student outside the building.  Yet, the two would not meet until four decades later as both sought to document this historic event on film. With interviews from then-student activists such as actor Danny Glover, Dr. Ramona Tascoe and Roger Alvarado, the film also features a searing, soul-stirring musical score by award-winning composer Patrice Rushen. Documentary, Directed by Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg. 66 minutes. * Director and special guests present for screening.

Friday, April 14, 7:00pm - Land, Water and Freedom: Short films about resistance.
 - From Flint: Voices of a Poisoned City  - Flint is a city of 100,000 people, with 41% living below the poverty line and an African-American majority. The city switched in 2014 to water from the polluted Flint River to save money, but the new water supply wasn't properly treated. Lead from aging lines leached into the local water supply, along with coliform bacteria and other contaminants, creating a serious health crisis. Up to 12,000 children may have been exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water. Some residents were also forced to abandon their homes without warning. This film tells the story of the Flint Water Crisis from the perspectives of those who have experienced this tragedy first hand and from activists on the ground working through grass-root organizations to make a difference. While the national news media has been covering this event through the governments point of view, From Flint takes you inside the city to uncover this incident first hand. Documentary, Directed by Elise Conklin. 25 minutes. * The filmmaker and an activist from Flint will both be present for a post-screening discussion.
- Water Warriors - Water Warriors is the story of a community’s successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. In 2013, Texas-based SWN Resources arrived in New Brunswick, Canada to explore for natural gas. The region is known for its forestry, farming and fishing industries, which are both commercial and small-scale subsistence operations that rural communities depend on. In response, a multicultural group of unlikely warriors–including members of the Mi’kmaq Elsipogtog First Nation, French-speaking Acadians and white, English-speaking families–set up a series of road blockades, preventing exploration. After months of resistance, their efforts not only halted drilling; they elected a new government and won an indefinite moratorium on fracking in the province. Documentary, Directed by Michael Premo. 21 minutes. * Filmmakers present for post-screening discussion.
- Ten Years after Katrina: "Resilience," "Recovery" & REALITY – The story of the organizations that make up The Greater New Orleans Organizers Roundtable in the years since Hurricane Katrina. Documentary, Directed by Jazz Franklin and Ada McMahon. 30 minutes. *Filmmakers and local activists present for post-screening discussion.

Friday, April 14, 9:15pm – Free CeCe!
- The Personal Things  -Black trans elder and legendary activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy describes how everyday personal acts fuel her political activism. Animation, Directed by Reina Gossett. 3 minutes.
- Free CeCe ​​- On her way to the store with a group of friends, Chrishaun Reed “CeCe” McDonald was brutally attacked. While defending her life, a man was killed. After a coercive interrogation, CeCe was incarcerated in a men’s prison in Minnesota. An international campaign to free CeCe garnered significant support from media and activists, including actress Laverne Cox. Cox signed on as executive producer of FREE CECE!, committed to exploring the role race, class, and gender played in CeCe’s case. In the end, CeCe emerged not only as a survivor, but also as a leader. Documentarian Jacqueline (Jac) Gares pushed past the everyday narratives of victimhood surrounding the lives of transgender people, to spotlight the way CeCe and other trans people are leading a growing movement fighting for the rights of transgender people everywhere. CeCe's powerful story highlights the groundswell of voices questioning the prison industrial complex and calling for its disassembly. Documentary, Directed by Jacqueline Gares. 100 minutes. * Cece McDonald and filmmaker Jacqueline Gares present for discussion.

Saturday, April 15, 4:00pm - Dear Mandela
- To Be Free – In a tiny after-hours club, Nina Simone finds a way, for one moment, to be free. Drama, Directed by and starring Adepero Oduye. 12 minutes.
- Dear Mandela - When the South African government promises to 'eradicate the slums' and begins to evict shack dwellers far outside the city, three friends who live in Durban's vast shantytowns refuse to be moved. Dear Mandela follows their journey from their shacks to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela's example and become leaders in a growing social movement. By turns inspiring, devastating and funny, the film offers a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age. Documentary, Directed by Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza. 90 minutes. * Post screening discussion with local housing justice organizers.

Saturday, April 15, 6:30pm - Whose Streets?
- I Just Draw Pictures  - A portrait of Jo Hines, the Baton Rouge artist who painted the mural at Triple S Food Store where Alton Sterling was killed by police officers. Documentary, Directed by Jillian Hall. 6 Minutes. * Filmmaker present for screening.
- Off The Sidewalks, Into the Streets  - Highlights those involved in the protests last summer in Baton Rouge and asks that their motives not be forgotten. Documentary, Directed by Zandashé  Brown and Ryan Clarke. 6 minutes. * Filmmaker present for screening.
- Whose Streets? -  Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters. As the national guard descends on Ferguson with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance. Filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis know this story because they are the story. Whose Streets? is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live. Documentary, Directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis. 103 Minutes. * Activists from Ferguson, featured in film, present for post-film discussion, along with local organizers.

Saturday, April 15, 9:30pm - All Governments Lie
All Governments Lie – Journalist I.F. Stone famously said "All governments lie," and this belief motivates fearless independent journalists to find the truth. Explore pivotal moments in history when investigative journalists uncovered facts that contradicted official government statements. This film follows independent journalism from I. F. Stone, whose fearless, independent reporting from 1953 to 1971 filled a tiny 4-page newsletter which he wrote, published, and carried to the mailbox every week, to today. The film profiles Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Nermeen Shaikh, Jeremy Scahill, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibi, and others as they expose government lies and corporate deception. Documentary, Directed by Fred Peabody. 90 minutes.

Sunday, April 16, 5:00pm - When I Saw You
When I Saw You – Jordan, 1967. The world is alive with change: brimming with reawakened energy, new styles, music and an infectious sense of hope. In Jordan, a different kind of change is underway as tens of thousands of refugees pour across the border from Palestine. Having been separated from his father in the chaos of war, Tarek, 11, and his mother Ghaydaa, are amongst this latest wave of refugees. Placed in “temporary” refugee camps made up of tents and prefab houses until they would be able to return, they wait, like the generation before them who arrived in 1948. With difficulties adjusting to life in Harir camp and a longing to be reunited with his father, Tarek searches a way out, and discovers a new hope emerging with the times. Eventually his free spirit and curious nature lead him to a group of people on a journey that will change their lives. When I Saw You (Lamma Shoftak) is the story of people affected by the times around them, in search of something more in their lives. A journey full of adventure, love, humor, and the desire to be free, but most of all this is a story about that moment in a person's life when he wakes up and finds the whole world is open and everything is possible - that moment you feel most alive. It is a journey of the human spirit that knows no borders. Drama, Directed by Annemarie Jacir. 100 Minutes.

Sunday, April 16, 7:00pm – Visions of Housing Justice: Films and Discussion on Housing issues, presented by Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative
- Soul City  - Soul City is a documentary short that tells the story of a group of civil rights activists and city slickers who attempt to build a multiracial utopia in the heart of Klan Country, North Carolina in the 1970s. Their pioneering efforts to jumpstart this black-owned, black-built town run up against tenacious enemies that still face idealists and dreamers today--ingrained racism, public skepticism, and unwillingness on the part of the government to think outside the box to solve social problems. As this group of dreamers try to bring together unlikely allies to support black power and economic development, they are forced to balance their soaring idealism with the hostile reality of the times. Documentary, Directed by Monica Berra, SheRea DelSol, and Gini Richards. 21 minutes. *Filmmakers present for post-screening discussion.
- Arc of Justice - Arc of Justice traces the remarkable journey of New Communities, Inc. (NCI) in southwest Georgia, a story of racial justice, community organizing, and perseverance in the face of enormous obstacles. NCI was created in 1969 in Albany, Georgia by leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Congressman John Lewis, and Charles and Shirley Sherrod, to help secure economic independence for African American families. For 15 years, NCI cooperatively farmed nearly 6,000 acres, the largest tract of land in the United States owned by African Americans at the time, but racist opposition prevented them from implementing plans to build 500 affordable homes as part of their community land trust. Documentary, Directed by Helen S. Cohen and Mark Lipman. 22 minutes.
- Flooded with you - The inspiring, strong family bond of the Davis family whose homes were flooded and who now live all together in one small apartment. Documentary, Directed by Evan Kidd. 8 minutes. * Filmmaker present at screening.

PATOIS 2016
APRIL 14-17, 2016

Thanks to the support of audiences, volunteers, filmmakers, and our many sponsors, The 2016 PATOIS FIlm Festival was a huge success! Every event was sold out or standing room only, and featured powerful discussions and connections. Over 500 people joined our programs, including more than 50 filmmakers and cast members, like the residents of Mossville, Louisiana, who came to the screening of Mossville: A Story of Community Extinction, or the civil rights movement veterans that travelled all the way from Memphis, Tennessee for The Invaders.

PATOIS Film Festival is proud to thank all of our 2016 sponsors, volunteers, supporters, and members, including: ACLU of Louisiana . Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Antenna, Broad Community Connections, Gills Long Poverty Law Center, Junebug Productions, Kev Kiernan, IATSE Local 478, New Orleans Film Society, New Orleans Video Access Center, New Quorum, Pagoda, Shake Sugary, The Broad Theater.

Featured Organizations and Participants: 2-Cent, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Breakout!, BYP100- New Orleans, Gallery of the Streets, Hidden History LLC, Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, Jewish Voice for Peace NOLA, McKenna Museum of African American Art, Neighborhood Story Project, New Orleans Palestine Solidarity Committee, STAND With Dignity, Take Em Down NOLA, Women With A Vision.

2016 FILMS

The Invaders
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 7:00pm
Opening Night Film
Inspired by militant black leaders like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, a new, radicalized generation of civil rights activists made up of young college students, Vietnam vets, musicians, and intellectuals emerged in Memphis in 1967. The Invaders espoused Black Power and, when pushed, did not limit themselves to non-violence. The Invaders uncovers the history and significance of the often- overlooked group, detailing their surprising behind- the-scenes involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the pivotal days leading up to his assassination. Running time: 76 min. Directed by Prichard Smith. *Director and cast will be in attendance. Introduced by Wendi Moore-O'Neal. Discussion to follow film. Sponsored by IATSE local 473. Featured organizations: BYP100, Take ‘em Down Nola, STAND With Dignity, ACLU of Louisiana.

Opening Night Party
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 9:00pm Opening Night Party – Free with purchase of opening night ticket or festival pass. 2435 Esplanade Avenue.

Sooner or Later, Somebody's Gonna Fight Back
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 7:00pm
Sooner or Later, Somebody’s Gonna Fight Back is the first documentary film to chronicle the history and political development of the Louisiana State Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Using rare archival footage, photos, news articles, flyers, personal narratives, and more, this multimedia project explores radical organizing in New Orleans—while examining the untold struggles and experiences of Black Panther members who envisioned a more just New Orleans in the early 1970s. This trailer is a work in progress from 2002, with a full length to come. Running time: 12 minutes. Directed by Brice White and Shana griffin.

Showing with: Emory Douglas: The Art of the Black Panthers
A portrait of art used as a revolutionary weapon, through the story of Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture for The Black Panther Party. (8 min.) *Featured organization: McKenna Museum of African American Art, Hidden History LLC, Neighborhood Story Project 

MAJOR!
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 8:30pm
MAJOR! is a documentary film exploring the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a formerly incarcerated Black transgender elder and activist who has been fighting for the rights of trans women of color for over 40 years. At the heart of MAJOR! is a social justice framework that puts the subjects at the center of their story. MAJOR! was produced in collaboration with Miss Major, the film’s participants, and a transPOC Community Advisory Board to ensure that these stories, which are so often marginalized, exoticized, or played for tragic drama, retain the agency and humanity of those who tell them. Miss Major is a veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion and a survivor of Attica State Prison, a former sex worker, an elder, and a community leader and human rights activist. She is simply “Mama” to many in her community. If history is held within us, embodied in our loves and losses, then Miss Major is a living library, a resource for generations to come to more fully understand the rich heritage of the Queer Rights movement that is so often whitewashed and rendered invisible. Running time: 80 minutes. Directed by Annalise Ophelian. *Discussion featuring Director Annalise Ophelian, producer StormMiguel Florez, and staff and members of BreakOUT! and TGIJP (Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project).. Co-sponsored by New Orleans Film Society. Featured organizations: Breakout!, Black & Pink, New Orleans Film Society.

Speed Sisters
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 7:00pm
Despite a tangle of roadblocks and checkpoints, a thriving street car racing scene has emerged in the West Bank. Held at improvised tracks – a vegetable market, an old helicopter pad, a security academy – the races offer a release from the pressures and uncertainties of life under military occupation. The Speed Sisters are the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Grabbing headlines and turning heads at improvised tracks across the West Bank, these five women have sped their way into the heart of the gritty, male-dominated Palestinian street car-racing scene. Weaving together their lives on and off the track, SPEED SISTERS takes you on a surprising journey into the drive to go further and faster than anyone thought you could. Running time: 80 minutes. Directed by Amber Fares. *Director will be in attendance. Discussion to follow film. Featured organizations: New Orleans Video Access Center, New Orleans Palestine Solidarity Committee.

Red Umbrella Diaries
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 9:00pm
Born out of a desire to give voice to a historically marginalized and criminalized workforce, The Red Umbrella Diaries turns the spotlight on seven diverse New Yorkers as they each tell personal stories about their experiences as sex workers. At turns provocative, illuminating, hilarious and empowering, their stories lay bare the realities of an often-maligned industry and each one’s complex relationship to their work. Running time: 99 minutes. Directed by David Kornfield. *Cast members will be in attendance. Discussion to follow film. Featured organization: Women With A Vision. 

Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 5:00pm
"Pinkwashing" is a term activists have coined for when countries engaged in terrible human rights violations promote themselves as "gay friendly" to improve their public image. Israel is the country most famous for this strategy, having initiated it as part of a rebranding campaign has been engaged in for the last decade. In 2012, activists in the Pacific Northwestern region of the US responded to an Israeli Consulate-funded pinkwashing tour featuring Israeli gay and lesbian activists that was coming to the region. Local queer Palestine solidarity activists exposed the "Rainbow Generations" tour as pro-Israel propaganda and got some of the events, including the tour's centerpiece event hosted by the City of Seattle's LGBT Commission, cancelled. A significant backlash ensued involving the Seattle City Council and Seattle's leading LGBT and HIV organizations. Through the inspiring story of these activists' victory, Pinkwashing Exposed explores how pinkwashing works and what local activists are doing to fight back. Running Time: 56 minutes. Directed by Dean Spade. Cast member in attendance. *Post screening discussion with Nada Elia, a Diaspora Palestinian scholar activist who is also featured in the film.  A long-time grassroots organizer, Nada Elia has served on the National Steering Collective of INCITE! Women and Trans People of Color Against Violence, where she co-chaired the Anti-Militarism/Anti-Occupation Taskforce.  She also served on the Steering Collective of AWSA (Arab Women's Solidarity Association) and currently serves on the Organizing Collective of USACBI, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Featured organization: New Orleans Palestine Solidarity Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace – New Orleans.

Race, Gender, Environment, and Youth: Revolutionary Short Films
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 7:00pm
- Ecohybridity a short documentary  that explores the ideas of Black dislocation and border-crossing in New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. Playing with a mix of experimental form and cinema verite, the documentary showcases the response of 15 black feminists to disaster capitalism as they work together to orchestrate public installations and performances that center the memory and future of blackness. Running time: 10 minutes. Directed by Jazz Franklin. Filmmaker and collaborators will be in attendance.
- Mossville (work in progress screening). The residents of a historic African American town take a final stand against the chemical companies that destroyed their community. Running time: 15 min. Directed by Alex Glustrom. Filmmakers will be in attendance.
- Our New Orleans Four shorts written, directed, and produced by high school age youth who participated in 2-Cent Entertainment's 2015 Summer Session documenting, through fictional and non-fictional accounts, their perspective on the city and its progress ten years post-Katrina. Running time: 20 minutes. Filmmakers: 2-CENT Summer Program: Kayla Jones, Lavirgil Penns, Donnisha Mansfield, Jeriah Butler, Tabrielle LaGrone, Juliean Thomas, Demari Reddick, Kaitlyn Pittman, Toi Henry, Lauryn Andry, Dajonik Bickham, Kiera Dabon, Brandon Ellis, Kayron Crump, Jhamyron Richardson, Marcus Parker, and Alyisha Johnson.

*Filmmakers will be in attendance. Sponsored by Junebug Productions. Featured organizations: Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Gallery of the Streets, 2-Cent, Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability initiative. Post-Screening reception at theater, sponsored by Advocates for Environmental Human Rights.

PATOIs 2015
March 11–22, 2015

In 2015, we screened 40 feature and short films centered on human rights around the world. We hosted four free community-focused programs that presented programming on a variety of issues including the changing education system, youth activism in New Orleans, gentrification and more.

Our 2015 Fest celebrated 12 years of PATOIS as a New Orleans platform for international human rights films, performances, workshops and demonstrations. At every event, it was made clear to us that the need for intentional spaces focused on critical discussion, activism and creativity is needed in New Orleans, perhaps now more than ever.

Highlights of this year’s festival included both of our shorts series, one focused on sex workers’ rights and the other on the preservation of indigenous rituals in modern Mexico. Each of these events were met with a full house and engaged audiences. Additionally, the launch of Last Call, a podcast pieced together from oral history interviews of lesbians who have lived in New Orleans since the 1960s and 1970s, combined music, live performance and storytelling in a dynamic presentation of local history. Throughout the festival, we conducted an audience choice awards survey that allowed participants to rate each film.

The 2015 PATOIS Film Festival Audience Choice Award went to BOUND: Africans vs African Americans, directed by Peres Owino.

2015 FILMS AND PROGRAMS

March 11: Festival kickoff party featuring a solo performance by Kiyoko McCrae
THURSDAY: SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRY
Artfully combining dramatizations, performance and archival imagery, the film recounts the stories of women who fought for their own equality, and in the process created a world-wide revolution.

FRIDAY: BIG CHARITY
From the firsthand accounts of healthcare providers and hospital employees who miraculously withstood the storm inside the hospital, to interviews with key players involved in the closing of Charity and the opening of New Orleans’ newest hospital, Big Charity shares the untold, true story around its closure and sheds new light on the sacrifices made for the sake of progress.

FRIDAY: THE THROWAWAYS
Timely and provocative, The Throwaways is more just than an illumination of marginalized people at their weakest moments; it is a call to action, a story of directly engaging in the fight for justice.

SATURDAY: BAD FRIDAY: RASTAFARI AFTER CORAL GARDENS 
BAD FRIDAY focuses on a community of Rastafarians in western Jamaica who annually commemorate the 1963 Coral Gardens “incident,” a moment just after independence when the Jamaican government rounded up, jailed and tortured hundreds of Rastafarians. It chronicles the history of violence in Jamaica through the eyes of its most iconic community, and shows how people use their recollections of past traumas to imagine new possibilities for a collective future.
It chronicles the history of violence in Jamaica through the eyes of its most iconic community, and shows how people use their recollections of past traumas to imagine new possibilities for a collective future.

SATURDAY: GENTRIFICATION AND THE NEW NEW ORLEANS
Bye Bye Bywater is a short film parody of the New Orleans Tourism Board’s promotional video of the “restaurant revolution” in the Bywater.
Changing the Channel was one of the first US films anywhere to look at the concept of gentrification and displacement of the poor in neighborhoods with rich architectural histories. 

SATURDAY: THE HAND THAT FEEDS
At a popular bakery café, residents of New York’s Upper East Side get bagels and coffee served with a smile 24 hours a day. But behind the scenes, undocumented immigrant workers face sub-legal wages, dangerous machinery, and abusive managers who will fire them for calling in sick. Mild-mannered sandwich maker Mahoma López has never been interested in politics, but in January 2012, he convinces a small group of his co-workers to fight back.
Risking deportation and the loss of their livelihood, the workers team up with a diverse crew of innovative young organizers and take the unusual step of forming their own independent union, launching themselves on a journey that will test the limits of their resolve.

SATURDAY: BOUND: AFRICANS VS AFRICAN AMERICANS
African versus African Americans (AVAA) is a hard hitting documentary that addresses the little known tension that exists between Africans and African Americans. AVAA uses personal testimonials to expose this rift, then it takes us on a journey through the corridors of African and African American historical experiences as it illuminates the moments that divide and those that bind Africans and African American. AVAA uses personal testimonials to expose this rift, then it takes us on a journey through the corridors of African and African American historical experiences as it illuminates the moments that divide and those that bind Africans and African American.

FOUCAULT AGAINST HIMSELF
Thursday, March 19
From the history of madness, to sexuality and pleasure in classical antiquity, to the law and penal institutions, the breadth of Michel Foucault’s thought was astonishing.

PELO MALO
Friday, March 20
A nine-year-old boy's preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother. 

THE WANTED 18
Friday, March 20
Through stop-motion animation, drawings and interviews, directors Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan recreate an astonishing true story from the First Palestinian Intifada: the Israeli army’s pursuit of eighteen cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared "a threat to the national security of the state of Israel."

RECOGNIZING INDIGENOUS RITUALS IN MODERN MEXICO
Sunday, March 22
A series of short films curated by Sarah Borealis, featuring intimate glimpses into ancient Mexican traditions.

SONGS FOR ALEXIS
Sunday, March 22
18-year-old Ryan is a talented musician and began his transition from girl to boy 4 years earlier. He is wildly in love with the beautiful and enigmatic 16-year-old Alexis, but her parents’ disapproval of Ryan forces her to choose between her family and an unsafe future with the man she loves.

SUNDAY: KATE BORNSTEIN IS A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER
Sam Feder’s playful and meditative portrait on Bornstein, captures rollicking public performances and painful personal revelations as it bears witness to Kate as a trailblazing artist-theorist-activist who inhabits a space between male and female with wit, style and astonishing candor.

SUNDAY: PATOIS PRESENTS: NEW ORLEANS YOUTH FIGHT FOR CHANGE
EMPATHY RANGERS
A group of teenagers decides to get involved and become the Empathy Rangers and fight against the evil ways of Dr. Apathy. A 2-Cent TV production.
RISK SERIES
Youth-created web series that follows a New Orleans youth, Kevin, through his last summer before college. Produced by the Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies.

SUNDAY: PATOIS PRESENTS: LAST CALL
We present the LAST CALL Podcast, made possible through the stories of people who were active in the New Orleans lesbian community in the 1970s and 80s. LAST CALL Prologue: “Coming Out Stories”, a 20 minute episode, will be accompanied by a multimedia dance performance and followed by a talkback with the creators and contributors.

SUNDAY: PATOIS PRESENTS: #BLACKLIVESMATTER
Special closing night event at PATOIS featuring:
FERGUSON: RACE AND JUSTICE IN THE US
The US theatrical premiere of a thrilling, powerful, intimate look inside the movement born in Ferguson. Directed by Sweta Vohra. 
BREAKING IN
A story of Stop and Frisk. Directed by Adepero Oduye, star of Pariah and 12 Years A Slave. 
ALSO: A conversation about the fight against police violence with the filmmakers and local activists, including organizer against police violence Malcolm Suber, and Al Jazeera filmmaker Sweta Vohra.

PATOIS 2011
APRIL 13-17, 2011

PATOIS 2011 premiered 22 films, plus live music, food, art, Q&A's with filmmakers from around the world, and discussions with special guests. 

PATOIS 2011 AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
Audience Award, Best Feature: IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, Directed by Vadim Jean 
Audience Award, Best Feature: KEEPER OF THE FLAME, Directed by Brian Nelson

2011 Films

The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger, 7 min, Animated, Director, Bill Plympton
A children's fable about the power of advertising, the meaning of life and ultimately the test of a mother's love.

Cafeteria Man (2010), 78 min, Doc, Director, Richard Chisolm
Cafeteria Man is the true story of rebel chef Tony Geraci and his mission to radically reform Baltimore's public school food system with a recipe for change.

Forks Over Knives (2010), Director, Lee Fulkerson
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

World According to Monsanto
The French documentary directed by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin “paints a grim picture of a company with a long track record of environmental crimes and health scandals”

Related events: Oxfam America Hunger Banquet®
Here’s how it works: Guests draw tickets at random that assign them each to either a high-, middle-, or low-income tier–based on the latest statistics about the number of people living in poverty. Each income level receives a corresponding meal: the 15 percent in the high-income tier are served a sumptuous meal; the 35 percent in the middle-income section eat a simple meal of rice and beans; and the 50 percent in the low-income tier help themselves to small portions of rice and water. Guests can also assume characterizations that describe the situation of a specific person at the income level to which they’ve been assigned. Finally, all guests are invited to share their thoughts after the meal. Community/Business Partners: Oxfam, Café Reconcile, NO Food Coop, Edible New Orleans, Whole Foods, Edible Schoolyard

Protest THROUGH Music/Art

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
From civil rights to the anti-war movement to the scandals of Watergate, protest singer Phil Ochs wrote songs that engaged his audiences in the issues of the 1960s and 70s. His fascinating life story and music were intertwined with the history-making events that defined a generation. Even as his contemporaries moved into folk-rock and pop music, he followed his own vision, challenging himself and his listeners. Ochs never achieved commercial success, but his music remains relevant, reaching new audiences in a generation that finds his themes all too familiar

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (2002), 108 min Director, Lee Hirsch
Interviews, archival footage, and filmed performances highlight the role of music in the South African struggle against apartheid.

ANPO: Art X War (2010), 89 min  - Documentary, Director: Linda Hoaglund
ANPO: Art X War tells the story of Japan's historic resistance to U.S. military bases in Japan through an electrifying array of artwork created by Japan's foremost artists. The film articulates the insidious, lasting impact that the U.S. military presence has had on Japanese lives, and the creative processes that artists have devised to transmit the spirit of resistance

Beats Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, Director, Michael Rapaport
Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998.

Born Sweet (2010), 25 min, Documentary, Director/Producer: Cynthia Wade
A boy comes of age in rural Cambodia while struggling with arsenic poisoning and dreaming of becoming a karaoke star

Louder Than a Bomb (2010), 99 min  - Documentary, Directors: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel
By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, Louder Than a Bomb follows the fortunes of four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world's largest youth slam.

Rejoice and Shout, 119 minutes, Documentary, Director, Don McGlynn
Rejoice and Shout traces the 200-year history of gospel music through a meticulous combination of archival footage, rare recordings and interviews with the biggest names in the field. There’s also, naturally, lots of great music, and it’s infectious.

Related Events: Music Show featuring the music of protest songs sung by area musicians including John Boutte, Schatzy and The Tom Paines among others. Eye on New Orleans

RELATED TITLES

Keeper of the Flame, Narrative, Director, Brian Nelson
In hurricane-ravished New Orleans, the Mardi Gras Indian culture serves as a pillar in the community and a symbol of strength in the midst of adversity. When the Big Chief of a prominent Indian tribe dies unexpectedly, he passes the leadership of the tribe on to an unlikely candidate: his young grandson Michael, who has the heart of a warrior but the appearance of a sheep. Unhappy with his father’s decision to pass him up for the younger Michael, Michael’s uncle Tré forms his own tribe and challenges Michael’s position as a Chief and his role as a man in general.

The Sons of Tennessee Williams, 75 min  - Documentary, Director, Tim Wolff
The Sons of Tennessee Williams tells the story of the gay men of New Orleans who created a vast and fantastic culture of wildly popular 'drag balls' starting in the late 1950s. These men worked with the traditions of Mardi Gras to bring gay culture into public settings in the early 1960s.

In the Land of the Free, 84 min  - Documentary, Director: Vadim Jean
Tells the shocking and unbelievable story of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert King, three black men from rural Louisiana who were held in solitary confinement in the biggest prison in the U.S., an 18,000-acre former slave plantation known as Angola. Woodfox and Wallace, founding members of the first prison chapter of the Black Panther Party, worked along with King to speak out against the inhumane treatment and racial segregation in the prison. This documentary tells the ongoing story of the case of these three extraordinary men

Related Events: Mardi Gras Indian showcase/music performances in conjunction with the premiere of Keeper of the Flame Workshop – Sharing Your Voice.

SPOTLIGHT FEATURES

Route Irish, 109 minutes, Narrative, Director, Ken Loach
The story of a private security contractor in Iraq who rejected the official explanation of his friend's death and sets out to discover the truth

When We Leave, 119 min Feature Narrative, 2010, Directed by: Feo Aladag
A stunning and heartbreaking drama, WHEN WE LEAVE confronts the realities of female oppression within traditional, religious families. Umay (Sibel Kekilli) is an ethnically Turkish German citizen living with her husband and his family in the Istanbul suburbs. Suffering horrible abuse at the hand of her husband, Umay escapes with her young son and flees to her family in Germany, who are horrified and shamed at her actions.   WHEN WE LEAVE has been selected as Germany's official entry for the 2011 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

ADDITIONAL TITLES

Beautiful Darling, 85 minutes, Documentary, Director, James Rasin
The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar

Cointelpro 101, 56 minutes, Documentary
Cointelpro 101 exposes illegal surveillance, disruption, and outright murder committed by the US government in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Cointelpro refers to the official FBI COunter INTELigence PROgram carried out to surveil, imprison, and eliminate leaders of social justice movements and to disrupt, divide, and destroy the movements as well.

I Am (2010), 76 min  - Documentary   - February 2011 (USA)
Director Tom Shadyac speaks with intellectual and spiritual leaders about what's wrong with our world and how we can improve both it and the way we live in it.

Kingdom of Women: Ein El Hilweh

PORT OF MEMORY, Documentary, Director, Kamal Aljafari
A Palestinian family awaits expulsion from their house by Israeli authorities in a crumbling district now being gentrified in the ancient port city of Jaffa. Personal and cinematic memories, and a very uncertain future, weigh heavily over the residents’ everyday rituals.

ReGeneration, 81 minutes, Documentary, Director, Phillip Montgomery
ReGENERATION explores the inherent cynicism found in many of today's youth and young adults, and the influences that perpetuate our culture's apathetic approach to social and political causes. The film features three intersecting stories of students, parents, and artists all looking for their place in society. Together they capture the thoughts and feelings of today's struggling generation as some of the worlds leading scholars, activists, and media personalities provide their insight into the ideas and movements that can inspire change.

Snow on tha Bluff, Narrative Feature, Director, Damon Russell
Snow On Tha Bluff is the story of Curtis Snow; an Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer who steals a video camera from some college kids during a dope deal, and begins documenting his life. At first, it’s business as usual for Curt. He robs dope boys, he runs from the cops, and he sells drugs, all while trying to provide for his baby momma and 2-year-old son. But when one of the rival drug dealers he rips off comes back for revenge, Curt’s life spirals out of control.

The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan, 77 minutes, Documentary
Private McKinley Nolan vanished forty years ago in Vietnam on the Cambodian frontier. Some say he was captured, some say he was a traitor, and some even say he was an American operative. The US Army officially claims he was radicalized and "went native", joining the Viet Cong and later encountering the Khmer Rouge. In 2006, retired US Army Lt. Dan Smith, revisiting the battlefields of his youth, may have encountered the elusive McKinley, alive.

Vigilante Vigilante, Director: Max Good
A new breed of crime-fighter now stalks the urban landscape: the anti-graffiti vigilante. These dedicated blight warriors stop at nothing to rid their neighborhoods and cities of street art.

Welcome to Shelbyville, 74 minutes, Documentary, Director, Kim Snyder
Set in America's rural south, on the even of the recent election a town deals with issues of immigrant integration and reckons with its segregated past.

PATOIS 2010
MARCH 11-21, 2010

From March 11 – March 21, PATOIS 2010 highlighted, Arts, Community Dialogue, Workshops, and Films.

Arts

From poetry to photography and drumming to dance installations, hundreds of New Orleanians danced to the beat of Luther Gray and Bamboula 2000, DJ Dynamite Dave Soul, and EF Cuttin. Hundreds more celebrated the sweet tones of Michaela Harrison and the powerful poetics of Def Jam poets Suheir Hammad and Sunni Patterson, and the incomparable Kalamu ya Salaam.  Moving Pictures Performance Projects' dance installation Women & Power: (Re)Moved & (Re)Claimed and photoactivist Abdul Aziz' Flags on Fire: (Re)Actions from New Orleans to Gaza brought new and dynamic insights and media to Patois, which is quickly outgrowing its title as a film festival!

Community Dialogue

This year's festival began with a look to our past to inform our visions for the future.  More than 350 attendees packed Warren Easton's auditorium to see the inspiring new film Freedom Riders, and to learn from local civil rights movement veterans like Jerome Smith, Dodie Smith-Simmons, and Matt "Flukie" Suarez.  Throughout the festival, audiences challenged and inspired each other in dialogues about apartheids past and present (with the film Have you Heard from Johannesburg: The Bottom Line), the mental and emotional effects of slavery's legacy and racism on Black women (with the film Out of Our Right Minds: Trauma, Depression, & The Black Woman, and panel featuring Dr. Denese Shervington of Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies, Wendi O'Neal of Safe Streets Strong Communities, filmmakers Stacey Muhammad and Dave "Drizz" Rodriguez, and Valery Jean of Brooklyn's Families United for Racial and Economic Equality), state-sanctioned violence and community response (with the film Operation Small Axe, and panel featuring JR Valrey of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee in Oakland, filmmaker Adimu Madyun, Rosana Cruz of Voice of the Ex-offender, Yvette Thierry of Safe Streets Strong Communities, and the Final Call's Brother Jesse Muhammad), how documentaries can become tools in community organizing (with excerpts from Land of Opportunity), and the history of white anti-racism (with the film Freeing Silvia Baraldini and filmmakers Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas).

Workshops

Patois was proud to host Race Peace, a dynamic workshop focusing on Race and Racism brought to us by Mondo Bizarro and M.U.G.A.B.E.E. This year's festival also featured Haiti: Revolution, Reconstruction, Restitution, a powerful teach-in informed by the voices of Max Rameau of Miami's Take Back the Land, Valery Jean of Brooklyn's Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Bill Quigley of Loyola Law School and the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Wadner Pierre, from the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cité Soleil.  This year's festival also featured Haiti is Home: We Are Haiti, a powerful multimedia evening presented by Fyre Youth Squad that explored New Orleans' historical, cultural, and genealogical ties to Haiti.

Films

Patois 2010 was thrilled to offer the World Premieres of the exciting new films Operation Small Axe and Crepe Covered Sidewalks.  The festival also featured regional  premieres of some of the most acclaimed films of the year, including Academy Award Nominees Burma VJ and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.  Patois audiences also saw the regional premieres of Cannes' much-celebrated Salt of this Sea and Sundance sweetheart Freedom Riders.

Community Support

Patois' audiences donated more than $3,000 towards a variety of social justice, rebuilding, and arts organizations, including Haiti's Partners in Health and the Ciné Institute and New Orleans' Junebug Productions, Women with a Vision, and Gris Gris Lab.

Festival Awards

Audience Award: Salt of this Sea, directed by Annmarie Jacir

Juried Award: Coming Home: The Dry Storm, directed by Michele Stephenson, produced in association with the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)

Patois Award: Freeing Silvia Baraldini, directed by Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas
The Patois Award celebrates the film that most exemplifies Patois' goal of channeling audience energy into meaningful dialogue and community building that lasts long after the fest has ended.

Rise Up Award: Operation Small Axe, directed by Adimu Madyun
The Rise Up Award celebrates the film that most exemplifies Patois' goal of transforming the passive experience of viewing a film into an active experience of challenging human rights abuses in our communities through organizing and concrete collective action.

SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 11, Maison - 508 Frenchmen Street
8:00PM: CONCERT: Patois for Haiti: Songs of Solidarity
Featuring Luther Grey and Bamboula 2000, Wise Intelligent, E-PROPS, Truth Universal, Bzy Bee, and Slangston Hughes. With DJ EF Cuttin. Proceeds benefit Partners in Health.

Friday, March 12 *OPENING NIGHT*, Warren Easton Senior High School, 3019 Canal Street
7:00PM: Freedom Riders
New Orleans premiere and panel discussion with local Civil Rights Movement veterans. 
Film description: Courageous civil rights activists take a stand through collective action. 113m, documentary, directed by Stanley Nelson. 

Saturday, March 13, Warren Easton Senior High School, 3019 Canal Street
2:00PM: TEACH-IN: Haiti: Revolution, Reconstruction, Restitution
Haiti’s history of revolution, occupation, and exploitation, the emerging shock doctrine the US and corporate partners have planned, and what the American Left can do to support Haitian-led reconstruction. With Max Rameau, Valery Jean, and Bill Quigley, and featuring video reports from Haiti’s Ciné Institute. Proceeds benefit Plateforme Haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Alternatif (PAPDA). 

5:00PM Leader - Filmmaker Present at Screening
The legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. 35m, directed by David “Drizz” Rodriguez. 
Out of Our Right Minds: Trauma, Depression, & The Black Woman - Filmmaker Present at Screening
The African American woman’s experience in a world that has rendered her invisible. 20m, documentary, directed by Stacey Muhammad.

7:00PM: PERFORMANCE: Breaking Poems: An Evening of Poetry with Tony Award-winning Def Jam poet Suheir Hammad, Def Jam poet Sunni Patterson, Kalamu ya Salaam, and Michaela Harrison. 7pm

Sunday, March 14, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd
3:00PM: SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: Fighting for Home: Housing Struggles Across the U.S. - Filmmaker Present at Screening
Housing activists from Miami’s Take Back the Land, Brooklyn’s Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), and MAYDAY NOLA discuss housing issues in their communities. 

FEATURING:
Housing is a Human Right - Filmmaker Present at Screening
Excerpts from the ongoing multimedia documentary portrait of the struggle for Home. Created and produced by Rachel Falcone and Michael Premo.

Coming Home: The Dry Storm - Filmmaker Present at Screening
New Orleans residents become activists in the face of public housing demolitions. 39m, documentary, directed by Michele Stephenson. 

7:00PM: The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers
Pentagon insider leaks top-secret government papers. 92m, documentary, directed by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith. Academy Award Nominee. 

Monday, March 15, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
7:00PM: SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: Organizing Against Apartheid
Screening and community discussion about the global campaigns against South African and Israeli Apartheid. 
FEATURING: SAIA Carleton Divestment Campaign
Campus organizing against Apartheid. 7m, campaign video, directed by SAIA Carleton. 7pm
Have You Heard from Johannesburg? The Bottom Line
How a grassroots international movement fought Apartheid in South Africa. 86m, documentary, directed by Connie Field. 

Tuesday, March 16, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
7:00PM: The Fence
The unforeseen consequences of the U.S.’ construction of  a 700-mile fence along its Mexican border.. 35minutes, documentary, directed by Rory Kennedy. 
Burma VJ
Burma’s video journalists report from within a repressive police state. 85m, documentary, directed by Anders Østergaard. Academy Award Nominee. 

Wednesday, March 17, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
7:00PM: PANEL: Media and Social Justice
Journalists discuss the role of media in movements for justice.

8:00PM: MEDIA INTO ACTION: Land of Opportunity - Filmmaker Present at Screening
Film screening and community strategizing about documentary projects as tools for organizing. 

Thursday, March 18, New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
7:00PM: CENTERPIECE: Crepe Covered Sidewalks *World Premiere* - Filmmaker Present at Screening
The director explores Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on her family and herself in this story of loss, love, and rebirth. 60m, documentary, directed by Reneé Wilson.

Friday, March 19, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
7:00PM: PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE: Salt of this Sea
Two young Palestinians steal a taste of freedom on the run from the law. 108m, fiction, directed by Annemarie Jacir. Introduced by Tony Award-winning actor and Def Jam poet Suheir Hammad.

Saturday, March 20, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
2:00PM: Intifada NYC
Controversy surrounds the United States’ first Arabic-language public school. 46m, documentary, directed by David Teague. 

4:00PM: SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: Freeing Silvia Baraldini
The life of US political prisoner Silvia Baraldini, a white woman working in solidarity with Black armed resistance movements.  99m, documentary, directed by Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas. 

Warren Easton Senior High School, 3019 Canal Street
6pm: FYRE YOUTH SQUAD: Haiti is Home: We Are Haiti
Community event, performances and more, in support of Haiti.

McKenna Museum of African American Art, 2003 Carondelet Street
10:00PM: PERFORMANCE: Women and Power: (Re)Moved and (Re)Claimed
An evening of multi-dimensional dance illuminates women's embodied struggles, hopes and truths. Presented by Moving Stories Performance Projects.

11:00PM: AFTERPARTY with DJ Dynamite Dave Soul. Benefit for Ciné Institute, Moving Stories, and Gris Gris Lab. 

Sunday, March 21, Gris Gris Lab, 2247 Brainard Street
NOON: WORKSHOP: Race Peace
A performance/dialogue used to incite conversations about race and racism. With Mondo Bizarro and M.U.G.A.B.E.E. FREE EVENT.

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
2:00PM: The Music’s Gonna Get You Through *Sneak Preview* (SYMBOL)
Visually-challenged teenagers participate in a music camp hosted by blind New Orleans master pianist Henry Butler. 55m, documentary, directed by Gabrielle Mullem. 

4:00PM: SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: State Violence and Community Response
Screenings and discussion with filmmakers and local activists about state violence in New Orleans and Oakland, and violent and nonviolent community responses. FEATURING: 
Daggit Gaza
A recipe for a spicy tomato salad from Gaza. Literally translated, ‘the pounding of Gaza.’ 8m, experimental, directed by Hadeel Assali and Iman Saqr. 4pm.
Operation Small Axe *World Premiere* - Filmmaker Present at Screening
Fighting law enforcement violence in Oakland, CA. 71m, documentary, directed by Adimu Madyun.

7:00PM: SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: In Our Own Image: Sex Workers Speak
Screening and panel featuring filmmakers and local sex workers and advocates. FREE EVENT.
In Our Own Image: Sex Worker Made Media and the Story of $pread Magazine - Filmmaker Present at Screening
$pread Magazine, an example of sex worker-made media, and challenges to corporate media approaches to sex work. 19m, documentary, directed by Lisa Davis and J. Kirby.

9:00PM: Closing Ceremony and CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Presentation of juried and audience choice awards.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM: American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
Intimate portrayal of the best-selling and controversial author. 84m, documentary, directed by David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier.

ALSO PART OF PATOIS:
ART EXHIBIT:  Flags on Fire: (Re)Actions from New Orleans to Gaza
Zeitgeist, March 12-21 - Resistance and resilience through the lens of photojournalist Abdul Aziz.

PATOIS 2009
MARCH 26- APRIL 5, 2009

From our Opening Night screening of the powerful film American Violet to the World Premiere of Justice for All at our Closing Night, Patois proudly presented eleven dynamic days of films, performers, speakers, and actions.

On Friday of our opening weekend we celebrated the sounds of liberation from New Orleans to Detroit to Brooklyn to Gaza at our Liberation Hip-Hop show, featuring Wise Intelligent of the Poor Righteous Teachers, Invincible, Sabreena da Witch, Mohammed Al-Farra, Truth Universal, and Dee-1.

The next night, director Barry Jenkins joined us for the sold-out regional premiere of his award-winning film Medicine for Melancholy, which featured a beautiful performance by GaBrilla Ballard.

On Sunday, we hosted a protest, as scores of New Orleanians rose bright and early to commemorate Palestinian Land Day and to tell the American-Israel Public Affairs Committe (AIPAC) that our community stands against the murder of innocent Palestinians and demands liberation and self-determination for all people.

Later on Sunday, Fyre Youth Squad and Hot 8 Brass Band led a packed house into the streets with a Blowout Consciousness secondline, which featured the films I Am Sean Bell and Moral Panic: More Heat Than Light.  

Sunday evening, 2-Cent Entertainment presented an hour of new grassroots videos as part of a benefit for Positive Image Entertainment, which also featured a performance by Slangston Hughes. After their show, 2-Cent introduced Crips and Bloods: Made in America, a benefit screening for Black Men United for Change that packed the house.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Patois proudly presented a two-day series on the role of individuals and small business owners in the reconstruction of New Orleans with the US Premiere of Independent America: Rising from Ruins, directed by Hanson Hosein, and the World Premiere of The New Orleans Tea Party, directed by New Orleanians Marline Otte and Laszlo Fullop. As the Tea Party audience walked out of Stern Auditorium at the New Orleans Museum of Art they were met by TBC Brass Band, who treated them to some of the best music New Orleans has to offer.

On Friday, Patois partnered with The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparation in America (N'COBRA) to present the special free program Reparations for Africans in America: Possible? Justifiable? Desirable? at the Craige Cultural Center.  This intense and inspiring event featured the films Welcome to Batey 6 and The Untold Story: Slavery in the Twentieth Century. The screenings were followed by a panel featuring Untold Story director Antoinette Harrell, Ukali Mwendo of N'Cobra, and Walter Umrani of the Nation of Islam.

On Saturday, Patois teamed up with the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) to present the free program Housing is a Right, which featured St Joe, an experimental film by Luisa Dantas about the demolition of public housing in New Orleans; Locusts, a documusicmentary about housing and development in Detroit featuring Patois performer Invincible; and Some Place Like Home: The Fight Against Gentrification in Downtown Brooklyn, Executive Produced by the phenomenal women at Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE).  The screenings were followed by a dynamic housing panel featuring Miami's Max Rameau of Take Back the Land, Valery Jean and Maisha Morales of FUREE, and Ursula Price of Safe Streets Strong Communities.

Saturday evening, a snowed-in James Spooner joined us via video chat for our screening of his provocative film White Lies Black Sheep.  Patois was thrilled to present James' film alongside People Not Places, a stunning documusicmentary about the racism of the Birthright Israel concept featuring Invincible, and the World Premiere of Robot + Girl, by Erin K. Wilson, for a packed crowd.

Later on Saturday evening, Patois collaborated with the Louisiana Community AIDS Partnership to present AIDS Chronicles: Here to Represent, by Bailey Barash.  Bailey joined local AIDS activists for a powerful and informative panel following the film.

On our closing day, Max Rameau treated us to a free workshop on direct housing action based on his experience in Miami with Take Back the Land.  Students, activists, and community members sat spellbound for over an hour during Max's phenomenal workshop.  Later that week, Max and Take Back the Land were featured on the front page of the New York Times.  

On Sunday evening, Patois proudly presented the World Premiere of Justice for All, a powerful film about the juvenile injustice system and the cradle-to-prison pipeline, directed by Sherry Dorsey.  Following the World Premiere, Patois announced this year's award-winning films and filmmakers and offered a beautiful festival Naming Ceremony put together for the festival by Patois board member Broderick Webb and Fyre Youth Squad member Knowledge is Born. The Naming Ceremony was followed by a screening of NO Cross NO Crown, an elegant film about the struggles and triumphs of great New Orleanians, directed by AM Peters, and an appearance by Big Chief Alfred Doucette of the Flaming Arrow Warriors.

This year at Patois, we heard from great speakers and activists like Brother Jesse Muhammad of Houston, Stacey Muhammad and Wise Intelligent of Brooklyn, Miami's Max Rameau, and New Orleans' own James Williams.  In addition to the phenomenal lineup at our Liberation HipHop show, we also heard show-stopping performances from TBC Brass Band, Slangston Hughes, Hot 8 Brass Band, GaBrilla Ballard, and Kourtney Heart.  

This year's festival also featured three phenomenal art exhibitions: Expressions of Nakba, a haunting multimedia commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the catastrophe of occupation and expulsion Palestinians continue to suffer; Through the Youth Lens, a stunning curation of photographs by youth activists from Fyre Youth Squad, the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), Rethink, and Youthanasia; and Crowns of Glory, a fantastic display of decorated church hats that honor African American women struggling with HIV and AIDS.

This year, Patois audiences generously donated more than $1,000 for great local social justice organizations such as Women With a Vision, Welfare Rights Organization, Black Men United for Change and Equity, and The New Orleans Afrikan Film and Arts Festival.

2009 Award Winners

Audience Choice Award: Best Feature Film: Medicine for Melancholy, Directed by Barry Jenkins

Audience ChoiceAward: Best Short Film: Robot + Girl, Directed by Erin K. Wilson

Audience ChoiceAward: Best New Orleans Film: The Untold Story: Slavery in the 20th Century, Directed by Antoinette Harrell and Josh Johnston

Jury Award: Best Feature Film: William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, Directed by Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler

Jury Award: Best Short Film: St. Joe, Directed by Luisa Dantas

Jury Award: Best New Orleans Film: Free Stylaz, Directed by Hasina B. Ashé

Patois Award: Best Feature Film: Independent America: Rising from Ruins, Directed by Hanson Hosein
Patois Award: Best Short Film: I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak, Directed by Stacey Muhammad
The Patois Award celebrates filmmakers who use the medium of film to promote community dialogue about social justice issues.

Rise Up! Award: Some Place Like Home, Directed by Kelly Anderson, Co-directed by Allison Lirish Dean, Executive Produced by Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE)
The Rise Up! Award celebrates filmmakers who use the medium of film to incite audiences to action around social justice issues.

2009 FILMS

AIDS Chronicles: Here to Represent

94m, documentary, directed by Bailey Barash, Regional Premiere.

A feature-length documentary about the social and cultural impact of HIV/AIDS on the urban African American population.   

American Violet

102m, fiction, directed by Tim Disney, Regional Premiere. Filmmaker present.

Based on true events, Dee risks everything in a battle that forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. 

Arafat & I 

15m, comedy, directed by Mahdi Fleifel, Regional Premiere

A young Palestinian man believes he’s found the woman he wants to marry, a British soulmate who shares her birthday with Chairman Arafat.

Ard As-Sawad

9m, documentary, directed by Tish Stringer, Regional Premiere

A beautiful film about the life of an Iraqi artist living in exile.

Beyond the Wall: Inside the Sadr Movement in Iraq

22m, documentary, directed by Big Noise Films, Regional Premiere. Filmmaker present

Moqtada al Sadr and his militia, the Mehdi Army.

Body and Soul: Diana & Kathy

56m, documentary, directed by Alice Elliot, Regional Premiere

Two of the country's most remarkable advocates for people with disabilities.

The Cajun New Wave

13m, documentary, directed by Philip Cartelli, World Premiere

A new generation of young Cajun musicians have been defending and re-popularizing their unique identity.

Corazón del Tiempo (Heart of Time)

90m, fiction, directed by Alberto Cortéz, Regional Premiere

It is a time of revolution and Sonia’s rebellious heart causes further commotion in her village. 

Crips and Bloods: Made in America 

93m, documentary, directed by Stacy Peralta, Regional Premiere 

The story of South Los Angeles’ two most infamous African American gangs. 

A Day in Palestine

6m, experimental, directed by Mary-Ellen Davis, Regional Premiere

Scenes of everyday life in Occupied Palestine.

The Detention Imperative: An Inside Look at the US Detention System in Iraq

22m, documentary, directed by Big Noise Films, Regional Premiere

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been detained by the US.

Differences & Disabilities

7m, documentary, directed Gabrielle Turner, Festival Premiere 

Students discuss the discrimination they face because people perceive them as disabled.

Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath

90m, documentary, directed by Sharat Raju & Valarie Kaur

Valarie Kaur was a 20-year-old Sikh college student when she set out across America in the aftermath of 9/11, camera in hand, to document hate violence against her community.

Dos Americas: The Reconstruction of New Orleans

47m, documentary, directed by David Zlutnick

Interviews with some of the estimated 100,000 Latino migrant laborers who have converged in this area over the past three and a half years.

Exodus

110m, science fiction, directed by Penny Woolcock, Regional Premiere

In this nightmare vision of the future, a neo-fascist politician (Bernard Hill) clears the streets of immigrants.

Free Stylaz

8m, documentary, directed by Hasina B. Ashé, Festival Premiere 

Students and teachers show off their lyrical skills and talk about the art of freestyle.

Grissi Siknis: The Magic Sickness of the Jungle

Winner, Best Feature: Stone Center Latin American Environmental Media Festival

94m, documentary, directed by Enrique Ruiz-Skipey, US Premiere. Filmmaker present

A film about a mysterious sickness among the Miskito people.

Hartos Evos Aquí Hay: The Coca Growers of Chaparé

52m, documentary, directed by Manueal Ruiz Montealegre and Héctor Ulloque, Regional Premiere

A picture of the coca growers’ labor union organization.

Homeless Power

12m, documentary, directed by Big Noise Films, 

The rise of a new poor people's movement in the US.

The House that Herman Built (trailer)

5m, documentary trailer, directed by Angad Bhalla, Regional Premiere

Artist Jackie Summel has dedicated her life to building a home for imprisoned New Orleans Black Panther Herman Wallace.

Hunger

96m, fiction, directed by Steve McQueen, Regional Premiere

An interpretation of the highly emotive events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike led by Bobby Sands.

I am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak

11m, documentary, directed by Stacey Muhammad, Regional Premiere, filmmaker present 

In honor of the life of Sean Bell, an unarmed 23 year old African American man gunned down on the night before his wedding by New York Police Department Officers - all of whom were found not guilty - in a hail of 50 bullets.

Independent America: Rising from Ruins

70m, documentary, directed by Hanson Hosein, US Premiere, filmmaker present

A hard yet hopeful look at the risks and rewards of small business ownership in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Intensive Care Unit

4m, experimental, directed by youth of Voices Beyond Walls

An artistic interpretation of the poem by the same title by the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

Justice for All: The Documentary

98m, documentary, directed by Sherry Dorsey, World Premiere. Filmmaker present.

The minds of juvenile offenders who commit minor crimes and then endure abuse from those charged to care for them.

Katrina: Man-made Disaster

28m, documentary, directed by Big Noise Films, Regional Premiere. Filmmaker present

The thousands who died here were not killed by the storm - they were left for days to drown as flood waters rose around them.

The Least of These

62m, documentary, directed by Clark Lyda and Jesse Lyda, Regional Premiere

The Least of These explores one of the most controversial aspects of American immigration policy: family detention. 

Locusts

11m, documusicvideo, Regional Premiere

The struggle for housing in Detroit, featuring Invincible and Finale, Detroit hiphop artists and community activists.

Made in L.A.

70m, documentary, directed by Almudena Carracedo, Regional Premiere

María, Lupe and Maura are three Latina immigrants struggling to survive in Los Angeles sweatshops.

Media Advocates for Prevention Series: Stressin’

5m, documentary, directed by Media Advocates for Prevention, World Premiere, filmmaker present

A set of three films created by New Orleans youth to spread the word about HIV & AIDS, and safer sex decision-making, in our community.

Media Advocates for Prevention Series: What is MAP?

11m, documentary, directed by Media Advocates for Prevention, World Premiere, filmmaker present

An introduction to the MAP youth and our work.

Medicine for Melancholy

88m, fiction, directed by Barry Jenkins, Regional Premiere 

Saturday, March 28, 7pm, Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center

A love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African American twenty-somethings dealing with issues of class, identity, and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco.

Mofetas (Skunks)

10m, comedy, directed by Inés Enciso, Regional Premiere 

Night falls at Tangier´s port. Karim and Aziz wait in silence. Or at least they try to...

Moral Panic: More Heat Than Light 

32m, documentary, directed by Akintola Hanif, Regional Premiere. Filmmaker present

An inside look into the minds of gang members and ex-prisoners in the hope of creating some genuine understanding about the choices made by the film’s subjects.

The New Orleans Tea Party

56 m, documentary, directed by Marline Otte and Laszlo Fulop, World Premiere. Filmmaker present

The challenging reconstruction of post-Katrina New Orleans.

Nerakhoon (The Betrayal)

96m, documentary, directed by Ellen Kuras, co-directed by Thavisouk Phrasavath, Regional Premiere

Filmed over 23 years, Nerakhoon is the directorial debut of renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras in a remarkable collaboration with the film’s subject and co-director Thavisouk Phrasavath.

NO Cross, NO Crown

53m, documentary, directed by AM Peters, Regional Premiere

How New Orleans has been a fundamental element of American music since its inception. Featuring DJ Soul Sister, Kermit Ruffins, author Tom Piazza, and Mardi Gras Indian Chief Alfred Doucette.

People Not Places

11m, documusicmentary, Regional Premiere

Featuring Abeer, Suhell Nafar (DAM), and Shadia Mansour, People Not Places takes the listener on an Israeli "birthright" tour where the buried Palestinian significance of each location comes to light.

3m, animated blaxploitation parody, LaRon Williams, World Premiere

PitStop is a crude parody of  Dr. Seuss and the 1970s blaxploitation film genre. 

Promise vs Practice

28m, documentary, directed by Pandwe Gibson, Festival Premiere, filmmaker present

A documentary about the perceptions and experience of students receiving special education services in a Los Angeles public high school.  

Re-awakening Saddam’s Tribal Strategy

22m, documentary, directed by Big Noise Films, Regional Premiere

After four years of bloody insurgency, the war changed abruptly when America began allying with Sunni militias called 'The Awakening movement.’

Roaming Around

53m, documentary, directed by Brigitte Maria Bertele, US Premiere 

The lives of street children trying to make their way in the Ghanaian capital. Robot + Girl

5m, animated science fiction, directed by Erin K. Wilson, World Premiere. Filmmaker present

After accidentally leaving her heart behind her, a tardy librarian revives a defective and damaged robot.

Shadi and the Beautiful Well

10m, fiction, directed by Mahdi Fleifel

An autistic Palestinian youth living in a refugee camp struggles with the cruelty of a local bully.

Some Place Like Home: The Fight Against Gentrification in Downtown Brooklyn

40m, documentary, directed by Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Regional Premiere. Filmmakers present

Narrated by writer and activist Kevin Powell, Some Place Like Home depicts the fight against the exclusion of low-income families and small businesses from the “new vision” for developing Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn.

St. Joe

10m, experimental, directed by Luisa Dantas. Filmmaker present.

St. Joe is visual dirge for “the bricks”—the new deal-era public housing buildings that were at the center of a two-year contentious battle over the right of return for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

A Summer Not to Forget

27m, documentary, directed by Carol Mansour, Regional Premiere

For 33 days beginning in July of 2006, Lebanon witnessed continuous Israeli bombardment.

Una Vida Mejor

13m, fiction, directed by Luis Fernández Reneo, Regional Premiere

The faithful account of 3 Mexican children who got lost in the Sonoran desert while trying to cross the U.S. border. 

Under the Bombs

98m, fiction, directed by Philippe Aractingi, Regional Premiere

Lebanon’s official selection for best foreign film for the 2008 Academy Awards, Under The Bombs begins during a cease-fire in the Lebanon-Israel conflict of 2006. A Christian taxi driver brings a Shiite woman from Beirut to the heart of the conflict in the country’s south. 

The Untold Story: Slavery in the 20th Century

30m, documentary, directed by Josh Johnston and Antoinette Harrell

This documentary is based on research conducted by Antoinette Harrell, including documents located in the National Archives in Washington, DC, FBI reports, NAACP reports, newspaper articles, and letters written to five US Presidents and complaints from American citizens. 

Welcome to Batey 6

20m, documentary, directed by Emmanuel “Mano” Alexandre, Regional Premiere

A rare look into the lives of the Haitian sugarcane cutters of the Domincan Republic.

White Lies Black Sheep

88m, fictional documentary, directed by James Spooner, Regional Premiere, filmmaker present

A.J.'s begins to find that his chosen community, the white rock world, only seems to run smoothly for white rockers. A series of events force him to recognize that his friends both exotify him and are in denial of his Blackness.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

documentary, 90m, directed by Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler, Regional Premiere

Emily and Sarah Kunstler explore the life of their father, the late radical civil rights lawyer.

Young Freud in Gaza

58m, documentary, directed by Pea Holmquist and Suzanne Khardalian, Regional Premiere

Ayed, a young psychotherapist for the Palestinian Authority's Clinic for Mental Health.

PATOIS 2008
APRIL 9 - 20, 2008

Twelve days, more than fifty films, more than twenty directors presenting their films, five world premieres, plus workshops, performances, parties, and more. The Fifth Annual New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival, April 9 – 20, 2008.

In 2008, we were proud to welcome Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme, who presented his film Right To Return: New Home Movies From the Lower Ninth Ward on April 9 at John McDonogh High School. We also hosted an afterparty for the screening at the Mother-In-Law Lounge, featuring Al “Carnival Time” Johnson.

The next night, Thursday, April 10, at 7 pm, we presented the New Orleans premiere of Taxi To The Dark Side, the 2008 Academy Award-winner for best documentary feature.

Also on Thursday, at 9:30 pm, we premiered Caramel, a new romantic comedy from Lebanon. The film is the most highly acclaimed film in Lebanon’s history, was selected for Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and was Lebanon’s official submission to the 2008 Academy Awards for best foreign-language film.

This year featured comedies, action films, science fiction, and more. In addition to Caramel, Driving to Zigzigland, a comedy about a Palestinian cab driver in Los Angeles; Eréndira Ikikunari, an action film about indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization; and the world premiere of The Fullness of Time, an experimental science fiction film from the director of Drylongso and the producers who brought Waiting For Godot to the Lower Ninth Ward.

This year’s festival was filled with music and performances. In addition to our opening night performances, we hosted a concert featuring New Orleans's best bounce music on Saturday, April 19 at 11:30 pm. We also programmed some incredible musical films, including Ya Heard Me, a film about New Orleans bounce; From the Mouthpiece on Back, a film about To Be Continued Brass Band; Finding Our Folk, which features performances by Hot 8 Brass Band, among other musicians; War/Dance, a portrayal of breathtaking and inspiring music and dancing from Uganda; profiles of young breakdancers from Texas in Inside the Circle; and stunning hip-hop performances from Senegal in Democracy in Dakar.

This year we continue to showcase the best films from New Orleans and around the world. We have incredible filmmaking from almost every continent, exemplified by the film Arabs And Terrorism – a fresh new documentary exploring different perspectives on this issue, filmed in 40 countries. We present strong artistic visions from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, including The Birthday, a film about sex changes in Iran; When The Clouds Clear, about an Ecuadorian village’s resistance to a copper mine; In The Name of the Son, about a prisoner of war coming from Bosnia to the US; and Intimadad, an intimate portrait of a couple from rural Mexico. See an exclusive look at the Iraqi resistance in Meeting Resistance; experience a lyrical and beautifully poetic view of the economic collapse in Argentina in Maybe Buenos Aires; and experience The Truth From Palestine, a special series of new short films from Palestine, highlighting grassroots voices not generally heard in the US.

We always prioritize showcasing youth and especially young people from New Orleans. This year featured new films from the New Orleans program Students at the Center (SAC). Among the student-directed films this year were A Jazz Journey, and Moving On, both by students from SAC; and the world premiere screening of Wade in the Water, which was made in collaboration with New Orleans students in Central City. For another youth programming, there was Digital Resistance, made in collaboration with Palestinian youth from refugee camps, and In Solidarity, a film about a trip that six Black high school students from Baltimore took to Nicaragua.

Our festival celebrates the best of New Orleans filmmaking, bringing you the first chance to see local filmmaking at its best. In addition to the premieres of Wade in the Water and The Fullness of Time; we were proud to present the world premieres of Vows of Silence, New Orleans writer Jason Berry’s new film about corruption and sexual abuse in the Catholic church; Cut Off, Broderick Webb and Edward Holub’s new film about public housing in New Orleans; and the first New Orleans festival screening of Glory at Sea, a new fiction film from New Orleans filmmaker Benh Zeitlin.

We also brought some Hollywood to the festival this year. In addition to director Jonathan Demme, we had Chicago 10, an exciting new film from Academy Award-nominated director Brett Morgen, featuring Jeffrey Wright, Roy Scheider, Nick Nolte, and Mark Ruffalo. And the year’s Academy Award-winner for best documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side, a stunning exploration of the dark side of the Bush administration's war on human rights; the Academy Award-nominated War/Dance, an uplifting and beautiful film about a dance competition in Uganda; and Shock Doctrine, a breathtaking film from writer Naomi Klein and Academy Award-nominated director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá Tambien).

Our festival exists to support movements for social justice – not to just show problems, but to show solutions, to celebrate hope and resistance. On April 20, we had the New Orleans premiere of the most thorough, up-close perspective on the struggle of the Jena Six, from a journalist who was there long before the corporate media showed up –Big Noise Tactical Media’s The Jena Six. And we had a snapshot from New Orleans’ activist past in Rudy Mills’ Neo-Black Leaders and Politics. When the people of Oaxaca, México led an uprising and the corporate media demonized them, they seized the media. We showed the story in Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of so Much Truth). For an unforgettable story of struggle against all odds, we screened Bilin My Love, a story of one Palestinian village’s inspiring resistance to displacement and dispossession.

In addition to beautiful and inspiring films, incredible performances, and fabulous parties, we had a wide range of other special events, including workshops and discussions with filmmakers, activists, and human rights workers. Katrina Browne, director of the thought-provoking and powerful film about the legacy of racism and slavery, Traces of the Trade, hosted a discussion on the issues raised by her film. New Orleans grassroots and activist filmmakers talked about their films and social justice in New Orleans in Straight Out of New Orleans, a two-part series, Monday, April 14 at the Craige Cultural Center, and Tuesday, April 15 at Southern University of New Orleans. Each evening featured different filmmakers.

What do human rights internationally have to do with the issues we face in New Orleans? How can we build links with international struggles? What lessons can we learn from movements in other countries? How can the framework of international human rights support the struggle for justice in New Orleans? We hosted discussions of these questions and much more from local and international experts at the festival workshop Our Struggle Is Your Struggle: A Discussion on Human Rights in New Orleans and Around the World on Sunday April 13.

On April 21-22, US President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, and Mexican President Calderón gathered in New Orleans for the North American Leaders’ Summit to discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America – the military arm of NAFTA. We hosted a special festival workshop, NAFTA Gets Militarized: The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America on Sunday, April 20, at 12:30 pm.

In support of V to the Tenth, the tenth anniversary of The Vagina Monologues, we highlighted programming by and about women throughout our festival, including the films Against The Grain, about artists facing state repression in Peru; Black Womyn: Conversations With Lesbians of African Descent, featuring powerful voices such as Def Poet Stacyann Chin and filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons; Mississippi Chicken, about Latina poultry workers; and Tunnel Trade, Laila El-Haddad’s exploration of the smuggling tunnels under Gaza. In addition, we offered free admission to our April 11 and 12 programming with ticket stubs from the V to the Tenth programming in the Superdome.

Venues: Canal Place Cinema (333 Canal St), Craige Cultural Center (1800 Newton St, Algiers), John McDonogh High School (2426 Esplanade Ave), Mother-In-Law Lounge (1500 N. Claiborne Ave), The Porch (1943 Pauger St), Prytania Theatre (5339 Prytania St), Southern University of New Orleans (6801 Press Drive), Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd).

2008 FILMS

Against the Grain

| 64m | Documentary | Directed by Ann Kaneko |

In 1989, Alfredo Márquez used an image of Mao in an artwork. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Regional Premiere.

American Outrage

American Outrage is the story of Carrie and Mary Dann, feisty heroic Western Shoshone sisters who¹ve been fighting the U.S. government for 35 years. 

Arabs and Terrorism

| 135m | Documentary | Directed by Bassam Haddad |

Examines the dominant discourse on terrorism. New Orleans Premiere.

Bilin My Love

| 85m | Documentary | Directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollack |

The village of Bil’in is about to lose over a half of its territory to the Apartheid Wall and to the Jewish settlement of Modi’in Elite. Regional premiere

The Birthday

| 72m | Documentary | Directed by Negin Kianfar & Daisy Mohr |

A young trans woman is followed in her process through an operation in Iran. New Orleans Premiere.

black.womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent

| 98m | Documentary | Directed by Tiona. M. |

A documentary focusing on the lives and views of lesbians of African descent from various backgrounds. Regional Premiere

Caramel

| 96m | Fiction | Directed by Nadine Labaki | 35mm |

In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon. New Orleans Premiere

Chicago 10

| 100m | Documentary | Directed by Brett Morgan | 35mm |

The 1968 Chicago Conspiracy trial not as “history,” but as an electrifying experience felt with up-to-the-moment immediacy.  New Orleans Premiere.

Christmas 2007 (New Orleans) aka Can you Feel the Jingle Bells

| 7m | Documentary | Directed by HollyHood Khalioskee Labrome |

Public housing protests and demolitions.

CUT OFF

| 30m | Documentary | Directed by Broderick Webb and Edward Holub |

CUT OFF passes the mic to a chorus of voices on the frontlines of the global struggle over the vision for the “New City” and who will live there. 

Daughters of Gardeners

| 53m | Documentary | Directed by Karina Marceu |

Thirty-six million women are missing in India. Regional Premiere

Democracy in Dakar

| 75m | Documentary | Directed by Magee McIlvaine, Ben Herson, Chris Moore |

Democracy in Dakar explores the transformative role of hip-hop on politics in Senegal.

Digital Resistance

| 13m | Documentary | Directed by Children from the Ibdaa and Lajee Refugee Camps |

In January 2007, a group of media makers and youth organizers from NYC and the Bay Area traveled to Palestine.

Driving to Zigzigland

| 93m | Fiction | Directed by Nicole Ballivian |

A chronicle of a day in the life of a Palestinian cab driver in Los Angeles. New Orleans Premiere

Drying Up Palestine

| 28m | Documentary | Directed by Rima Essa and Peter Snowdon |

Since Israel annexed the West Bank in 1967, Palestinians’ access to their traditional water resources has been drastically reduced. Regional Premiere.

Eréndira Ikikunari

| 35mm | Fiction | Directed by Juan Roberto Mora Catlett

An action film about the conquest of Mexico by the Europeans in the XVI century. New Orleans Premiere.

Finding Our Folk

| 56m | Documentary | Direction – Frank Aveni, Co-Directors George Cox, Omo Moses |

Finding Our Folk tells the story of young people, who after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, organized themselves. World Premiere.

From the Mouthpiece on Back

| 60m | Documentary | Directed by Colleen O’Halloran and Jason DaSilva |

In the summer of 2005, To Be Continued, the youngest jazz band in New Orleans — and one of the best hopes for survival of New Orleans’ legendary jazz traditions- secondline brass band music — is on the verge of going from The Big Easy to The Big Time.

Co-Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee

The Fullness of Time

| 50m | Fiction | Directed by Cauleen Smith |

Star Date: 2007. Coordinates: New Orleans. A sister from another planet is sent to earth to explore the terrain and learn our ways. Shot on location in New Orleans in collaboration with Kalamu Ya Salaam and Students at the Center. Executive produced by Paul Chan and Creativetime.

Co-Presented by The New Orleans Film Society and the Porch, Hosted by the 7th ward Neighborhood Center. World Premiere.

Glory at Sea!

| 23m | Fiction | Directed by Benh Zeitlin |

Glory at Sea! is the first film project that moves past documenting the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and towards understanding it through the powerful language of storytelling.

In the Name of the Son

| 25m | Fiction | Directed by Harun Mehmedinovic |

After escaping execution, Tarik, a Bosnian prisoner of war, immigrates to the United States looking to leave his past behind. New Orleans Premiere

In Solidarity

| 41m | Documentary | Directed by Aleks Martray |

Six African-American high school students from Baltimore who leave the only home they’ve ever known on a journey to Nicaragua. Regional Premiere

Inside the Circle

| 102m | Documentary | Directed by Marcy Garriott | 35mm |

Capturing the raw power of a grassroots hip-hop movement. Regional Premiere.

Intimidad

| 73m | Documentary | Directed by Ashley Sabin and David Redmon |

Intimidad is an in-depth portrait of Cecy and Camilo Ramirez, two 21 year olds, whose dream is to buy land and build a house in Reynosa, Mexico.  New Orleans Premiere

Jena Six

| 30m | Documentary | Directed by Jacqueline Soohen and Big Noise Tactical Media |

In a small town in Louisiana, six families are fighting for their sons’ lives. New Orleans Premiere

Maybe Buenos Aires

| 47m | Documentary | Directed by Xavi Satorra Larriba |

The Argentine crisis is couched within the framework of a global crisis of democratic governability. U.S. Premiere.

Meeting Resistance

| 84m | Documentary | Directed by Steve Connors and Molly Bingham |

Raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency. New Orleans Premiere.

Mississippi Chicken

| 82m | Documentary | Directed by John Fiege |

Questions of race, workers’ rights and exploitation. New Orleans Premiere.

Nueva Orleans

Stuffed into a crammed New Orleans clapboard house is a crew of Central American migrants.

The Other Side

| 43m | Experimental | Directed by Bill Brown |

A 2000-mile journey along the U.S./Mexico border reveals a geography of aspiration and insecurity.  New Orleans Premiere.

Right to Return: New Home Movies From the Lower Ninth Ward

| 108m | Documentary | Directed by Jonathan Demme |

Opening night film.
Beginning in January 2006, Jonathan Demme filmed in and around New Orleans.

Scenic Highway

| 17m | Experiemental | Directed by Evan Mather |

Due to the recent unpleasantness, Baton Rouge has eclipsed New Orleans as the largest city in Louisiana.

Shock Doctrine

| 7m | Documentary | Directed by Alfonso and Jonás Cuarón |

Drawing surprising connections between market methods and CIA torture techniques developed in the 1950s. Based on the book by Naomi Klein.

The Sugar Babies

| 99m | Documentary | Directed by Amy Serrano |

Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic.

Sunlight and Babies

| 12m | Documentary | Directed by Kim Craig |

Trucking culture has just as many stereotypes as any other culture. New Orleans Premiere.

T. Don Hutto: America’s Family Prison

| 10m | Documentary | Directed by Lily Keber and Matthew Gossage|

Since May 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been incarcerating families in a converted medium-security prison north of Austin.

Taxi to the Dark Side

| 106m | Documentary | Directed by Alex Gibney | 35mm |

2008 Academy Award-winner, best documentary.
A gripping investigation into the reckless abuse of power by the Bush Administration. 

Third Ward TX

| 57m | Documentary | Directed by Andrew Garrison |

A row of born-again shotgun houses, called “Project Row Houses” is the unlikely home of cutting-edge art and visionary thinking about inner-city renewal and community. 

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North

| 86m | Documentary | Directed by Katrina Browne and Alla Kovgan |

This personal documentary tells the story of first-time filmmaker Katrina Browne’s Rhode Island ancestors, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. New Orleans Premiere.

Tunnel Trade

| 22m | Documentary | Directed by Laila El-Haddad and Saeed Taji Farouky |

An exclusive investigation into this underground trade from the perspective of the families who run it. New Orleans Premiere.

Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth)

| 93m | Documentary | Directed by Jill Irene Freidberg |

In the summer of 2006, a broad-based, non-violent, popular uprising exploded in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Untitled Video on Lynn Stewart and Her Conviction, the Law, and Poetry

| 18m | Portrait | Directed by Paul Chan |

On February 10, 2005, Lynne Stewart was convicted of providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy. Regional Premiere.

Vows of Silence

| 59m | Documentary | Directed by Jason Berry |

Explores the haunting saga of Father Marcial Maciel, and the meaning of Vatican justice. World Premiere.

Wade in the Water

| 73m | Documentary | Directed and Produced by Elizabeth Wood and Gabriel Nussbaum |

In the struggling neighborhood of Central City, New Orleans, a group of middle-school filmmakers document the complexity of childhood at the heart of an American crisis. New Orleans Premiere.

WAR/DANCE

| 105m | Documentary | Directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix | 35mm |

2008 Academy Award Nominee—Best Documentary Feature. The L.R.A. has a chillingly effective process to fill its ranks – abducting innocent children. New Orleans premiere.

When Clouds Clear

| 77m | Documentary | Directed by Anne Slick and Danielle Bernstein |

Based on a mining conflict currently taking place in Junín Ecuador. New Orleans Premiere.

Ya Heard Me?

| 77m | Documentary | Directed by Matt Miller and Stephen Thomas |

Bounce is not just a style of music but a holistic community involving dance, block parties and clubs. Regional Premiere.

PATOIS 2007
APRIL 12 - 22, 2007

The festival Opening Night featured Back and Forth, a powerful program of pre and post-Katrina films by New Orleans filmmakers, curated by New Orleans artist and filmmaker Courtney Egan.  Among the filmmakers present for Q & A after the film were Royce Osborn(Before the Flood), Kalamu Ya Salaam (The Changing of the Mascot), Helen Schmehl (Paco’s Gert Town Story), Laura Belsey (Katrina’s Children, excerpt), and members of the New Orleans Kid Camera Project (Decorating Grandma Bobbie’s House).

During the opening weekend the festival presented a benefit concert featuring Righteous Babe Records recording artist Toshi Reagon, HBO Def Poetry Jam star Sunni Patterson and local activist-poet Asali DeVan. We filled Ashe Cultural Arts Center and raised more than $1,000 for the New Orleans Women’s Clinic and the Women’s Health and Justice Initiative.

Among the other performers present at this year’s festival were eight young women from New Orleans’ John Dibert High School, who presented the short film A Girl Like Me with poetry, singing, and a dance performance. The festival had many other special events, including extended discussions with filmmakers, opening night and closing night parties sponsored by Handsome Willy’s Bar and Grill, and receptions sponsored by Sip Wine, Whole Foods, and the Charitable Film Network.

Among the inspiring community leaders and organizers speaking at this year’s festival were Malik Rahim (Common Ground), Kali Akuno( People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement), Mayaba Liebenthal (INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence), King Downing (National Coordinator, ACLU Campaign Against Racial Profiling), Taslima VanHattum (New Orleans Palestine Solidarity), Tory Pegram (ACLU), Cedric Edwards (New Orleans native and the first U.S. student to graduate from the Latin American School of Medical Sciences in Havana Cuba) and members of the Fyre Youth Squad and New Orleans Critical Resistance.  The festival also supported community by presenting almost all of its screenings at local community spaces Ashe Cultural Arts Center and Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center.

This year’s line-up of films was breathtaking.  We featured several world premieres, including festival award winner and official closing night selection Letters From Beirut. We hosted the first-ever public screenings for several films by New Orleans filmmakers, and US premieres of international films including USA vs Al-Arian and Garlic and Watermelons. We proudly highlighted urgent films from the Middle East, including Palestine Revolution Cinema, a brilliant selection of short films curated by world-renowned artist and curator Emily Jacir.

Among the filmmakers present at this year’s festival were Courtney Egan (Cleveland Street Gap), David Sullivan (Boom), Rebecca Snedeker (By Invitation Only), Jen Lawhorne (Canal Nueve), Sammy Loren (Hazards of Engagement), Ashley Sabin and David Redmon (Kamp Katrina), Tenth Ward Buck (Katrina Story), Trupania Bonner (Recover and Restore), B-Mike (Unity and Struggle), Rasheedah Ali(Salud), and local high school student filmmakers from the Ashe Cultural Arts Center Youth Filmmaking Camp, NOCCA, and Students at the Center.

2007 Festival Awards

2007 Jury Prize, Best Film: USA vs Al-Arian, Director: Line Halvorsen

2007 Jury Prize, Best Short: Katrina’s Children (excerpt), Director: Laura Belsey

2007 Audience Award, Best Film: By Invitation Only, Director: Rebecca Snedeker

2007 Audience Award, Best Short: Letters From Beirut, Director: Rick Rowley

2007 Special Recognition, Best Fiction Film: Heartlines, Director: Angus Gibson

2007 Special Recognition, Best Documentary: Occupation 101, Directors: Abdallah Omeish and …Sufyan Omeish

2007 Special Recognition, Best Short: Katrina Story, Director: 10th Ward Buck

2007 FILMS:

Opening Night: Back and Forth: A Program of Shorts Curated by Courtney Egan

| 55m | shorts program |

Curator Courtney Egan presents a program of locally produced shorts that explore “before and after.” Includes short films and excerpts by Royce Osborn, Helen Hill, music video director Will Horton, Walter Williams (of Mr. Bill Fame) Earlneka Royale of Students at the Center, J. Bogas, the Yes Men, NOCCA Student Helen Schmehl, the New Orleans Kid Camera Project, Laura Belsey with Babs Johnson, and Survivors Village.

Some filmmakers present, Q&A to follow.

A Girl Like Me

| 8m | Director – Kiri Davis |

A film about young Black girls and issues concerning the standards of beauty imposed on today’s black girls and how this affects their self-image.

Ahlaam (Dreams)

| 110m | Director – Mohammed Al – Daradji | drama |

Baghdad 2003.

Alienated

| 28m | Director – Educational Video Center | doc |

Alienated gives voice to undocumented youth immigrants facing the challenges of life after high school.

An Unreasonable Man

| 122m | Director – Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan | doc |

The life and career of Ralph Nader.

Bamako

| 118m | Director – Abderrahmane Sissako |

Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up… In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF.

Boom

| 2m | Director – David Sullivan | experimental |

A short abstract film by New Orleans filmmaker David Sullivan.

By Invitation Only

| 57m | Director – Rebecca Snedeker | doc |

Inclusion in New Orleans’ old line Carnival society remains “by invitation only."

Filmmaker present for Q&A.

Canal Nueve

| 7m | Director – Jen Lawhorne and Arnaldo Pena | doc |

Canal Nueve (“Channel Nine”) explains how a march of neighborhood women arrived at a state television station and decided to stay and occupy the station.

Cleveland Street Gap

| 3m | Director – Helen Hill and Courtney Egan | experimental |

Filmmaker Helen Hill recovered soggy home movies from her flooded house. 

The Color of Olives

| 92m | Director – Carolina Rivas | doc |

From Mexican director Carolina Rivas and cinematographer Daoud Sarhandi comes this elegant and visually breathtaking new film about the Palestinian experience.

Crossing Arizona

| 77m | Director – Joseph Matthew and Dan DeVivo | doc |

How the immigration issue arrived at we got to where we are today. 

Fallujah

| 30m | Director – Hamudi Jasim, Brandon Jourdan, Jacquie Soohen | doc |

A chronicle of events leading up to the November 2004 assault.

Free Ya Hood

| 80m | Director – Free Your Hood Coalition | doc |

Free Your Hood Coalition is a NYC coalition working on issues of police brutality.

Garlic and Watermelons US PREMIERE

| 56m | Director – Cameron Hickey and Lauren Feeney | doc |

Prokopis takes on a new role: as the unofficial representative of the group of forty families who were displaced to make room for a parking lot.

Hazards of Engagement

| 24m | Director – Sammy Loren | doc |

A New Orleans student visits Argentina and stays with social movements there.

Heartlines

| 97m | Director – Angus Gibson | drama |

After serving a jail sentence for theft, Mayisa, a young man with a cruel past and an uncertain future, is released.

Hide Your Words

| 24m | Director – Behnam Behzadi | doc |

A graceful and eloquent documentary about the plight of young girls in Iran and the reality of arranged marriages.

Jean Paul WORLD PREMIERE

| 9m | Director –Francesco Uboldi | doc |

Baloum is a very remote and pristine village up in the mountains of Western Cameroon.

Just Married

| 72m | Director –Ayelet Bechar | doc |

This film follows Kifah and Sudah, two newly married Palestinian women, and their experiences with the Citizenship Law that has been in effect in Israel since 2003.

Kamp Katrina

| 73m | Director – Ashley Sabin and David Redmon | doc |

Ms. Pearl — a New Orleans native — converts her backyard into a tent city where 14 displaced people live for 6 months.

Filmmaker and Ms. Pearl present for Q&A.

Katrina Story

| 35m | Director – 10th Ward Buck | doc |

New Orleans Bounce music superstar 10th Ward Buck tells his first-hand experience of being in New Orleans East as Katrina struck.

Filmmaker present for Q&A.

Legacy of Torture

| 28m | Director –Andres Alegría, Claude Marks | doc |

The Freedom Archives. In 2005 several former members of the Black Panthers were held in contempt and jailed for refusing to testify before a San Francisco Grand Jury.

Special Program, featuring guest speakers:

Malik Rahim, former New Orleans Black Panther and founder of Common Ground

Kali Akuno, People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and SF8 Solidarity Campaign.

Leila Khaled: Hijacker

| 58m | Director – Lina Makboul | doc |

It was August the 29th, 1969 and 24 year old Leila Khaled had just completed her first hijacking and at the same time she became the first woman ever to hijack an airplane.

Letters from Beirut

| 20m | Director – Rick Rowley | doc |

This powerful film, shot in the days following the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, follows one Beirut woman’s personal story of the devastation.

NOLA Students Speak Out! Special Shorts Program

| 40m |

Selections from the Ashe Cultural Arts Center youth filmmaking camp, NOCCA Student filmmakers, and Students at the Center.

Films Include:

NOCCA student filmmakers:
1. Beautiful by Querido Arias (2:30 min)
2. Exodus by Zachary Manuel (7 min)
Ashe Cultural Arts Center youth filmmaking camp:
1. Spilled Gumbo, Broken City, by Brandon (4 min)
2. Ghost Town by Tanisha (4 min)
3. South Tsunami by Ryan (4 min)
Students at the Center student films:
1. UN vs North Korea by Calvin Thompson (1:30)
2. Making a Choice by Keva Carr (4 min)
3. Jackie Seal by Kalamu Ya Salaam and SAC  (9:45)

Some filmmakers present for screening.

Notes From Porto Alegre

| 28m | Director – Global Action Project Youth Producers | doc |

In January 2005, G.A.P. youth producers traveled to Porto Alegre, Brazil to participate in the World Social Forum.

Special presentation by New Orleans Organizing Committee for the US Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27 – July 1, 2007.

Occupation 101

| 89m | Director – Abdallah Omeish and Sufyan Omeish | doc |

Occupation 101 presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian Revolution Cinema

| 80m | Curated by Emily Jacir |

A special tribute to a group of filmmakers who have made significant contributions to various categories of Palestinian Revolution Cinema between the years of 1968 and 1982. Films include: 1) Away from Home – Qais Il Zobaidi/Syria /11 min/ 1969. 2)The Visit – Qais Il Zobaidi/Syria/ 10 min/ 1970. 3) Children Nonetheless – Khadija Abu Ali/Palestine/ 25 min/1980. 4) They Don’t Exist – Mustafa Abu Ali/Palestine/ 25 min/ 1974. 5) Born Out of Death – Monica Maurer/ Palestine/ 9 min/ 1981.

Plagues And Pleasures on the Salton Sea

| 71m | Director – Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer | doc |

Once known as the “California Riviera,” the Salton Sea is now called one of America’s worst ecological disasters. Narrated by underground film icon John Waters.

Filmmakers Present for Q&A.

The Present

| 8m | Director – Julietta Boscolo | doc |

Living in Sydney, Miyoko’s seemingly simple existence is complicated by the weakness of her body and the strength of her memories.

Ra Choi

| 120m | Director – M. Frank | doc |

Set in the Sydney suburbs; Ra Choi is the story of four street kids down on their luck and trying to make a life for themselves.

Rainbow’s End

| 75m | Director – Jochen Hick & Christian Jentzsch | doc |

Rainbow’s End is a multinational journey exploring gay rights from the center to the borders of Europe.

Road to Guantanamo

| 75m | Director – Michael Winterbottom | doc |

Part documentary, part drama, this stunning and powerful film tells the story of the ‘Tipton Three’.

¡Salud!

| 92m | Director – Connie Field | doc |

The curious case of Cuba, a cash-strapped country with what the BBC calls ‘one of the world’s best health systems.’

Film Introduced by Actor/Producer Danny Glover and New Orleans youth with Fyre Youth Squad.

USA vs Al-Arian

| 99m | Director – Line Halvorsen | doc |

An activist Arab family in Tampa Florida is targeted by the US government.

Vital Voices: Special Shorts Program

| 95m |

A selection of powerful, poetic, and beautiful short films from around the world. Films include Present, Cleveland Street Gap, Canal Nueve, White Feathers, Boom, Jean Paul, Hide Your Words, and Hazards Of Engagement. (See individual descriptions for short films).

White Feathers

| 8m | Director – Rebecca Scott |

A young African woman is being initiated into an African ceremony with an unacceptable past.

PATOIS 2006
APRIL 6 - 15, 2006

From April 6 – 15, 2006, several hundred New Orleanians viewed more than 40 films from 5 continents.

The festival began with an opening night of post-Katrina New Orleans films followed by a free opening night party at Neighborhood Gallery hosted by festival cosponsors New Orleans Network with music by Lady Lolo. Most films were presented at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, with additional screenings at Loyola University of New Orleans and at Northwestern State University’s School of Social Sciences in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

We hosted several guest filmmakers introducing their films and answering questions, including the directors of Soma, Faces of Change, Quilombo Country, State of Fear, After the Wind…, and more. We were also honored to have many local filmmakers presenting their films, including Royce Osborn, Charlie Brown, and Mary Beth Black as well as festival guest curator Courtney Egan.

The festival had many other special events, including a mid-festival party at Handsome Willy’s, an anti-power workshop by Soma director Nick Cooper, and presentations from a wide array of grassroots organizers and organizations, including representatives from Safe Streets/Strong Communities, Critical Resistance, Voice Of The Experienced (VOTE), The Innocence Project, Left Turn Magazine and New Orleans Palestine Solidarity. Other special guests who presented at the festival included representatives of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, A Fighting Chace, American-Arab Antidiscrimination Committee-New Orleans, ACLU Of Louisiana, and others.

Additional special events included presentations on the right of return and resistance from Palestinian grassroots organizers Hadeel Assali and Ala Al-Azzeh, and spoken word poetry by local poet Mau Bader and others.

While the largest audiences came for the post-Katrina New Orleans films, the festival overall set new records for attendance over previous years. We also worked to create spaces for community building and conversation about themes presented in the films.

2006 Festival Awards

As with previous years, the festival presented audience choice awards to filmmakers based on the results of audience ballots as well as a jury prize voted on by festival organizers and members of the social justice community. Below are the festival award winners:

2006 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER for BEST FEATURE: FACES OF CHANGE by MICHELE STEPHENSON

2006 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER for BEST SHORT: ABORTION DIARIES by PENNY LANE

2006 JURY AWARD WINNER for BEST FEATURE: PALESTINE BLUES by NIDA SINNOKROT

2006 JURY AWARD WINNER for BEST SHORT: CHILDREN OF THE STORM: TEENS SPEAK OUT by BETSY WEISS

2006 OFFICIAL SELECTION, OPENING NIGHT FILMS: AFTER THE WIND…, FINDING COMMON GROUND, PEOPLE SAY and TREME.

2006 OFFICIAL SELECTION, CLOSING NIGHT FILMS: RIGHTS ON THE LINE, THE EXONERATED, FACES OF CHANGE and PALESTINE BLUES.

2006 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER for BEST FEATURE: FACES OF CHANGE by MICHELE STEPHENSON

2006 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER for BEST SHORT: ABORTION DIARIES by PENNY LANE

2006 JURY AWARD WINNER for BEST FEATURE: PALESTINE BLUES by NIDA SINNOKROT

2006 JURY AWARD WINNER for BEST SHORT: CHILDREN OF THE STORM: TEENS SPEAK OUT by BETSY WEISS

2006 OFFICIAL SELECTION, OPENING NIGHT FILMS: AFTER THE WIND…, FINDING COMMON GROUND, PEOPLE SAY and TREME.

2006 OFFICIAL SELECTION, CLOSING NIGHT FILMS: RIGHTS ON THE LINE, THE EXONERATED, FACES OF CHANGE and PALESTINE BLUES.

2006 Films

THE ABORTION DIARIES

The Abortion Diaries, directed by 27-year-old Penny Lane, dispels the stigma of abortion by presenting the abortion stories of twelve diverse women. (30 minutes)

…after the wind, child, after the water’s gone… (OPENING NIGHT)

Directors John Sullivan and Bryan Parras traveled up and down Lafourche, Terrebonne, Jefferson & St. Bernard parishes; interviewing citizens and environmental organisations.

AT RISK: UNINSURED IN AMERICA

Directed by Jim Hill. America’s healthcare crisis is intensifying. Spiraling costs – systematic failure, millions of uninsured – all contrast starkly with record industry profits. World Premiere. (8 minutes)

CONTES CRUELS DE LA GUERRE (CRUEL TALES OF THE WAR)

Directed by Ibea Atondl & Karim Miske.  From Congo – Brazzaville, this powerful documentary poses a singular glance on war. (52 minutes)

DARFUR DIARIES

Directed by Aisha Bain, Jen Marlowe, and Adam Shapiro. The film chronicles the history, hopes, and fears of the people in Darfur, Sudan. (59 minutes)

DEMOCRACY’S GHOSTS

How 5 million Americans have lost the right to vote. (34 minutes)

DROWNED OUT

An Indian family chooses to stay at home and drown rather than make way for the Narmada Dam. Featuring famed writer Arundhati Roy. (90 minutes)

THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX

A self-described “good Southern Baptist girl,” 15-year-old Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex ed. (76 minutes)

THE EMPIRE IN AFRICA

The rebels who started the civil war in Sierra Leone. (88 minutes)

THE EXONERATED

An all-star cast including Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Brian Dennehy, Susan Sarandon and more bring to life true stories of six death row inmates, who, in the face of new evidence, are exonerated before their execution. (90 minutes)

FACES OF CHANGE

Grassroots activists – including one from New Orleans – go behind the camera to find a voice denied to them because of their social, racial, gender or ethnic background. (80 minutes)

FINDING COMMON GROUND IN NEW ORLEANS (OPENING NIGHT)

A short documentary that addresses the social injustice that took place during and after the hurricane Katrina disaster seen through the lens of poet and activist Walidah Imarisha. (23 minutes)

I WON’T DROWN ON THAT LEVEE AND YOU AIN’T GONNA BREAK MY BACK

What happened in New Orleans Parish Prison during Hurricane Katrina? (30 minutes)

IF YOU WERE ME: ANIMA VISION

Six animated shorts produced by the South Korea Commission on Human Rights. (74 minutes)

NEGROES WITH GUNS

The story of a forgotten civil rights figure who dared to advocate armed resistance to the violence of the Jim Crow South. (53 minutes)

NEW ORLEANS, MY LIFE, MY HOME, MY LOVE
Riveting personal stories give voice to Katrina’s victims as they offer their memories and experiences. (60 minutes)

NO!

Directed by Aishah Shahidah Simmons. NO! unveils the reality of rape, other forms of sexual violence, and healing in African-American communities. Regional Premiere (94 minutes)

PALESTINE BLUES

Directed by Nida Sinnokrot.  Palestine Blues is not a ‘traditional’ political reportage but rather an interminable road trip across hard and liquid borders, across a terrain that is being erased as it is being traversed. (80 minutes)

PEOPLE SAY

Directed by Mary Beth Black. The most dynamic grass roots efforts in the country claim the streets, deliver food, celebrate, build homes and tell the truth in this visual collage set to the song “People Say.” (9 minutes)

POUSSIERES DU VILLE (DUST OF THE CITY)

Directed by Moussa Toure, from Senegal. A group of children emerges from beneath the stalls of a still-deserted Congo – Brazaville market. They are the “dirty seven” gang. These street children progressively reveal themselves through the relationship they establish with the director. (49 minutes)

PUBLIC ENEMY

Directed by Jens Meurer. One of the first cinematic attempts of a new generation to re-evaluate the history of the Black Panthers. (88 minutes)

QUILOMBO COUNTRY

“Quilombo Country” provides a portrait of rural communities in Brazil that were either founded by runaway slaves or began from abandoned plantations. (74 minutes)

RIGHTS ON THE LINE: Vigilantes at the Border

“Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border”, documents human rights violations along the U.S. / Mexico border, particularly at the hands of vigilantes such as the Minutemen. (13 minutes)

RWANDA, POUR MÉMOIRE (RWANDA, IN REMEMBRANCE)

Directed by Samba Felix N’Diaye. An ode to life and an indictment of those who use death to manipulate the living. (68 minutes)

SIR, NO SIR

The suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam. (90 minutes)

SLAVE REPARATIONS: THE FINAL PASSAGE

A short film laying out the arguments for reparations. (28 minutes)

SOMA: AN ANARCHIST THERAPY

A documentary by Nick Cooper. Soma (body), incorporates Wilhelm Reich’s teachings, a martial art / dance form called capoeira angola, and the political ideas of anarchism. (49 minutes)

STATE OF FEAR

Peruvians who fought to maintain their democracy and persevered in their search for truth and justice. (94 minutes)

STORIES FROM BELOW SEA LEVEL

Curated by New Orleans filmmaker Courtney Egan. Shorts and excerpts from New Orleans filmmakers’ works, sharing slices of life, current conditions, and love and mourning for lifestyles and traditions seemingly on the verge of disappearing. This program of recently-made, locally-made media strives to show a side of the region not seen in national media, emphasizing personal stories and creative responses.

Films Include: Helen Hill’s Flooded Films “When the levees breached, my home filled with the murky floodwaters. Some films were submerged for weeks, some stayed dry and grew mold. (3 minutes)
The Katrina Project: Walking to New Orleans – work in progress – Part One – New Orleans Native Royce Osborn documents the transition of New Orleans from a city underwater to a city reborn through first hand accounts from the black artists, musicians, and craftsmen, who are the life blood of New Orleans’ culture, and footage of the New Orleans Second Line over the Martin Luther King Day weekend and 2006 Mardi Gras. (5:40 minutes)
New Orleans Men – Written by Sallie Ann Glassman, Directed by Todd Schmidt & Louisiana Live Oaks – Written by William Guion Directed by George Ingmire. Videos based on essays written by New Orleanians, who describe narratively, visually, and musically why theirs is the most culturally unique and interesting city in America. (5 minutes) 
The Raw Truth, rough draft Directed by Charlie Brown. Yscloskey, LA, a small fishing village comprised of Cajun, Creole and Croatian fishermen, was totally destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. (7:00 minutes) 
Twisting My Life Away directed by Alan Gordon. A reflective piece about a tiny detail of my experience of the Katrina clean up process. Imagery and sound were used to tell truth as well as fact. (1:00 minutes) 
Children of the Storm: Teens Speak Out Students between the ages of 12 and 17 recount their experiences during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina, illustrating their impressions with art work. Other students served as crew members and creative consultants. The film was directed and edited by Betsy Weiss, a filmmaker who teaches video production and media studies in New Orleans. (7:30 minutes) 
Four Katrina Stories from Thousands, excerpt Directed by Marta Bivins; written by Cassandra Bell – McMain Secondary was the first public high school to reopen in New Orleans after Katrina. Sharing our stories, and reading the stories of others, theatre students wrote monologues based on their shared experiences. Equipment funded by Panasonic Kid Witness News. (2:40 minutes)
Mardi Gras as a Public Healing Ritual for Wounded New Orleans. Written & Performed by Jose Torres Tama, Filmed and Edited by William Sabourin O’Reilly. (7 minutes) 
Ninth Ward Marching Band, work in progress. Directed by Daryn  DeLuco (5:30 minutes) 
Hexing a Hurricane, excerpt Directed by Jeremy Campbell. Grammy nominee and New Orleans Cultural Ambassador Irvin Mayfield explains the tradition of Second Line parades. (3:00 minutes)
*Some Filmmakers present.

TREME (OPENING NIGHT)

Directed by Dawn Logsden, an 8 minute preview of the upcoming film about the Treme neighborhood, directed by New Orleans resident Dawn Logsden, editor of the film Weather Underground.

WITH BLOOD

WITH BLOOD follows ordinary peoples efforts to overcome extraordinary obstacles in pursuit of routine health care in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip. (66 minutes) *With Speaker: Special Introduction by health care worker Catherine Jones speaking about health care and relief in Palestine and New Orleans.

WOMEN IN STRUGGLE

The documentary film Women in Struggle is about Palestinian women whom are ex-political detainees demonstrating their struggle during their years of imprisonment in Israeli jails exploring the affects and influence on their present life and their future outlook. (56 minutes)