CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 2019 AWARD WINNERS
CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 2019 AWARD WINNERS, INCLUDING TWO OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS, AND ANNOUNCES THE 15TH CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL DATES IN JANUARY, 2020
After 8 days and over 180 films screened, including 41 feature-length narrative fiction and documentary films and 140 short films, the 2019 Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival announces its "goujon caille" award winners. The films and filmmakers listed below represent the best of international independent cinema, and we are proud to have shared them with our audiences in Acadiana and to support them as they continue on their creative journeys. Notably, two of our narrative short award winners – Marguerite (Best Narrative Short Award) and Fauve (Narrative Short Special Jury Award), both out of Québec – are nominated for an Oscar in this year’s Short Film (Live Action) category, and both were official selections to the 14th COTB before they were nominated by the Academy. Also, of the 25 award-winning films, 13 were directed by women.
"Once again, we made new friends and greeted old friends, some of the best storytellers I know," said Pat Mire, the Festival's Founder and Artistic Director. "I am proud to know and give support to these artists, and I am also proud that Cinema on the Bayou provides such a nurturing environment for their continued development."
Mark your calendars: the 15th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival will be held on January 22-29, 2020.
2019 CINEMA ON THE BAYOU FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Narrative Feature Winners
Special Jury – Two Pictures / Seattle, WA, U.S.A. – Director and Writer: Eric Stone, Producer: Nate Stone (both in attendance)
Special Jury - Palace / Indiana, U.S.A. – Director, Writer and Producer: Andrew Paul Davis (in attendance)
Best - Ailleurs (Elsewhere) / Québec, Canada – Director: Samuel Matteau
Best - Rag Doll - Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. – Director: Bailey Kobe, Producers: Shannon Murray (and lead actor), Kate Sloate (all in attendance)
Narrative Short Winners
Special Jury - Madina, IA / U.S.A., Lebanon – Director: Yumna Marwan (in attendance)
Special Jury - Duck Duck Goose / Nova Scotia, Canada – Director: Shelley Thompson
Special Jury - First Disco / Ireland – Director, Writer and Producer: Helen M. O Reilly
Special Jury - Novela Picaresca / Japan – Director Kenji Qurata, Producer and Lead Actor: Takashi Yuki (in attendance)
Special Jury – Fauve / Montréal, Canada – Director and Writer: Jérémy Comte
Special Jury - Ange & Ovni (Angel & Alien) / Québec, Canada – Director and Writer: Sandrine Béchade (in attendance)
Best – Marguerite / Montréal, Canada – Director and Writer: Marianne Farley
Best Actor
Shannon Murray for Rag Doll / Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. (in attendance)
Documentary Feature
Special Jury - New York Scherzo / U.S.A., France – Director and Producer: Shaan Couture (in attendance)
Special Jury - Thank You For Supporting The Arts / Portland, OR, U.S.A. – Directors: Carolann Stoney and W. Alexander Jones (in attendance along with subject Liv Osthus)
Best - And Those Who Dance It Surrender Their Hearts To Each Other / Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. – Director: Cody Edison (in attendance)
Documentary Shorts
Special Jury - La Frontière (The Frontier) / Québec, Canada – Director, Writer and Producer: Félix Lamarche (in attendance)
Special Jury - L'île (The Island) / Québec, Canada – Director and Writer: Alexandra Guité (in attendance)
Best - Dans la Cour de Vivianne Gauthier (In the Heart of Vivianne Gauthier) / Québec, Canada, Haiti – Director: Marie-Claude Fournier (in attendance)
Animated Shorts
Special Jury - The Prodigal / Thailand – Director and Writer: Tod Polson, Producers Tod Polson and Brett Boesch (in attendance)
Best - My Yiddish Papi / Montréal, Canada – Director and Writer: Éléonore Goldberg
Experimental Shorts - The Robert Russett Award
Best - Mise au Monde (Carrying One) / Québec, Canada – Director, Writer and Producer: Maryse Goudreau (in attendance)
Le Train Bleu
Black Indians / Paris, France – Directors and Writers: Jo Beranger, Hugues Poulain and Edith Patrouilleau (in attendance)
Inspiration
La Veille (The Visit) / New Orleans, LA, U.S.A. – Director and Writer: Marshall Woodworth (in attendance)
Audience
Cajun and Creole: Black and White / Lafayette, LA, U.S.A. – Director and Writer: Chantelle Trahan, Producers: Chantelle Trahan, Horace Trahan (both in attendance)
Director's Choice
Finding Cajun / Lafayette, LA, U.S.A. – Director and Writer: Nathan Rabalais, Producers: David and Nathan Rabalais (both in attendance)
The majority of the films screened were World, U.S. or Louisiana Premieres from across the United States and Canada as well as from France, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Haiti, Belgium, South Korea, Thailand, India, Lebanon, Germany and Brazil, with over 60 French language films screened. In addition to film screenings, the Festival presented expert panel discussions, music and parties with over 200 directors, producers, cinematographers, distributors, actors, grant sources and other industry professionals in attendance from across the United States and Canada as well as France, Australia, Japan and Lebanon.
This year’s Festival also included our first Artist in Residence, Québecois filmmaker John Blouin, whose LUX 35mm film installation at the Acadiana Center for the Arts was viewed by visitors of all ages during both the January and February ArtWalks as well as throughout the Festival. In addition to his participation in COTB 2019, Mr. Blouin provided significant outreach to local schools during his month-long stay in Lafayette. The artist-in-residency was made possible by a partnership between Cinema on the Bayou Film Society and CREATE Lafayette.
Among the judges and panelists in attendance at this year’s Festival were “the bad boy of Québec cinema,” Montréal-based filmmaker Marc-André Forcier and Austin-based filmmaker Andy Cope. In addition, the Québec Government funded partnerships between Cinema on the Bayou and two prominent film festivals in Canada: Les Percéides Festival International de Cinéma et d’art de Percé and the Québec City Film Festival. Olivier “Bill” Bilodeau, the Founder and Artistic Director of the latter festival, served as a judge and panelist and was in attendance throughout COTB 2019.
The 15th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival will be held on January 22-29, 2020. Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival is presented each year by Cinema on the Bayou Film Society, a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit Louisiana corporation. Major sponsors include Lafayette Convention and Visitors Bureau and Rock‘n’Bowl de Lafayette. Community and regional sponsors and partners include Acadiana Open Channel, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Vermilionville, Cité des Arts, the Lafayette Parish Public Library South Regional Branch, Acadiana Cinemas, CREATE Lafayette, 64 Parishes, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Teamwork Solutions and The Travelodge. International sponsors and partners include the Québec Government, the National Film Board of Canada, the Consulate General of France in New Orleans, Télé-Louisiane, TV5Monde and Rendez-Vous d’Amérique, Les Percéides Festival International de Cinéma et d’ art de Percé and the Québec City Film Festival. Additional sponsors include Sag-Aftra of New Orleans and Grey Goose Vodka.
