New Orleans Film Society

OPENING NIGHT PARTY
Friday, October 14, 8:45 p.m.
Nothing says welcome more than a plate of red beans & rice. Join us for an evening of good ole’ comfort food, mingling and enjoying the sprawling front porch at the historic Columns hotel. Open to All-Access passholders and to the public with the purchase of a ticket for any opening night film. Complimentary food and drink will be served.
The Columns Hotel (3811 St. Charles Avenue)
Sponsored by Millennium Studios

Scene Magazine presents A FILM & FASHION AFFAIR
Saturday, October 15, 8 p.m
Sartorialists and cinephiles unite as we celebrate film and fashion. The New Orleans Film Festival and NOLA Fashion Week team up for a haute night under the stars (with stars in attendance!) at Second Line Stages. You won’t want to miss this evening full of food, drink, music and of course our two reasons to celebrate: film and fashion. By invitation only.
Second Line Stages (800 Richard Street)

“TALKING TREME” and BEST OF THE FEST
Sunday, October 16, 7:30 p.m
Join us for a very special awards ceremony and conversation about Treme with NOFF jurors Melissa Leo, Wendell Pierce, and Eric Overmyer. Watch on as this year’s jurors reveal their favorites from the Festival. Ticketed event $8/$10.
CAC (900 Camp Street)

I LOVE LOUISIANA DAY PARTY
Sunday, October 16, 9:30 p.m.
No NOFF is complete without a party to toast our home-grown talent on “I Love Louisiana Day.” Head over to loa for the weekend’s final affair and sip complimentary cocktails from loa Mixologist Alan Walters along with LA-31. Free and open to the public.
loa (221 Camp Street)

IFN/NOFA EVENT: EXPANDING THE INDIGENOUS FILM COMMUNITY
Tuesday, October 18, 8:00 p.m.
Independent Filmmaker’s Night and the New Orleans Film Alliance offer an inside look at the world of independent filmmaking here in New Orleans. See page 19 for a full description of this
exciting event. Free and open to the public.
Blue Nile (532 Frenchmen Street)

NIGHT UNDER THE BIG TOP
Wednesday, October 19, 9:30 p.m.
After a double feature of Disfarmer and Puppet, join us for a rollicking party hosted by The Big Top / 3 Ring Circus. Live music, drinks, and puppeteering all for consumption! Show any NOFF ticket stub for one complimentary drink. Free and open to the public.
The Big Top / 3 Ring Circus (1638 Clio Street)

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY AT LA THAI
Thursday, October 20, 9:30 p.m.
Celebrate the last evening of the Festival in style, with complimentary drinks and a last chance to relish in independent film! Free and open to the public.
La Thai (4938 Prytania Street)

All panels are free and open to the public.

PITCH PERFECT
Saturday, October 15
La Humanities Center // 10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. // Documentary Pitch Session
La Humanities Center // 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. // Narrative Pitch Session
Ready…Set…Pitch! That’s right—pitching your film idea has now become a spectator sport at the New Orleans Film Festival. This year, NOFF launches a new pitch competition for Southern students as part of the event line-up. Pitch Perfect will convene a group of stellar film students (both narrative and documentary) from across the region to present their projects to an esteemed panel of broadcasters, filmmakers, industry insiders, and critics. This event offers an ideal opportunity for Southern film students to gain invaluable experience in conveying their artistic vision and ideas, a critical step in the filmmaking process that often gets left out of the textbooks.
At the end of the pitches, the panel of judges will decide on one winner for each session. The winners will be awarded a $500 cash prize (sponsored by Studio WTA) to go towards production of the film they pitched and an Academic version of the Movie Magic Budgeting & Scheduling software. The following schools will send delegates to Pitch Perfect: Florida State University, Loyola University, Tulane University, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, University of New Orleans, University of Texas at Austin, and Wake Forest University – Documentary Film Program.

CITIZEN VOICES: Perspectives on Ethics & Representation in Documentary Film
Saturday, October 15
The New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) and the New Orleans Film Festival team up for a special panel and workshop delving into critical issues facing documentary filmmakers today.
From its very beginnings, the documentary form has been riddled with questions of representation. One of the so-called fathers of documentary film, Robert Flaherty, was criticized for staging scenes of Inuit life in his 1922 “documentary” Nanook of the North. Nearly a century later, documentary filmmakers tackle more nuanced versions of the same questions: What is documentary? What is the relationship between subject and storyteller? Is there a place for objectivity within documentary film? How do we navigate the troubled waters of representation? And when does the story end?
The event kicks off with a panel of documentary filmmakers exploring these questions and examining film clips that present challenging ethical dilemmas. Following the panel, there will be three 45-minute breakout sessions focusing on individual topics within documentary film­—legal matters, constructing your story and funding / outreach — as they relate to issues of ethics and representation.
This event is a must for emerging and veteran documentary filmmakers alike!
CITIZEN VOICES PANEL
LA Humanities Center // 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Who Are You? Who Am I?: Questions about Representation in Documentary Film
Join us for a lively conversation about ethics and representation with both local and visiting documentary filmmakers. Panelists will discuss the path to finding a story, representing themselves and their projects to their subjects, and representing subjects and communities within the space of a feature-length film. Video clips will be shared to spark discussion on editorializing and artistic interpretation within documentary film. Panelists have a diverse range of experience in representing different communities through the stories they tell—stories that range from an emerging global community of asexuals to the New Orleans educational system post-Katrina, from a civil rights leader to a Native Cajun community.
Sandra Dickson is a Professor of Communication and Co-Director of the Documentary Program at Wake Forest University. As a filmmaker, Dickson co-directed Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power, which aired on PBS’ Independent Lens in February 2006. Other past films include Freedom Never Dies, Angel of Ahlem, Giving Up the Canal, Campaign for Cuba and Last Days of the Revolution.
REBECCA MARSHALL FERRIS started her career with Pennebaker Hegedus Films, serving as Associate Producer on Startup.com, Only the Strong Survive, and Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and producing Al Franken: God Spoke. Ferris’ first feature documentary, Miller’s Tale (a 2011 NOFF selection) about the life of actor and playwright Jason Miller, began airing on PBS stations in March 2011. She is currently in production on Can’t Stop the Water, a documentary about a disappearing community in the Louisiana wetlands.
Ben Lemoine is a native of Baton Rouge, and The Experiment is his first film. After a decade as an award-winning television news reporter, he returned home from his job in Phoenix to make this documentary. Lemoine is a graduate of LSU and a retired Sergeant in the Army National Guard.
Angela Tucker is a Brooklyn based filmmaker and writer. She was the Director of Production at Big Mouth Films, a social issue documentary production company that is a project of Arts Engine, Inc. There, she produced Pushing the Elephant (IDFA), the Emmy-nominated documentary, Deadline (NBC), and Election Day (POV). Tucker directed the documentary, (A)sexual (a 2011 NOFF selection), about people who experience no sexual attraction. She recently directed a six-episode web series for the National Black Programming Consortium entitled “Black Folks Don’t.”
Moderator and Brazilian-American filmmaker Luisa Dantas has worked in film and television production in the U.S. and Brazil for over a decade on a wide array of documentary and narrative projects. Her most recent endeavor, Land of Opportunity (2010 NOFF selection), is a multi-platform documentary project that chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of those on the frontlines. In 2005, Dantas co-produced the acclaimed documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
CITIZEN VOICES
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Each 45-minute breakout session is designed to give participants and session leaders an opportunity to work through real-life ethical dilemmas. Get the advice you need on the topic that matters to you and your film. We encourage you to BYOQ— Bring Your Own Question—about an issue you are facing related to the three breakout topics.
BREAKOUT SESSION 1:
Funding & Outreach
La Humanities Center // 3:00 – 3:45 p.m.
How do you know if your film is suited for an extended outreach plan? What are the best practices for crafting such a plan? What ethical issues arise when funders are involved in supporting outreach work? Join outreach experts Luisa Dantas (Land of Opportunity), Ada McMahon (Media Fellow at Bridge the Gulf), and Nancy Schwartzman (The Line Campaign) as they share their experiences and expertise and answer your questions.
LUISA DANTAS See bio in panel section.
ADA McMAHON is a Media Fellow at Bridge The Gulf (www.BridgeTheGulfProject.org), a community journalism project for and by Gulf Coast communities working towards justice and sustainability. In that role, McMahon acts as an independent journalist, and helps build community members’ media-making capacity through editing, technical skills training, and one-on-one support. She previously worked as a blogger and online organizer at Green For All, a national non-profit that fights pollution and poverty through “an inclusive green economy.”
NANCY SCHWARTZMAN, recently named one of the “10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2011” by Independent Magazine, Nancy’s work explores the intersection of sexuality, new media, and navigating partner communication about consent. She is the director and producer of the documentary films The Line (Media Education Foundation, 2009) and “xoxosms” (a 2011 NOFF selection). She is also the founder and Executive Director of The Line Campaign, a 501©3 dedicated to empowering young leaders to end sexual violence using original media to inspire action.
BREAKOUT SESSION 2: Constructing Your Story
La Humanities Center // 3:50 – 4:35 p.m.
Get tips from seasoned documentary filmmakers on how to ask the right questions, how to tell a story from multiple perspectives and how to interrogate your own motivations for making a documentary before you even pick up the camera.
REBECCA SNEDEKER is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work supports human rights, creative expression and her native city, New Orleans. Her directorial debut, By Invitation Only (2006), premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and screened at festivals, conferences and PBS stations nationwide. More recently, she produced Land of Opportunity (ARTE France, 2010), Siskel/Jacobs Productions’ Witness: Katrina (National Geographic Channel, 2010) and Choices, featuring Terence Blanchard and Dr. Cornel West (Concord Records, 2009).
TIM WATSON is a documentary editor, writer, and producer in New Orleans. His work has been seen nationally in the U.S. on PBS, the Sundance Channel, HBO, and other cable networks; in Europe on national networks in Spain, Ireland, and Italy; at many film festivals around the world; and on the web. He co-produced and co-edited The Music’s Gonna Get You Through (2010); was supervising producer and co-editor for Bury The Hatchet (2010); co-edited Walker Percy: A Documentary Film (2010); edited Member Of The Club (2008) and co-produced and edited By Invitation Only (2006).
BREAKOUT SESSION 3: Make It Legal
La Humanities Center // 4:40 – 5:25 p.m.
Seasoned ABC Journalist Bryan Myers has answers for the legal questions you’ve always wondered about but were afraid to ask: What is fair use? How can documentary filmmakers employ it? What are the ins and outs of libel and slander? What does “reasonable expectation of privacy” actually mean?
For 30 years, Bryan Myers has been a producer, writer, and director of documentary, news, and special series programming for network television. During that time, he’s worked closely with Bill Moyers at PBS and with Ted Koppel at ABC. For his work, Bryan has received nine national Emmy awards and a Peabody award. Today, Myers runs a New Orleans-based production company which specializes in arts and cultural programming.

BUILDING A LOCAL SUSTAINABLE FILM / TECHNOLOGY ECO-SYSTEM: An Interactive Conversation on Film Funding & Local Media Culture
Sunday, October 16
Caf̩ Istanbul at the New Orleans Healing Center // 1:00 Р2:30 p.m.
The New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) and the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) present an I Love Louisiana Day Special Presentation.
Join us in a rollicking, raucous conversation on the state of the local media economy. Tax credits, film grants, and tech start-ups, let’s talk to each other on how we can instill in New Orleans and Louisiana a real and true knowledge based on creative economy. Let’s make job creation, economic development and artistic practice the foundation for creating meaningful, strategic and economically viable partnerships.
Be forewarned: this is not your typical panel! Come ready and willing for a lively facilitated conversation. Everyone who attends should come prepared to speak on his or her involvement with the local film/media/tech economy. The objective is to come up with ideas and solutions to get this portion of the cultural economy to work in a more integrated fashion.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA? We aim to take up the following questions:
• Who locally benefits from the cultural economy?
• What have tax credits done for me lately?
• Why don’t production companies hire locals?
• What has to be done to make a film about New Orleans that isn’t a documentary? Can I get a funder?
• “Treme,” lightning rod or learning resource?
• Are certain features of the local film industry best explained by an intelligent cause (tax incentives, cultural economy promotions), not an undirected process such as natural marketplace selection?
• OR, Digital evolutionary change comes about through the abundant production of technology variation in every generation. Do the individuals who survive, owing to a particularly well-adapted combination of inheritable characters (education & luck,) give rise to the next generation of media productivity?
Attendees will include a diverse cross-section of mediamakers, funders, local production business leaders, and government decision-makers. Whether you’re looking to break into the local media industry or a seasoned veteran of the local cultural economy, you won’t want to miss this event.
Terry Scott is an independent producer and media consultant for independent filmmakers and non-profit arts organizations. His multimedia career includes serving as the Managing/ Development Director of Junebug Productions, and as Senior Coordinator for StoryCorps, the award winning oral history project broadcast nationally on National Public Radio from 2006-2008.

EXPANDING THE INDIGENOUS FILM COMMUNITY
Tuesday, October 18
Blue Nile // 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Presented by Independent Filmmaker’s Night and New Orleans Film Alliance
Working with professionals in the community, we will offer an inside look on the world of independent filmmaking and provide valuable resources to improve your skills as an indie filmmaker.
Education plays a vital role in improving your ability to create beautiful films. That is why we will begin our event exploring many different aspects of independent filmmaking, offering a hands-on experience with affordable equipment available to filmmakers today.
Spend time meeting filmmakers and enthusiasts from all over the world as we host a social event that caters to the art of film.
We will wrap the night up with a special screening to show filmmakers there are new ways to market your film that allow you to be in control of its destiny. We will discuss alternative ways to introduce your film to the market, and how your film could be a source of revenue for your future projects.
Independent Filmmaker’s Night and the New Orleans Film Alliance would like to thank the New Orleans Film Society for providing an opportunity to take the next steps in creating a fortified community of filmmakers in New Orleans.
More information will be available online at www.ifnnola.com.

THE PEOPLE SAY PROJECT: Film + Music
Tuesday, Oct. 18 Louisiana Humanities Center
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for FREE happy hour + reception.
Conversation begins at 6:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.
This October, the People Say Project presents a special edition in collaboration with the New Orleans Film Festival. The People Say Project is a partnership between Loyola University’s English Department and NOLA Fugees Press to explore the intersections of culture and money in New Orleans.
With a nod to NOFF’s new Keeping{SCORE} program, this month’s People Say conversation focuses on the intersections between music and film and how together the two can present opportunities for stimulating the cultural economy. Preservation Hall Creative Director Ben Jaffe (Producer of the 2011 NOFF selection Live at Preservation Hall: Louisiana Fairytale) and local composer Gabriel Velasco (Composer on 2011 NOFF selection La Hora Cero) discuss how making films about musicians and scoring films can ultimately mean scoring money for two artistic endeavors—music and film.
BEN JAFFE was raised with Preservation Hall. He grew up two blocks away and spent many of his evenings, weekends and after school hours there. His father, Allan Jaffe, co-founded Preservation Hall. Currently, Ben is the Hall’s creative director, and he plays the tuba (sousaphone), upright bass, and banjo in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Ben re-mastered and released several archival recordings of the early Preservation Hall Jazz Band, including recordings by Sweet Emma Barrett and Sister Gertrude Morgan as well as new recordings.
GABRIEL VELASCO currently plays live as a drummer and a percussionist with different New Orleans based bands. He has performed in just about any setting possible, from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival stages to Las Vegas Casino Strip. He recently scored La Hora Cero (highest grossing film in Venezuelan history).