The New Orleans Film Festival returns to the Crescent City on October 22. The event will include screenings, panels and workshops with guests coming in from across the world. There are a number of films with a specific focus on Louisiana, and multiple New Orleans-based directors showcasing their work. We’re joined by five New Orleans-based directors whose films you can catch throughout the event:
Film: "Sugar Water"
Genre: Narrative Short
Description: When the electricity is shut off one hot summer morning, a mother scrambles to find money to pay the bill while her two daughters—Kya, the eldest, and her asthmatic little sister—face the heat with courage and creativity. Left to care for her sister, Kya’s day becomes a quiet journey of determination and imagination as she searches for a way to ease her mother’s burden. "Sugar Water" is a story about resilience, childhood, and the sweetness that can still be found amid struggle. Shot in New Orleans by New Orleans on 16mm
Film: "More than Bike Life"
Genre: Documentary Feature
Description: In a city known for its rhythm, resilience, and relentless challenges, a crew of young riders in New Orleans found purpose through pedals and pavement. What started as a local bike movement in New Orleans quickly became a lifeline—keeping kids out of trouble, off the streets, and locked into a culture of creativity, and community. This film follows the rise of 1UP Bike Life through the eyes of four young riders whose commitment to the movement reflects something deeper than tricks or wheelies—it’s about survival, legacy, and rewriting their story in a city that too often writes it for them. Shot in New Orleans.
Film: "For the Grind"
Genre: Experimental Short
Description: Muay Thai training, cooks, and musicians move through a surreal warehouse surrounded by ancestors and a surreal being, illuminating working-class solidarity and inherited purpose among people of color. Shot in New Orleans on 35mm.
Film: "Unseen Olympiad"
Genre: Documentary Feature
Logline: Shot on impressionistic 16mm at the 2023 FISU World University Games in China and the United States, Unseen Olympiad looks beyond the spectacle of international competition to capture the embodied and emotional experiences of athletes. Across summer and winter sports, over 6,000 young competitors collectively experience anticipation, anxiety, exhaustion, focus, failure, and triumph. Shot in Chengdu, China and Lake Placid, New York on 16mm
Film: "The Rougarou"
Genre: Narrative Short
Description: A Louisiana Dread production, "The Rougarou" tells the story of Miranda, an insurance adjuster, who comes across one of the most notorious folklore legends in Louisiana history: The Rougarou. Shot in New Orleans by New Orleans Locals, and produced with The Cool Cooperative, a filmmaking non-profit that engages young people from South Louisiana to learn filmmaking tools. The crew of this film was a mix of professional adult filmmakers, and high school age students.
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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg.
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