Cinema on the Bayou festival begins Wednesday in Lafayette

The 11th Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival’s opening night feature film will be “Voyagers Without Trace,” which will screen at the Acadiana Center for the Arts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a reception with Grégor Trumel, consul general of France in Louisiana.
The film tells the story of a French trio who, in 1938, set off from France to the United States to be the first to kayak the great white water rivers of the American West, the mighty Green and Colorado.
Pat Mire is founder and artistic director of the annual Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, which is presented by Cinema on the Bayou Film Society.
“The word is out among independent filmmakers that we have a top notch film festival that is very competitive and super fun with great food and music,” Mire said. “And that means we bring really good films and the filmmakers who make them here to Acadiana each January for the benefit of the community, the culture and the film industry in Louisiana.”
“By the River of Babylon: An Elegy for South Louisiana” features Todd Ortego and a major scene in the film was filmed downtown Eunice at KBON, Mire said. The film is scheduled to be screened at 1:45 p.m. Jan. 24 at Acadiana Center for the Arts.
Admission for the opening night film and reception is $15 and includes the film screening and complimentary wine, boudin and smoked sausage. Opening night tickets, as well as festival passes, day passes and tickets for individual film screenings, can be purchased at cinemaonthebayou.com.
The festival, which has grown from five to eight days, will be held at venues in and around Lafayette and will feature 197 official selections from Cinema on the Bayou’s open call for submissions from independent filmmakers around the world, along with panel discussions, workshops, music and parties.
More than 200 directors, producers, distributors, actors and other industry professionals are scheduled to attend the festival from across the United States and Canada, as well as from Japan, Australia, India, the United Kingdom and France.
The official selections include 27 narrative features, 98 narrative shorts, 24 documentary features, 30 documentary shorts, and 18 animated shorts. The majority of the films are world, U.S. or Louisiana premieres.
“I am so proud of the quality and breadth of the films we will screen this year,” says festival director Rebecca Hudsmith. “From the Canadian Yukon to the mountains of Nepal to the streets of Tokyo to the wetlands of Louisiana, these films present heartfelt stories that will entertain, yes, but will also enrich our lives.”
A complete schedule of events can be found at cinemaonthebayou.com.