The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) and The Broadside, in partnership with the nonprofit Sundance Institute, are pleased to share 12 films that will be presented in New Orleans as part of the Satellite Screens initiative for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, January 28 – February 2, 2021. All 12 films will be making their world premieres at Sundance.
The films coming to New Orleans will be presented at The Broadside (600 N Broad St.) screening outdoors with limited capacity in accordance with the City of New Orleans health and safety guidelines. The selections playing in New Orleans, alongside their loglines and showtimes, are listed below. Tickets are now available for New Orleans Film Society members but go on sale to the public on January 15, 2021 at noon and can be purchased at neworleansfilmsociety.org
New Orleans Film Society members also get $3 off of each ticket and complimentary tickets for Scene Stealer members and above. Visit neworleansfilmsociety.org/become-a-member to learn more and become a member.
New Orleans Film Society’s Artistic Director Clint Bowie said, “We are looking forward to safely sharing a slate of 2021 Sundance Film Festival selections in New Orleans. As much as we miss gathering in Park City with the international filmmaking community, we are excited to be bringing the festival to our hometown this year, offering our members and film lovers in New Orleans the opportunity to join the festival at home.”
“The City of New Orleans welcomes the Sundance Film Festival partnership with NOFS and we celebrate our local filmmakers represented with three titles this year. We are excited to host filmmakers Marion Hill and Josh Penn in their hometown for the premieres of their films Ma Belle, My Beauty; Users; and Philly D.A.” said Carroll Morton, Director of Film New Orleans – City of New Orleans.
The New Orleans Film Society is also presenting virtual events to accompany in-person screenings. NOFS Programming Manager Zandashé Brown will be hosting virtual panels with Ma Belle, My Beauty filmmakers and a panel discussion with Dancing Grounds talking about the new documentary Ailey, which will be screened as a part of the New Orleans selection of Sundance 2021.
The Festival will take place digitally via a feature-rich, Sundance-built online platform and in-person screenings across the country on Satellite Screens including in New Orleans. Online, Festival attendees can gather in virtual waiting rooms, participate in live Q&A’s, and congregate in new environments to interact in a range of ways, both new and familiar. The Institute shared details of how the Festival will meet audiences on the online platform and Satellite Screens in December.
New Orleans Filmmakers in Sundance 2021
The New Orleans selection includes Ma Belle, My Beauty, a feature-length film directed by New Orleans-based director Marion Hill who was a fellow in the NOFS’ Emerging Voices program in 2018, and produced by New Orleans producers Kelsey Scult (NOFS Southern Producers Lab 2020 fellow), and Ben Matheny (NOFF2019 alum with Easy Does It). Original music composed by New Orleans musician Mahmoud Chouki and the film is led by local actors Idella Johnson and Hannah Pepper. The film’s New Orleans screening on February 2nd will be preceded by a reception with cast & crew in attendance, and followed by a Q&A with Marion Hill, Idella Johnson, and Hannah Pepper.
New Orleans-based, Oscar-nominated producer Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) produced two titles premiering at Sundance this year: Users and Philly D.A. Penn will be in attendance to introduce both screenings on February 1st and 2nd, respectively. Josh Penn will also join a Q&A after the screening of Philly D.A. with producer Michael Gottwald!
LINEUP & SCHEDULE
Thursday, January 28, 6:15pm, The Broadside
In The Same Breath, Dir. Nanfu Wang, World Premiere, Documentary
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic coverups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party? An essential narrative of firsthand accounts of the coronavirus, and a revelatory examination of how propaganda and patriotism shaped the outbreak’s course – both in China and in the US.
Thursday, January 28, 8:30pm, The Broadside
Strawberry Mansion, Dirs. Albert Birney, Kentucker Audley, World Premiere, Narrative
In a world where the government records and taxes dreams, an unassuming dream auditor gets swept up in a cosmic journey through the life and dreams of an aging eccentric named Bella. Together, they must find a way back home.
Cast: Penny Fuller, Kentucker Audley, Grace Glowicki, Reed Birney, Linas Phillips, Constance Shulman
Friday, January 29, 6:15pm, The Broadside
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It, Dir. Mariem Pérez Riera, World Premiere
Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.
Friday, January 29, 8:30pm, The Broadside
I Was A Simple Man, Dir. Christopher Makoto Yogi, World Premiere, Narrative
As a family in Hawai’i faces the imminent death of their eldest, the ghosts of the past haunt the countryside.
Cast: Steve Iwamoto, Constance Wu, Kanoa Goo, Chanel Akiko Hirai, Tim Chiou, Boonyanudh Jiyarom.
Saturday, January 30, 6:15pm, The Broadside
Passing, Dir. Rebecca Hall, World Premiere, Narrative
Two African-American women who can “pass” as white choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession and repression. Based on the novella by Nella Larsen.
Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.
Saturday, January 30, 8:30pm, The Broadside
R#J, Dir. Carey Williams, World Premiere, Narrative
A re-imagining of Romeo And Juliet, taking place through their cell phones, in a mash-up of Shakespearean dialogue with current social media communication.
Cast: Camaron Engels, Francesca Noel, David Zayas, Diego Tinoco, Siddiq Saunderson, Russell Hornsby
Sunday, January 31, 6:15pm, The Broadside
Misha And The Wolves, Dir. Sam Hobkinson, World Premiere, Documentary
A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
Sunday, January 31, 8:30pm, The Broadside
Cusp, Dirs. Parker Hill, Isabel Bethencourt, World Premiere, Documentary
In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.
Monday, February 1, 6:15pm, The Broadside
Ailey, Dir. Jamila Wignot, World Premiere, Documentary
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.
Monday, February 1, 8:30pm, The Broadside
Users, Dir. Natalia Almada, World Premiere, Documentary
A mother wonders, will my children love their perfect machines more than they love me, their imperfect mother? She switches on a smart-crib lulling her crying baby to sleep. This perfect mother is everywhere. She watches over us, takes care of us. We listen to her. We trust her.
New Orleans-based producer Josh Penn will be in attendance for an introduction.
Tuesday, February 2, 6:15pm, The Broadside
Ma Belle, My Beauty, Dir. Marion Hill, World Premiere, Narrative
A surprise reunion in southern France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
Cast: Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon
This screening will be preceded by a reception at The Broadside on February 2 at 5pm with cast & crew in attendance. The film screening begins at 6:15pm, and will be followed by a Q&A with New Orleans-based director Marion Hill, and actors Idella Johnson and Hannah Pepper. The reception will be open to ticket holders only.
Tuesday, February 2, 8:30pm, The Broadside
Philly D.A., Created by: Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar, World Premiere, Documentary
A groundbreaking inside look at the long shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out.
Producers Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald will be in attendance for an introduction.
