Summer Screenings at the Center: “Professor Longhair”

This July The Helis Foundation John Scott Center and the LEH will highlight recent Humanities Documentary Film of the Year award winners with Summer Screenings at the Center. Screenings will take place select Saturday afternoons in July at the center and will include a discussion following the film. Admission to the center and the screenings will be free and open to the public.  

For nearly 40 years, LEH’s Humanities Awards have honored the people, projects, and organizations impacting the humanities in Louisiana. The Humanities Documentary Film of the Year award is given to the documentary film that best exemplifies scholarship on Louisiana topics or by Louisiana documentary filmmakers.  

Each screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&A moderated by Clint Bowie, artistic director of the New Orleans Film Society. Attendees are also invited to visit the center before or after the screenings to view the inaugural exhibition.  Registration is encouraged.

Professor Longhair: Rugged and Funky  

LEH Documentary Film of the Year 2021 

Saturday, July 15, 3 p.m. 

Run Time: 75 minutes 

New Orleans Film Society Artistic Director Clint Bowie in conversation with filmmaker Josh Bagnall and Patricia Byrd, daughter of Henry Roeland Byrd (Professor Longhair), who also served as a producer on the film  

Professor Longhair: Rugged and Funky dives into the life of unsung musical genius Professor Longhair. Known as the “Originator of Funk and Rock & Roll” and “The Bach of Rock,” Professor Longhair never got his due. The film honors his musical prowess and playful personality and paints a picture of his life in New Orleans through interviews with late musical greats like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler, and Robert “Barefootin” Parker. (Learn more at ruggedandfunky.com)