Summer Screenings at the Center
Summer Screenings at the Center
Featuring LEH Documentary Film of the Year Awardees
3 p.m. | Select Saturdays in July
938 Lafayette Street in New Orleans
Register to attend screenings below.
Mark your calendars: 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.
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.
See below for film descriptions and a full schedule. Registration is required–see below for registration for each event.
Summer Screenings at the Center schedule
Mossville: When Great Trees Fall
LEH Documentary Film of the Year 2020
Saturday, July 8, 3 p.m.
Run time: 1 hour 16 minutes
New Orleans Film Society Artistic Director Clint Bowie in conversation with filmmaker Tim Watson.
Mossville: When Great Trees Fall takes us to a once-thriving community founded by formerly enslaved and free people of color that has been a safe haven for generations of African American families. Today it’s a breeding ground for petrochemical plants with many longtime residents forced from their homes. Those that stay suffer from prolonged exposure to contamination and pollution. Amid this chaos and injustice stands one man who refuses to abandon his family’s land—and his community. (Learn more at mossvilleproject.com)
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)
The Neutral Ground
LEH Documentary Film of the Year 2022
Saturday, July 22, 3 p.m.
Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
New Orleans Film Society Artistic Director Clint Bowie in conversation with filmmakers CJ Hunt and Darcy McKinnon
The Neutral Ground follows writer and comedian CJ Hunt as he documents the New Orleans City Council’s 2015 vote to remove four confederate monuments. When that removal is halted by death threats, CJ sets out on a journey to understand why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America. (Summary courtesy of Gusto Moving Pictures. (Learn more at neutralgroundfilm.com)
Roots of Fire
LEH Documentary Film of the Year 2023
Saturday, July 29, 3 p.m.
Run Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
New Orleans Film Society Artistic Director Clint Bowie in conversation with filmmakers Abby Berendt Lavoi and Jeremey Lavoi
Roots of Fire documents a group of musicians who honor the rich history and cultural legacy of Cajun music. Featuring electrifying performances, this vibrant documentary examines the intersection between music and preserving tradition for future generations.
(Learn more at rootsoffire.com.)