Pat Mire, who founded Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival in 2006, joins Discover Lafayette, along with his wife, Rebecca Hudsmith, to discuss his career as a filmmaker celebrated for his authentic portrayals of Cajun culture. Since his early days as a filmmaker, Pat has been able to make a living solely by directing and producing films which resonate with audiences of all backgrounds and of various cultures. Cinema on the Bayou Festival was created in 2006 by chance, after the devastating damage wreaked by Hurricane Katrina upon New Orleans. "The National Film Board of Canada called me saying there was a US premiere of the documentary "Maroon," by famed Quebecois filmmaker Andre Gladu that was supposed to be playing at the New Orleans Film Festival. I was living in uptown New Orleans and we all had to leave. There was nobody living in New Orleans at that time in 2006.. And so I came here to Lafayette. There was no New Orleans. It was an opportunity. I decided we were going to pay for his hotel, fly him here, and pay a stipend. I said, I'm starting a film festival. That's how it started. I've worked with all the scholars here, including Barry Ancelet and Carl Brasseaux, to preserve our local culture." Since 2006, Cinema on the Bayou has presented hundreds of internationally acclaimed documentary, narrative fiction, animated and experimental films, with filmmakers in attendance from across the United States and around the world. The Festival is now unique among film festivals in the U.S. in that it also regularly screens a large number of French-language independent films and presents filmmakers from throughout the Francophone world. Pointe Noire, a film the couple co-wrote and produced together, will premier on January 22, 2025, at the St. Landry Cinema in Opelousas as a feature film of the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival. Local talent, Andrew Morgan Smith, a veteran composer from Youngsville, was the composer for the movie's score. Cinema On the Bayou runs from Jan. 22 - 29, 2025. For Pointe Noire's premiere on Jan. 22, doors will open at 6 p.m. at St. Landry Cinema, 1234 Heather Dr., Opelousas, with a Red Carpet wine reception. The film will screen at 7 p.m. Following the film screening and Q&A, the after-screening reception for all attendees will be held at Cite des Arts, 109 Vine St., Lafayette. There will be a cash bar along with complimentary boudin and king cake. Tickets for the opening night film screening and reception are $20 per person and cna be purchased in advance at www.cinemaonthebayou.com. All-Access passes for the festival can be purchased at: https://cinemaonthebayou2025.eventive.org/passes/buy Pointe Noire, shot throughout the Acadiana area, stars Canadian film stars Roy Dupuis and Myriam Cyr, and features Michael Bienvenu and Zachary Richard. It tells the story of filmmaker and crawfisherman Louis Leger (Roy Dupuis) and criminal defense attorney Dolores Arceneaux (Myriam Cyr), who join forces in the Cajun prairie community of Pointe Noire in an effort to save the life of Joel Richard (Michael Bienvenu), a falsely accused man on Louisiana's Death Row. What follows is a search to find out what really happened 30 years ago when two people were killed on the night of the traditional courir de Mardi Gras. Along the way, Louis and Dolores uncover a hauntingly beautiful, isolated community suffering from secrecy and deceit, yet ultimately striving to achieve its own form of folk justice. Pat's documentaries have been broadcast nationally on PBS, the Discovery Channel, and many more platforms, and have earned prestigious awards including the American Anthropological Film Festival's Award of Excellence. "A film is told three ways.
