PATOIS: The 6th Annual New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival

Patois’ mission is to create accessible spaces at the intersection of art and social justice. Artists and activists founded our festival, and we are dedicated to nurturing our city's human rights community, supporting the work of local organizers and organizations involved in these struggles, and linking local issues to international issues. Our goal is to raise awareness of these issues and provide a forum for artistic expression of these themes.

This year features more than 50 films, performances, workshops, and other events at venues across New Orleans.

Patois: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival will take pace from Thursday, March 26 through Sunday, April 5, 2009.

This year’s Festival promises a breathtaking line-up of films, performances, workshops and more. In 2008, more than 3,000 New Orleanians and scores of guests from around the world attended five world premieres and exciting events featuring artists and activists from the Gulf South to the Middle East. Events ranged from a panel discussion with Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme to a blow-out dance party and 10 sold-out screening that highlighted New Orleans musicians, artists, and students. This year boasts a new name and even more unique and exciting films, filmmakers and performances. Patois presents films, speakers, and performers who offer concrete solutions and celebrate successes in the global struggle for human rights. All of the nearly fifty films lined up this year are New Orleans premieres. A diverse array of cultural events, panel discussions and parties are scheduled to take place at venues throughout the city.

The Festival opens on March 26th at Canal Place, where Patois will commemorate its new name in conjunction with the New Orleans Premiere of American Violet, starring Alfre Woodard. Filmed in New Orleans, the film confronts racial profiling through the inspiring story of woman standing up to injustice in a small Texas town.

Other highlighted screenings and events include:

Friday, March 27
9:00pm
Hiphop Concert featuring national and local acts, including Mohammad Al-Farra, from Gaza, and Wise Intelligent from the legendary hiphop group Poor Righteous Teachers.

Saturday, March 28
7:00p.m.
Medicine for Melancholy
A love story in the context of racism and gentrification told through two African-American twenty-something’s dealing with issues of class, identity, and being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco—a city with the smallest proportional black population of any major American city. Directed by Barry Jenkins.

Wednesday, April 1
New Orleans Museum of Art
6:00p.m.
Independent America
Examines the reconstruction of New Orleans with a focus on the challenges small family businesses face in the growing landscape of corporate retailers. Directed by Hanson Hosein.

Thursday, April 2
New Orleans Museum of Art
6:00p.m. New Orleans Tea Party A locally-made documentary about the rebuilding of civil society in post-Katrina New Orleans. Directed by Marline Otte.

Sunday, April 5
Zeitgeist Justice for All
An exploration of young people in the criminal justice system in the US, from Jena, Louisiana to California to New York.

For more info: http://patoisfilmfest.org/