Loyola University Takes the Stage at New Orleans Film Festival
Student and Faculty Films Featured in Official Selections; University Partners with NOFF and Colleges Citywide for “Reel Futures” on the Festival’s Final Day
Two student films, one student’s starring role, and a biopic written and directed by a Loyola University professor, will premiere this weekend at the New Orleans Film Festival, an annual showcase that serves as a qualifier for the Academy Awards.
The festival, which is in its 36th year, takes place at theaters throughout the city from Oct. 23-27, with more than 250 filmmakers in attendance at more than 150 films. The event is a celebration of independent filmmaking, and features local, national and international talent.
“It’s incredibly gratifying and inspiring to see our students competing with professional filmmakers on a national scale,” said Miles Doleac, Chair of Filmmaking at Loyola. “These projects are the culmination of four years of holistic film education at Loyola. Our students have mustered all the tools gained in our program and harnessed their own creative voices to craft a calling card that represents who they are as young artists.”
Alums Oliver Parker and Jonathan Presson each will present short films that served as their senior thesis projects while students at Loyola, and current Loyola senior Zachary Van Zandt stars in a feature-length film set in Louisiana.
Parker describes his 14-minute narrative short, “In the Light of a Miracle,” as the story of Andre, a pretty boy with dreams of sainthood, who is swept away and embarks on a killing spree with Clint, a hot, older voyeur, while trying to cross the Texas border to evacuate from a hurricane.
Presson’s film is “The Last of the Shrimpers,” a 14-minute documentary short about a Louisiana shrimper fighting to preserve his family’s legacy and a vanishing way of life, as the shrimping industry crumbles under economic and global pressures.
Music supervisors and composers from Loyola worked on both short films, including recent Loyola grad Pablo Amat, who composed the music for “The Last of the Shrimpers.”
Parker’s film is being showcased in the “Late Night Queer Shorts: Seeing the Light” category at the festival, while Presson’s is featured in the “Louisiana Shorts: Portraits” category. All of the films in the Documentary Short, Narrative Short and Animated Short categories at the festival have the chance to be nominated for an Academy Award.
“The mentorship from professors at Loyola's film school was instrumental in getting my film made,” Parker said. “I was able to connect with a few independent filmmakers, including Nathan Tape and Adam Sekuler, with interests similar to mine and with really impressive careers in the independent world. Having them take interest in my work and guide me through the process was vital.”
Loyola Senior Zachary Van Zandt stars in “West of Greatness: The Story of the Westwego Muscle Boys,” a hybrid sports drama that blends documentary filmmaking and scripted performances. The film tells the story of two men in a small Louisiana town who train for a high-stakes bodybuilding competition, with the hopes that it leads to something more.
Jonathan McHugh, Hilton-Baldridge Eminent Scholar/Chair in Music Industry Studies at Loyola, directed his third documentary, “A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story,” a 78-minute film about the Grammy Award-winning bandleader and arranger, at the festival.
Conniff, whose six-decade career spawned more than 100 albums selling more than 70 million copies, created the “Ray Conniff Sound” by being the first to use voices to double as instruments on his recordings.
Following the screening, the LOYNOCCA Allstars – including Grammy winner Craig Klein, Loyola Professor Jake Eckert and his son, NOCCA student River Eckert – will perform songs from the film. McHugh also will conduct a Q&A session, and Times-Picayune music writer Keith Spera will interview McHugh about the film.
The Loyola-affiliated films will screen on the following days:
- “West of Greatness: The Story of the Westwego Muscle Boys,” Friday, Oct. 24, at 7:45 p.m., The Prytania Theatre, and Monday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m., The Broad Theater
- “Last of the Shrimpers,” Saturday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m., Warehouse Theater at the Contemporary Arts Center
- “A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story,” Sunday, Oct. 26, at 4:30 p.m., New Orleans Jazz Museum
- “In the Light of a Miracle,” Sunday, Oct. 26, at 8:30 p.m., MBS Black Box Theater at the Contemporary Arts Center
Further, the film festival chose Carter Scheuermann, a music industry studies student at Loyola, to compose the festival promo that runs before every film during the weekend.
On the final day of the festival, Oct. 27, Loyola and Tulane University will host “Reel Futures,” an all-college film day that includes panels, live performances, meet and greets, and more tailored to the next generation of filmmakers.
The events, which are free and open to all college students throughout Greater New Orleans, will take place at these times and locations:
- A Conversation with Will Greenfield, Executive Producer of “Sinners,” 1 p.m., Lavin-Bernick Center, Qatar Ballroom (Room 212), Tulane University
- Launching Your Career in Film, Young Alumni Panel, 2 p.m., Lavin-Bernick Center, Qatar Ballroom (Room 212), Tulane University
- Learn from the Pros: Music for Film, Music Supervision Panel, 3:30 p.m., Nunemaker Auditorium, Monroe Hall (3rd floor), Loyola University
- Celebrating Student Filmmakers & Creators, 4:55 p.m., Roussel Hall, Communications/Music Complex (2nd floor), Loyola University
The final event is the once-a-semester Superforum, which brings together all Loyola students majoring in film, music and design, and will feature a panel of students from Loyola and Tulane, said Camille DeBose, Professor of Practice in Filmmaking at Loyola.
The panel will include graphic design students who created the posters for Parker’s and Presson’s films. The event also will include the premiere of a new music video produced through a collaboration between Loyola’s film, music and design programs, said Daniela Marx, Chair of Graphic Design at Loyola.
“The spirit of this Superforum is definitely the desire to build community between young filmmakers and professionals, other schools and alumni,” said DeBose, who along with McHugh is on the board of the New Orleans Film Festival. “We are trying to create connections for people, to see the film community grow.”
About the College of Music and Media
The College of Music and Media is comprised of two schools — the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the School of Communication and Design. Students who choose to study in the college prepare for careers in music, theatre, music industry, design, fine art, filmmaking, strategy, mass media and more.