New Orleans Film Fest Music Docs focus on Lucinda, McCartney, Bobby Charles and Ray Conniff
A young McCartney in “Man on the Run”
The music documentaries featured inthe film festival cover a wide range of music including house, folk, Tejano, opera, and more.
The New Orleans Film Festival starts on Thursday and runs through Monday, October 27. In addition to the usual programming, this year as a number of music-themed documentaries including Man on the Run, a documentary by Morgan Neville that chronicles Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles life and his effort to find his new identify. The film has been acquired by Amazon MGM and will be part of a year of McCartney-themed content at Amazon, but this is a chance to see it in a theater.
Here are the highlights of the music programming, in order of screening.
Take it Away by Adrian Arredondo, Myrna Perez
The documentary examines the role television host Johnny Canales played in breaking Tejano and Mexican music as a cultural force.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025 and Saturday, October 25, 6:45 pm at Prytania Theatres at Canal Place 2
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House by Elegance Bratton
The documentary tells the story of how disco fan Vince Lawrence was motivated by Disco Demolition Night during a Chicago White Sox doubleheader to buy a synthesizer and eventually create one of the tracks that pioneered a new dance sound.
Saturday, October 25, 8:45 pm at Warehouse Theater at the Contemporary Arts Center
A Life in Rhythm: The Ray Conniff Story by Jonathan McHugh
From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, Ray Conniff was a well-known name in popular music, associated with vocal-oriented easy listening that substituted male and female voices for instruments. This documentary fills in the blanks in that story.
Boil That Cabbage Down by Candace Mae
When a Black banjo player understands the instrument’s history, it opens up her creativity.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025.and Sunday, October 26, 4:30 pm at The Broad Theater 4
Musique(s), Le Film by Cory St. Ewart
Filmmaker Cory St. Ewart brought together 28 musicians that sing in French or Creole to document their musical and cultural practices while they worked together on an album.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025. and Sunday, October 26, 4:30 pm at The Broad Theater 4
In a Good Place Now: The Life & Music of Bobby Charles by David DuBos
Bobby Charles was a reluctant star whose singing and songwriting put him in the orbit of Fats Domino, Chess Records, Chuck Berry, The Band, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Dr. John. His story merits a good documentary, but the sketchy way he told it with gaps suggests that no matter what DuBos got, there’s more to be told.
Available to stream online October 23, 7 pm - November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025 and Sunday, October 26, 6:30 pm at New Orleans Jazz Museum
Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt by Tom Stern
Austin’s psychedelic punk/freak-out band merits a documentary because they really were their own thing. They’re hugely influential, but they’re more interesting than their legion of followers.
What We Can Know about Edmond and Basile by Sascha Just
This documentary tells the story of New Orleans composers of color Basile Barès and Edmond Dédé, whose contributions to classical music and opera challenge the notion that these were exclusively white musical spaces.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025 and Friday, October 24, 7:45 pm at The Broad Theater 4 and Monday, October 27, 2 pm at The Historic New Orleans Collection
Finding Lucinda by Joel Fendelman
An aspiring songwriter and folkie tries to find herself as an artist by trying to understand the music of Lucinda Williams.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, and Monday, October 27, 5:45 pm at The Broad Theater 4
Piano Players - Stevenson Palfi, Polly Waring, Robert F. Landau
The documentary is a kind of remix of Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together by the late Stevenson Palfi with conversations and performances emerging from a night when Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint and Isidore “Tuts” Washington were scheduled to play together. Palfi’s widow Polly Waring commissioned Robert F. Landau to digitally restore the film and gave him access to unseen footage including a three-hour interview with Professor Longhair. The new film adds 30 minutes to the original.
Available to stream online from October 23, 7 pm to November 2, 11:59 pm, 2025 and Monday, October 27, 7:15 pm at MBS Black Box Theater at Contemporary Arts Center
Man on the Run by Morgan Neville
The documentary looks at Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles life and the decision to make Wings his new musical identity.
Creator of My Spilt Milk and its spin-off Christmas music website and podcast, TwelveSongsOfChristmas.com.
