Sync Up Cinema kicks off this Monday, May 1, and we’re once again delighted to be providing the projection for three days of films, panels, drinks, and industry love. Presented by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation and NOVAC, this film conference hits on a variety of topics from a diverse group of filmmakers: fraternity hazing at historically black colleges, Japanese rock music, films of resistance during the 45th presidency, and visions of Cuba. The best part? All events are free and open to the public, so film industry professionals, cinephiles, music lovers, and everyone in between can come and enjoy the cinema in between the Jazz Fest weekends.
Monday begins with award-winning shorts from film festivals in Louisiana, followed by a shorts program from Firelight Media and Field of Vision that examines resistance during the Trump presidency. You can hear about the submission and screening processes at film festivals from NOFS Artistic Director Clint Bowie, Sundance and AFI screener Vaughn Greve, and our own programmer, Angela Catalano. The evening closes with a screening of the HBCU fraternity hazing drama Burning Sands, directed by 7th Ward native Gerard McMurray. McMurray will be in attendance to present the film and discuss working with Netflix, premiering at Sundance, and how growing up in New Orleans has shaped his career.
Tuesday is a full day of music films – Cuban shorts, followed by the New Orleans Musician Clinic documentary One Note at a Time (with a happy hour preceding the film), and capped off by Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis, an HBO documentary capturing the band The Eagles of Death Metal returning to Paris to finish the show they started when the venue was attacked by terrorists in November 2015.
The series ends with talks from New Orleans producer Joe Incaprera (Treme, American Horror Story, and 13 Reasons Why), as well as a very special keynote from production designer Hannah Beachler about designing for Moonlight, Lemonade, and the upcoming Black Panther. The day begins with locally produced work Backstory and web series Hogwash, and wraps up with a sneak peek from New Orleans filmmaker Ben Simmons’ upcoming documentary Animals and We Are X, a documentary following the legendary Japanese band.
We want to point out that this is the third week in a row that we’re previewing a film series in New Orleans, which is incredibly fulfilling. The diversity of film events in our city is growing, and we’re excited to be a part of it.
