The New Orleans Film Society will host their 29th annual New Orleans Film Fest from October 17-25, 2018. It's another groundbreaking year for the Oscar-qualifying festival, with 60% of films by female directors and 54% by directors of color-- and 80% from either a female director or director of color-- making it the most diverse lineup in the festival's history. 

This year's festival will show 220 films that represent a wealth of perspectives, culled from a record number of nearly 6000 film and screenplay submissions (an increase of over 25% from 2017). Entries came from 120 different countries and selected films represent 42 different nationalities. Louisiana-made films represent 27% of the lineup. 

"Audiences are hungry for trailblazing films, dynamic perspectives and broader representation on-screen and behind the camera. We hope that #NOFF2018 will be site of discovery–– for stories less often celebrated, for creative voices that aren’t prioritized for mainstream Hollywood, and for audiences who are drawn to films that reflect and shape our culture today," said New Orleans Film Society’s Executive Director, Fallon Young.

The festival has also announced the film ​A Tuba to Cuba​ as its ​Closing Night​ selection, to screen Thursday, October 25, at the Contemporary Arts Center​, with a special performance to follow from the ​Preservation Hall Jazz Band​ as part of the ​Closing Night Party​. The documentary, which follows the band as they retrace their musical roots to the shores of Cuba, underscores the festival’s programmatic focus on films from and about the ​Caribbean​ and the Caribbean diaspora, particularly those that speak to the historical and cultural ties between New Orleans and the Caribbean.

This year the New Orleans Film Festival campus expands to include a larger campus in the New Orleans Central Business District, centered around ​a new festival HUB at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC)​, which boasts a 1800-seat and 300-seat screening room; ​Cinema Reset virtual reality program​ sponsored by Cox Communications with VR and new media programming by NOFF, with support from Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition, Downtown Development District and Samsung; a music video lounge; and the festival’s main box office.

Two blocks away from the HUB at the CAC, ​The Advocate​ will host a 180 seat screening room and the festival’s VIP lounge for All-Access Passholders. Select ​festival screenings​ will also be held ​at the Broad Theater, Orpheum Theater and Prytania Theater.

Also of note is the Louisiana Features Competition. See details of these selections below.

Bending Lines: The Sculpture of Robert Wiggs​ | dir. Allison Bohl DeHart, Peter DeHart | USA Obsessed with the repeating geometry of nature, a sculptor works in the space between art and science.

Buckjumping |​ dir. Lily Keber | USA
WORLD PREMIERE​. ​Buckjumping takes the pulse of present-day New Orleans by turning to its dancers, the men and women who embody the rhythm of the city and prove it on the streets every chance they get.