A&E

Les Vues Film Series presents ’From One Generation to the Next’

For the Feb. 29 screening, the Les Vues Film Series welcomes Acadian Cultural Center park ranger Jodie Bacque and Cajun musician Ray Landry who will be showing the film From One Generation to the Next.

Vermilionville invites the whole community to join the Bayou Vermilion District for its free monthly cultural film series, Les Vues, held the last Monday of the month in the Performance Center. For the Feb. 29 screening, Acadian Cultural Center park ranger Jodie Bacque and Cajun musician Ray Landry will be showing the film From One Generation to the Next.

The free film series is curated by filmmakers and enthusiasts, mostly from around the state. The films will center around the curator’s interest and can range from features, documentaries, student film, shorts, animation, etc. Following the screenings will be an open discussion between the audience and the curator about the movie and how it applies on a local level.

Cajun and Creole music were born and raised in Louisiana and are now loved worldwide. Where did this music come from? How has it changed over the decades? From One Generation to the Next is the story of Cajun and Creole music in Louisiana. The project was produced by rangers from the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center and features local musicians playing traditional songs. This film was produced as a free educational project for area schools and features local musicians discussing how they learned to play, how they’ve changed traditional music and how traditional music has changed them.

Jodie Bacque is a member of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. She grew up on the Chitimacha Reservation, along the banks of the Bayou Teche and adjacent to the Atchafalaya Basin. She is also in her 29th year of working as a National Park ranger. She works at the Acadian Cultural Center, one of six sites within Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Bacque, from her childhood into adulthood, has always had a great appreciation for the natural, historical and cultural world she calls home.

Ray Landry has been playing Cajun music for over 40 years. He started playing professionally with Nonc Allie Young and the Basile Cajun Band. He was inducted into the Order of Living Legends by the Acadian Museum in Erath in 2015. He served on the Bayou Vermilion District Board for eight years, and in those years served as vice president for two years and as president for two years. Landry retired from the Lafayette Parish Fire Department after 24 years of service.

The evening will begin with a Cajun Jam at 6:15 p.m., and the public is encouraged to bring their instruments; all levels of musicianship are welcome to participate, from beginner to professional. The film will begin at 6:45 p.m., and will be followed by an audience discussion with the curators. Admission to Les Vues is free, but a suggested $5 donation will go toward screening and curating costs. To find out more about upcoming films, view trailers or for more details visit Vermilionville.org or call 337-233-4077.