Film

Les Vues Film Series presents ’Follow Me Down’ Follow Me Down visits Louisiana prisons to collect disappearing work songs and to ask the question, what is the role of music in prison today?

The Les Vues Film Series screens Follow Me Down on Monday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m., at Vermilionville, located at 300 Fisher Road in Lafayette.

The community is invited to join Vermilionville for its free monthly cultural film series, Les Vues, held the last Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Performance Center, which is curated by filmmakers and enthusiasts, mostly from around the state.

This month’s screening will be curated by ethnomusicologist Dr. Mark F. DeWitt, a professor of music at UL Lafayette, who will be showing the feature-length documentary Follow Me Down: Portraits of Louisiana Prison Musicians.

Follow Me Down is a feature-length documentary about music in prison. Shot over the course of two years in three Louisiana prisons, Georgetown ethnomusicologist Ben Harbert weaves together interviews and performances of extraordinary inmate musicians—some serving life sentences, some new commits and one soon to be released. The result plays like a concert film, but instead of bright lights and big stages, these musicians rap in okra fields, soothe themselves with R&B in lockdown and create gospel harmonies on the yard.

With unprecedented access and Harbert’s insistence on letting the music speak for itself, the film offers an unexpected look at prison life, pushing viewers to reach their own conclusions about music, criminality and humanity.

The Les Vues Film Series screens Follow Me Down on Monday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m., at Vermilionville, located at 300 Fisher Road in Lafayette. Admission to the series is free, but a suggested $5 donation will go toward the cost of 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.