Dear Moviegoers,
Rarely one to have his keyboard on the pulse of what’s happening (parts of this post will likely be somewhat outdated after a day), it’s been very difficult to concentrate on movies when there’s such storm devastation that friends and family have suffered as the result of tornadoes in and around New Orleans on March 22nd, 2022.
To help support the efforts of people and groups on the ground, be sure to check out this Twitter thread and this link to the folks at Beanlandia (Krewe of Red Beans).
Of course, movies present us all with an escape and, in some cases, support. Rene Broussard’s Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge in the Metro NOLA area of Arabi was thankfully spared any significant damage in the most recent storm. Unfortunately but understandably, the main power company for that part of the region, Entergy, hasn’t set a proper time for electricity to be restored to the cinema, denying performances and exhibitions to occur, and denying the community a place to charge devices and to have cool daytime shelter:
Ever since we moved to Arabi, it’s been a dream community. So many have welcomed us with open arms and we feel for those who lost their homes and businesses. We’re doing our best to organize and support those in our Arabi community and hope to host a fundraiser soon for victims of the storm as soon as we have a better sense of our return to semi-normal operations. Sending love out to all of you in our community displaced by this terrible disaster.
In the meantime, as a humble critic and devoted fan/follower of New Orleans moviegoing (and moviegoing in general), I would like to offer up the following “unofficial” movie watchlist for the higher-ups at Entergy Louisiana. Be entertained, be open-minded, and be inspired. What films would you like to add? Reach out at nolamoviereview@gmail.com and let me know. Enjoy!:
The “We Power Life” Film Queue
Tesla (Michael Almereyda)
(alternate clip from The Prestige)
YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip (Ben Evans)
Lowland Kids (Sandra Winther)
Norma Rae (Martin Ritt)
Be sure to support Zeitgeist’s excellent year-round programming with a membership.
And please do share this post and/or forward this email along to friends, family, and followers. More coverage is on the way!