Black Cat Picture Show
Film artists and fans from all over the world will celebrate the spirit of independent storytelling and personal artistic vision with a presentation of films at Augusta, Georgia’s international film festival, the Black Cat Picture Show.
“Welcome to the 9th Annual Black Cat Picture Show! Appropriately kicking off on National Black Cat Appreciation Day, August 17th, 2023. Film artists from all over the world have submitted some amazing pieces to be screened right here,” said Krys Bailey, the executive director of Le Chat Noir.
"We used the same submission process that Sundance uses and made it international. We have filmmakers from all over the world and received entries and garnered films from all over. A Festival Pass includes admission to four days of film screenings, admission to our Friday night Filmmaker's Reception, our Sunday morning brunch with Jaye's Famous Mimosa's TM, and a ballot to vote for the Viewer’s Choice Award before we end the party with our awards ceremony!
The Black Cat Picture Show is the only international adjudicated film festival in Augusta! We provide a platform for independent film artists to exhibit their work. Le Chat Noir theatre provides an intimate setting that facilitates the exchange of ideas in order to cultivate artistic growth. Attendees will see films and awards and have the chance to vote in the Viewers Choice award. Most of our event staff were involved in the founding of Southern Fried Flicks at the Imperial so many years ago," Bailey said.
“Recognizing the popularity and interest of a film festival, and now the sore lack of one, Le Chat Noir put together a proposal for a film festival. We currently have several amazing filmmakers in our sandbox here at Le Chat Noir and have an extremely beneficial relationship with each other. When the beer flowed freely, the talk of bringing back a proper film festival to Augusta kept making its way into our conversation. Having all the right folks in place, having just updated all of our gear and having a plan already written from years before, we felt it was time to dust off that proposal and go to work on it."
Bailey continued, “Following the core tradition of high profile film festivals, Le Chat Noir used the same screening process for the competition and considered each film based on merit, judging the most deserving of all films. As far as submissions go, we received more than Southern Fried Flicks did in its second year. We set our cutoff score considerably higher, so there were fewer films chosen as Official Selections, but they are indeed all incredibly high quality independent films. We modeled our event from what worked with the local film festival years ago and from what did not. We looked to the paradigm, Cannes and Sundance. We used the same submission process, rubric and cutoff as the big boys.
"Awards are presented to Best Feature Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Student, Viewers Choice and then we have a special category called the Wages of Cine selection."
Bailey said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of submissions and international filmmakers who replied to the event.
Such as, several years ago writer and director Kendall Williams made his directorial debut with Jun & Me (Japan) offering an introspective meditation on life. Williams added, “My producer and assistant director Steven LeFever researched all of the festivals and felt Black Cat Films was a good choice to apply for. Jun & Me is a heavily dense symbolic film. There are so many layers to it that it requires a few takes before one can appreciate the thought that went into film. On the surface, there is a very basic story and outline: never seek happiness from external things, one should look inside for true peace and happiness. … The other layers I cannot spoil. Jun is Mark's unconsciousness attempting to restore balance within Mark. Since Mark's mind is limited (like all of us) his unconsciousness creates Jun to make it easier for him to be attracted and drawn to what's taking place within. She also represents the free side of Mark."
Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) is an intimate 60-100 seat theatre with attached lobby and full service bar that echoes a 19th century cabaret after one too many absinthes. Like its namesake, Le Chat Noir exists to produce and present entertainment to the CSRA that was previously not being offered. The mainstage shows are professionally produced and almost always premieres to the CSRA; in addition, it is home to troupes that are unique to the CSRA. Augusta’s first and only professional improv comedy group, Schrodinger’s Cat, performs every First Friday and is home to Wages of Cine, a film production company that is a champion for independent film, screening local film every last Friday of the month. Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is a live-model drawing event that started in New York and is now worldwide, happening in the CSRA every last Wednesday of the month. Augusta’s only burlesque troupe, Dirty South, performs quarterly and donates the proceeds to community charities.
Every every season begins with international independent film festival: Black Cat Picture Show. Join film artists from all over the globe as they convene in this little corner to partake in everything film and experience southern hospitality at its finest. Annual events also include the area’s biggest and longest running Halloween party the last Saturday in October, the Black Cat Carnival. Annual fundraisers and parties with a twist that range from Murder Mysteries to Scavenger Hunts are all part of the show.
This year's Black Cat Picture Show schedule:
Thursday PM block
7:00p
To The Moon (Stu, 13min, Canada)
Resurgence (Stu, 19min, US)
8:00p
Elephant (Feat, 93min, Poland)
Friday PM Block
6:00p
Cooking Inside: from Prison to Home (Doc, 23min, USA)
FishBowl (Sho, 12min, Canada)
Everybody Goes to the Hospital (Ani, 9min, USA)
Sonar (Sho, 6min, UK)
BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop (Sho, 16min, USA)
Finger Lickin’ Good (Stu, 4min, USA)
The Birthday Butterfly (Sho, 24min, USA)
8:00p
A24 & Black Cat Picture Show presents:
TBA
9:30 pm Film Artist’s Reception:
MENU TBA
Saturday AM Block
11:00a
Loren & Rose (Fea, 82min, USA)
Saturday PM Block
1:00p
New West (Sho, 40min, USA)
Mr. March (sho, 13min, Canada)
Ma’s Kitchen (Sho, 12min, USA)
3:00p
Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee in Peril (Doc, 32min, USA)
6:00p
45th Parallel (Fea, 80min, USA)
8:00pm
Deadline (Ani, 13min, Israel)
Food Apocalypse (Ani, 2min, Canada)
Morbid Curiosity (Sho, 8min, UK)
The Handbook (Sho, 8min, USA)
The Haunted Baby Carriage From Hell (Sho, 9min, USA)
Midnight Shift (Ani, 4min, USA)
The Unquiet Dead (Sho, 12min, USA)
Summer Service (Sho, 7min, USA)
Shadow Puppets (Sho, 13min, USA) Wages of Cine Pick – TBA
Sunday AM
10a BRUNCH
Sunday’s Brunch Menu:
TBA
11:00am
Finding Home – A Journey Through Augusta’s 20th Century Past (Doc, 120min, USA)
1:30p
Grandma’s Hats (Sho, 15min, USA)
Post Apocalyptic (Stu, 2min, Canada)
A Place Called Home (Doc, 10min, USA)
Robots (Ani, 3min, Hungary)
Ms. Rossi 2: Ms. Rossi Takes The Cake (Sho, 18min, USA)
3:00p
AWARDS CEREMONY
🖤✔️🖤Tickets @ www.lcnaugusta.com
