CLINT BOWIE: ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE 2025 NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL
Left: Clint Bowie, Artistic Director of the 2025 New Orleans Film Festival. Right: Stills from three of this year's submissions, Ada and the Doc, Behind The Beads, and Butterfly Kiss
AN INTERVIEW WITH CLINT BOWIE, THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE 2025 NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL
Talking to Paul Oswell
The 2025 New Orleans Film Festival - prestigiously, an Oscar-qualifying event - takes place in person in the city from October 23rd-27th, and virtually until November 2nd. Clint Bowie is the festival’s Artistic Director - we caught up with him to find out more about this year’s schedule and wider programming, how the staff process almost 4,000 submissions, and how the festival has grown so impressively over the years.
Out All Day: Hi Clint, thanks for talking to us! The festival is in its thirty-sixth year this year. How long have you been personally involved?
Clint Bowie: This is my sixteenth year with the organization.
And how did you get involved in the first place?
I was involved with a film organization out in Portland, Oregon, and I knew that I wanted to do film work for a living. I started volunteering and got a part-time position at Northwest Film Center, but I was looking to move closer to my family. A job presented itself, not this Artistic Director job, but a position with the New Orleans Film Festival. I applied for it, got it, and came here, sixteen festivals ago.
Could you explain what the Artistic Director role involves?
Sure, I’m in charge of the curation of the festival's programming, from the film selection to overseeing the conference programming, such as the panels, the talks, and our artist development programs. We have programs in place to support emerging directors, and emerging producers. We have a live pitch competition where filmmakers are invited to pitch in front of the panel of industry professionals and get feedback. The role of the Artistic Director is to help with a larger vision for the organization and direction for its programming. So I do a lot of that, but I manage a team of people. I'm really fortunate to work alongside an incredibly talented and strong team, both full time, part time, and contract. I think in total, there are about twenty people working in programming in some capacity.
Has the general artistic direction changed a lot since you began sixteen years ago?
Completely. When I started, the organization as a whole had one-and-a-half full time staffers. Now we're a team of eleven full timers, and then we have a number of part-time and contract workers. Our team swells to about 80 or 90 leading up to the festival. Our budget has grown exponentially. The number of film submissions we receive annually has grown exponentially. The size and scope of what we're able to do has grown. Our artists’ programs didn't even really start until 2015. We started to really lean into educational programming, developing new voices within the region, and that has become a really important part of who we are. So it's definitely transformed, and it's been exciting to be on the front row of watching that transformation and also being part of helping to shape it.
Could you give me a quick overview of the festival's film selection process?
Absolutely. This year, we received just under 4,000 total submissions. In order to get through that many and ensure that they receive equitable treatment and attention, we have 18 people who put eyes on everything that comes in. That's not to say every film gets watched by all 18 people - that's impossible! - but someone on our staff is watching and evaluating the films, in addition to members of our volunteer screening team. We recruit volunteers from all over the world, people who have shown films at our festival, people who attended the festival, people who are just casual moviegoers. We like to solicit opinions from all walks of life. We ensure that every film gets seen by a number of volunteer screeners so that we have their insight folded into that from the staff level. In terms of how those decisions are ultimately made, it changes a bit from feature to short. So for short films, we'll assign a programmer and a team of volunteer screeners a total number of shorts, say, 100 shorts at a time. They'll watch those, and ultimately select about a top ten per cent that will be passed on to the next round. That round will be viewed by a number of programmers, usually five to seven. Those programmers will then select the films that will advance further. It's basically a process of just narrowing that pool down. All the decisions are made at the discussion level amongst multiple people getting together, having discussions about the film, and making the decision. It's not a numbers game. We do have a scoring system that we insist every film go through, but it’s just a jumping off point for that conversation.
I know that there are more announcements coming in the lead up to the opening, but are there any highlights that you're particularly looking forward to this year?
I'm always really excited about the short films that we screen. We're an Oscar-qualifying festival, which means the winner of the animated short, narrative short, and documentary short competitions will automatically be in consideration for an Oscar nomination. So that's exciting. It’s a prestigious marker of a festival and I'm glad to be able to offer that opportunity. Our shorts programming, I think, is among the best in the world, and it's not everyone that thinks to go and watch short films at a festival. Most people look for the marquee titles that may or may not be streaming on major platforms after the festival. Those are buzzy and exciting, but I really encourage folk to check out some of the short films, because it's sometimes your only opportunity to engage with that work and some of those artists. So, I'm always really excited about the shorts and I encourage people to show up for the short films.
Do you have any general thoughts on the state of the film industry in general, and in New Orleans and Louisiana at the moment?
You know, it's disappointing to see that production scene kind of drift away. There's been such a productive presence in the city for years. I'm married to someone who is in the union and works in costumes, and so it's a big part of our family income. It's also been really special over the years to be able to exhibit work that has come out of that production community, and it's representative of the talents that we have here. I am hopeful that we'll get a return, and see more productions in the city soon. But this also isn't just specific to New Orleans. It's something that's all over the country. We're seeing a lot of productions move overseas, but hopefully we'll see some of that come back. I know there's a lot of talent in this state, a lot of creatives and a lot of technical talent who are capable of contributing to some incredible work. I would love to make sure that they're employed and see their talents utilized, so hopefully it's coming back.
I imagine some of the independent cinemas in New Orleans are under a certain amount of pressure. Would you say that's one of the aims of the festival, to get people to go to movies at the cinema again?
Yes, absolutely, and to stress how valuable this cinema-going experience is. We place a real priority on bringing artists to the festival and allowing audiences an opportunity to engage directly with the creators, to have conversations and talk backs with the directors, the producers, the cinematographers, the people who help make these films. It's also an important gathering place for those artists and for them to connect with audiences, and with the industry present at the festival. But absolutely, the festival is a reminder of how special cinema going can be and how impactful the art of film is, the impact it can have on audiences, and also the impact it can have on a community of artists.
There's some special independent cinemas in New Orleans, The Prytania, The Broad, The Zeitgeist…we're lucky that way.
Yes, and we'll take over pretty much all the cinemas in town and also build out lots of cinema spaces. We're going to be using the Contemporary Art Center as a hub. We build out a giant cinema space in the warehouse and also use their black box, so in addition to some of those traditional cinema-going experiences at beloved cinemas, we’ll be at the CAC and some other satellite venues. We're planning on showing some films at the Jazz Museum and at the Historic New Orleans Collection, so we’re expanding our footprint.
If someone hasn't been to the festival before and they're thinking about going, how do you think it's best to approach the programming? Just from the point of view of someone who wants to really make the most of their experience.
Great question. First of all, I'd like to note that thanks to the support of the Helis Foundation, if you've never been to the festival before, your first ticket is free. We have a program called First Ticket On Us, and we'll be sharing it in emails and through social media. We're really grateful to be able to offer that, just to give people a taste of what we have to offer. There's truly something in the lineup for everyone. If you like comedies, we've got that. If you like more romantic style films, we've got those in the lineup. We've got documentaries that address social change. We've got buzzy titles that were produced by Netflix. Just the whole gamut, because a film festival is really designed to represent the entire state of production and creative output of filmmakers today. We really seek to do that. This year, for example, we'll have a youth block, something that's geared toward middle schoolers and tweens, who often get left out at film festivals. But I would say, just really spend some time with the lineup, try to find something that you think is right for you, and use that first ticket on us!
The 36th New Orleans Film Festival takes place in the city from October 23rd-27th, and virtually until November 2nd. Click here for the official website, with programming and ticketing information, and details of the First Ticket On Us offer.
Click here for exciting closing night and high-profile spotlight movie announcements!
The 2025 New Orleans Film Festival - prestigiously, an Oscar-qualifying event - takes place in person in the city from October 23rd-27th, and virtually until November 2nd. Clint Bowie is the festival’s Artistic Director - we caught up with him to find out more about this year’s schedule and wider programming, how the staff process almost 4,000 submissions, and how the festival has grown so impressively over the years.
Out All Day: Hi Clint, thanks for talking to us! The festival is in its thirty-sixth year this year. How long have you been personally involved?
Clint Bowie: This is my sixteenth year with the organization.
And how did you get involved in the first place?
I was involved with a film organization out in Portland, Oregon, and I knew that I wanted to do film work for a living. I started volunteering and got a part-time position at Northwest Film Center, but I was looking to move closer to my family. A job presented itself, not this Artistic Director job, but a position with the New Orleans Film Festival. I applied for it, got it, and came here, sixteen festivals ago.
Could you explain what the Artistic Director role involves?
Sure, I’m in charge of the curation of the festival's programming, from the film selection to overseeing the conference programming, such as the panels, the talks, and our artist development programs. We have programs in place to support emerging directors, and emerging producers. We have a live pitch competition where filmmakers are invited to pitch in front of the panel of industry professionals and get feedback. The role of the Artistic Director is to help with a larger vision for the organization and direction for its programming. So I do a lot of that, but I manage a team of people. I'm really fortunate to work alongside an incredibly talented and strong team, both full time, part time, and contract. I think in total, there are about twenty people working in programming in some capacity.
Has the general artistic direction changed a lot since you began sixteen years ago?
Completely. When I started, the organization as a whole had one-and-a-half full time staffers. Now we're a team of eleven full timers, and then we have a number of part-time and contract workers. Our team swells to about 80 or 90 leading up to the festival. Our budget has grown exponentially. The number of film submissions we receive annually has grown exponentially. The size and scope of what we're able to do has grown. Our artists’ programs didn't even really start until 2015. We started to really lean into educational programming, developing new voices within the region, and that has become a really important part of who we are. So it's definitely transformed, and it's been exciting to be on the front row of watching that transformation and also being part of helping to shape it.
Could you give me a quick overview of the festival's film selection process?
Absolutely. This year, we received just under 4,000 total submissions. In order to get through that many and ensure that they receive equitable treatment and attention, we have 18 people who put eyes on everything that comes in. That's not to say every film gets watched by all 18 people - that's impossible! - but someone on our staff is watching and evaluating the films, in addition to members of our volunteer screening team. We recruit volunteers from all over the world, people who have shown films at our festival, people who attended the festival, people who are just casual moviegoers. We like to solicit opinions from all walks of life. We ensure that every film gets seen by a number of volunteer screeners so that we have their insight folded into that from the staff level. In terms of how those decisions are ultimately made, it changes a bit from feature to short. So for short films, we'll assign a programmer and a team of volunteer screeners a total number of shorts, say, 100 shorts at a time. They'll watch those, and ultimately select about a top ten per cent that will be passed on to the next round. That round will be viewed by a number of programmers, usually five to seven. Those programmers will then select the films that will advance further. It's basically a process of just narrowing that pool down. All the decisions are made at the discussion level amongst multiple people getting together, having discussions about the film, and making the decision. It's not a numbers game. We do have a scoring system that we insist every film go through, but it’s just a jumping off point for that conversation.
I know that there are more announcements coming in the lead up to the opening, but are there any highlights that you're particularly looking forward to this year?
I'm always really excited about the short films that we screen. We're an Oscar-qualifying festival, which means the winner of the animated short, narrative short, and documentary short competitions will automatically be in consideration for an Oscar nomination. So that's exciting. It’s a prestigious marker of a festival and I'm glad to be able to offer that opportunity. Our shorts programming, I think, is among the best in the world, and it's not everyone that thinks to go and watch short films at a festival. Most people look for the marquee titles that may or may not be streaming on major platforms after the festival. Those are buzzy and exciting, but I really encourage folk to check out some of the short films, because it's sometimes your only opportunity to engage with that work and some of those artists. So, I'm always really excited about the shorts and I encourage people to show up for the short films.
Do you have any general thoughts on the state of the film industry in general, and in New Orleans and Louisiana at the moment?
You know, it's disappointing to see that production scene kind of drift away. There's been such a productive presence in the city for years. I'm married to someone who is in the union and works in costumes, and so it's a big part of our family income. It's also been really special over the years to be able to exhibit work that has come out of that production community, and it's representative of the talents that we have here. I am hopeful that we'll get a return, and see more productions in the city soon. But this also isn't just specific to New Orleans. It's something that's all over the country. We're seeing a lot of productions move overseas, but hopefully we'll see some of that come back. I know there's a lot of talent in this state, a lot of creatives and a lot of technical talent who are capable of contributing to some incredible work. I would love to make sure that they're employed and see their talents utilized, so hopefully it's coming back.
I imagine some of the independent cinemas in New Orleans are under a certain amount of pressure. Would you say that's one of the aims of the festival, to get people to go to movies at the cinema again?
Yes, absolutely, and to stress how valuable this cinema-going experience is. We place a real priority on bringing artists to the festival and allowing audiences an opportunity to engage directly with the creators, to have conversations and talk backs with the directors, the producers, the cinematographers, the people who help make these films. It's also an important gathering place for those artists and for them to connect with audiences, and with the industry present at the festival. But absolutely, the festival is a reminder of how special cinema going can be and how impactful the art of film is, the impact it can have on audiences, and also the impact it can have on a community of artists.
There's some special independent cinemas in New Orleans, The Prytania, The Broad, The Zeitgeist…we're lucky that way.
Yes, and we'll take over pretty much all the cinemas in town and also build out lots of cinema spaces. We're going to be using the Contemporary Art Center as a hub. We build out a giant cinema space in the warehouse and also use their black box, so in addition to some of those traditional cinema-going experiences at beloved cinemas, we’ll be at the CAC and some other satellite venues. We're planning on showing some films at the Jazz Museum and at the Historic New Orleans Collection, so we’re expanding our footprint.
If someone hasn't been to the festival before and they're thinking about going, how do you think it's best to approach the programming? Just from the point of view of someone who wants to really make the most of their experience.
Great question. First of all, I'd like to note that thanks to the support of the Helis Foundation, if you've never been to the festival before, your first ticket is free. We have a program called First Ticket On Us, and we'll be sharing it in emails and through social media. We're really grateful to be able to offer that, just to give people a taste of what we have to offer. There's truly something in the lineup for everyone. If you like comedies, we've got that. If you like more romantic style films, we've got those in the lineup. We've got documentaries that address social change. We've got buzzy titles that were produced by Netflix. Just the whole gamut, because a film festival is really designed to represent the entire state of production and creative output of filmmakers today. We really seek to do that. This year, for example, we'll have a youth block, something that's geared toward middle schoolers and tweens, who often get left out at film festivals. But I would say, just really spend some time with the lineup, try to find something that you think is right for you, and use that first ticket on us!
The 36th New Orleans Film Festival takes place in the city from October 23rd-27th, and virtually until November 2nd. Click here for the official website, with programming and ticketing information, and details of the First Ticket On Us offer.
Click here for exciting closing night and high-profile spotlight movie announcements!