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FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE
Cinematic Arts Workshop
P.O. Box 44691
University of Louisiana, Lafayette
Lafayette, LA 70504
(337) 482.5474
cerichard@louisiana.edu
Local Film to Premiere at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette
“I Always Do My Collars First”
A Film About Ironing
Lafayette, Louisiana—On January 27, 2007, the Cinematic Arts Workshop at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, will premiere its debut production, “I Always Do My Collars First: A Film About Ironing.” Co-directed by student filmmakers Allison Bohl and Conni Castille, the documentary marks the first release by the university's newly instituted Cinematic Arts Workshop.
“I Always Do My Collars First” follows four dynamic Cajun women in Southwestern Louisiana in their daily lives, illustrating what ironing means to them. The film delivers an artful and unexpectedly intriguing view of what is often overlooked as a mundane chore.
“Ironing is a nurturing, emotional, and learned activity transmitted from mothers to daughters,” explains Conni Castille, a graduate student in the folklore program at UL Lafayette and the film's writer. “It's performed with aesthetic sensibilities that connect these women to other women in their community.”
A film about ironing was a daring choice for the launch of the Cinematic Arts Workshop, says C.E. Richard, who directs the program at the university. The Workshop is a new creative enterprise that matches students and faculty from different disciplines to collaborate on digital media projects. “I Always Do My Collars First” is the Cinematic Arts Workshop's first production.
Richard, who also produced the film, admits that he had to be persuaded about the topic initially. “But the truth is that this documentary is really about much more than ironing,” he says. “Conni and Allison have taken this humble little part of domestic life and crafted from it a truly lyrical look at life for Cajun women and their families.”
At times both funny and poignant, “I Always Do My Collars First” relies on the rich storytelling voices of its four main “characters,” Rookie LeBlanc, Gay Castille, Aunt Be Guidry, and Georgie Blanchard. Unfolding thematically, it presents the stories of how the four women learned to iron, recalling times
when they were young girls helping their mothers do laundry. Each woman offers a piece of the laborious process of doing laundry in the 30s and 40s, a handicraft almost obsolete in American culture today.
Technology has changed how the women iron, but not why.
“For these women, and their mothers, ironing is as necessary to self-respect as cooking is to eating,” Castille explains. For many Cajun women who grew up too poor for expensive wardrobes, ironed clothes was—and remains—a point of pride. Following the four Breaux Bridge women from baptisms to funerals, Catholic masses and Cajun dances, the film shows how the ordinary, intimate ritual of ironing is woven into the fabric of family life.
“I Always Do My Collars First” is an important achievement for many reasons, says John Laudun, assistant professor of folklore at UL Lafayette and a producer on the film. “One is that it's the first accessible study of women's folk culture in Louisiana. Another is that it is such fine folkloristic scholarship.”
More than solid scholarship alone, though, the Cinematic Arts Workshop wanted its first production to be a genuine work of art as well, adds Richard. Therefore, the Workshop paired folklorist Castille with visual arts major Allison Bohl as co-directors. Neither student had received any training in documentary filmmaking before this project.
“I tried to make sure that the aesthetic quality did justice to the subject matter, the culture, and ultimately to the women themselves,” says Bohl, who finished her studies as the Outstanding Graduate in the College of the Arts in December. “The stories these women share are very personal, so I wanted the cinematography to be equally intimate and generous.”
“Ironing is perceived as something very ordinary, so we aimed for an overall style that wasn't,” Richard says. “We wanted our first project to be sort of unconventional, quirky. A film about ironing certainly qualifies.”
The documentary's strong production values are underscored by original music by BonSoir Catin, Anya Burgess, and Dirk Powell, whose work has been featured in movies by Spike Lee, Ang Lee, and the Academy Award-winning film Cold Mountain.
“I can't think of a more auspicious way to launch the Cinematic Arts Workshop,” says Richard. “With ‘Collars First,' Conni and Allison have set the standard for what the Workshop hopes to achieve in all our upcoming projects: creative collaboration, meaningful content, solid production values, and rich aesthetics.”
“I Always Do My Collars First: A Film About Ironing” will premiere at 2 pm on Saturday, January 27, at the Bayou Bijou Theater on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Admission is free. Immediately following, there will be a free reception at the Paul and Lulu Hillard University Art Museum.
For more information, contact Conni Castille or Allison Bohl of the Cinematic Arts Workshop at theironingproject@gmail.com or 337-277-5292.
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Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana is Acadiana's architectural landmark and the largest art museum on the gulf coast between Houston and New Orleans. The Museum features a variety of changing exhibitions and a continuing schedule of lectures and programs. Come enjoy the Museum and the tranquil beauty of University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus and just blocks away from the galleries, shops, and famous restaurants of downtown Lafayette and the Oil Center.
Hours and Admission:
Tuesday –Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday and Monday- Closed
General Information :
Please visit museum.louisiana.edu or call 337-482-2278
Museum
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