New Orleans Film Festival 2026
The 37th New Orleans Film Festival recently announced the documentary Maestro as its closing night film.
Directed by New Orleanian Jackson Fager, Maestro focuses on beloved local band director Wilbert Rawlins Jr. Rawlins spent over 30 years serving and mentoring students at L.B. Landry High School in Algiers. The film will premiere on Hulu in 2027. The film festival screening at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27 will be the movie's world premiere.
"Wilbert Rawlins has been quietly doing something remarkable in New Orleans for decades," Fager said. "I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed it—and to now share it with the world."
Preceding Maestro on the 27th at the CAC will be the documentary short Champions of Change. That short tells the story of three men who were shaped by fatherless upbringings, including former Saints and LSU star Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu will discuss the film after the screening, as well as his mentoring work with Son of a Saint.
Another sports-related documentary was added to the lineup on Saturday, October 24. The Brittney Griner Story, about the life and career of the WNBA legend, will screen at 11:15 a.m. at the CAC.
For
more information about the film festival and to purchase tickets, visit neworleansfilmsociety.org.
