Bethany Ashton Wolf and Jace Johnson are the sister and brother writing team behind LITTLE CHENIER. They grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a place surrounded by neighboring bayou towns and swamps. Their parents had an insatiable love of the bayou country; Bethany and Jace started fishing, swimming, and boating in the bayous of Louisiana before they could even walk. Growing up in a family of Southern storytellers and artists, Bethany moved to Los Angeles in her early twenties, immersing herself into the world of writing, directing, acting, and producing. A few years later (1993) on his eighteenth birthday, Jace arrived in Southern California to attend Claremont McKenna College. After graduating, Jace realized that becoming a writer, although a financially precarious profession, was the only profession that could satisfy his inexorable need for creativity.
"I had been pursuing writing and directing for a few years and had a few projects under my belt," recalls Bethany, "And I was looking for my next screenplay to write. My brother had written a story about two brothers, Beauxregard and Pemon, set in the bayous of Louisiana. I immediately fell in love with the concept."
Before starting the screenplay, Bethany and Jace flew home to visit all the magical bayou places they had encountered as children. The most enchanting was a place called Little Chenier, where their Dad had taught them to fish. "Little Chenier", meaning "Little Oak" (coming from the French word "chene"), was a small Cajun community built primarily on water and surrounded by Oak trees. They knew instantly this would be their backdrop. And from there, a screenplay was born.
ABOUT THE STORY
Jace Douglas Johnson
To me the story is about the innate human ability to develop socio-economic complexities, even in the most rustic and idyllic environments. It is about family, specifically two brothers: the innocence of one, and the sacrifices of both. It is about enjoying the finer things in Cajun life, all of which are simple things. It is about the wonderfully redolent bayou water as it fogs up at night. It is about being sung to sleep by the stentorian calls of bull frogs and alligators. It is about love.
Shooting this film required overcoming many obstacles. Most were conquered with huge leaps of faith. I quickly realized that achieving the look I wanted for the town would require shooting in 30 different locations spread out over 100 miles of Southwest Louisiana's bayous and swamps. Most of these locations were accessible only by boat, and we only had 28 days to shoot. We were attempting to film Waterworld without Waterworld's budget. Not even one day of their budget for that matter.
Futhermore, I wanted to capture the look and the feel of the Cajun summer environment. Louisiana summers can be 110 degrees with ridiculously high humidity. Shooting a film primarily on bayou waterways filled with swarming mosquitoes, alligators, and snakes seems like a death wish to many. To me, and to those who stuck by me, it was merely a challenge that took a lot of strategic planning and dedication to achieve safely.
The hardest part was strategizing how to move film equipment, cast, and crew by boats to each water location. Without money and man power it was an extreme undertaking to move up to twenty boats a night, including houseboats, to the next location. Because of our short shooting schedule we would have up to two company moves a day. On water days, we would have the actors in a boat, camera crew in a boat, sound and makeup in a boat, and the only way to reach each other was by motoring up (in most cases running a motor was not possible, and Jace would put on chest waders and push the boats through the thick mud). Simple tasks not usually thought twice about, like handing an actor a piece of their wardrobe, became a gigantic undertaking. We also had the notorious Louisiana thunderstorms to deal with on a regular basis. These would often shut us down completely. However, Louisiana is all of these things, and one must be there to truly capture it.
Little Chenier is now listed as an upcoming film on the Starz website: Starz.com. It premieres December 21, 2009, at 5:35pm. It aslo premeieres in The Movie Channel on the 13th at 4:45 am, ET, and again on the 16th at 4:40 pm, ET. DVD AVAILABLE NOW at your local video store (blockbuster, movie gallery, hollywood video, netflix, etc.)
A tale of two brothers, which Louisiana lieutenant governor Mitch Landrieu called
“the most accurate depiction of Cajun culture”
that he had ever seen.
"The movie had more drama, depth and suspense than anything that came out of Hollywood this year or will come out the next." Brad Goins Lagniappe Magazine
Festival News & Photographs
Phoenix Film Festival Winners: Hoku Uchiyama (Rose), Jace Johnson (Little Chenier), Bethany Ashton (Little Chenier), Jordan Albertsen (The Standard), Patrick Hogan (Pope Dreams).
Fellow Filmakers @ the Phoenix Film Festival: Jordan Albertsen (The Standard), Derek Sieg (Swedish Auto), Bethany Ashton (Little Chenier), Robert Budreau (That Beautiful Somewhere), Jace Johnson (Little Chenier), Patrick Hogan (Pope Dreams).
Our beloved soundtrack artists Abe Manuel and The Abe Manuel Band @ The Evangeline Cafe in Austin.
Siblings Bethany Ashton (Director/Co-writer), Jace Johnson (Co-writer/Producer), and Amy Johnson (Associate Producer), in Park City, Utah.
Director Bethany Ashton Wolf @ a "Women In Film" panel in Phoenix.
SCREEN SPOTLIGHT (October 2006)
By Betsy Tyson
"Little Chenier" is more than a beautifully-photographed valentine to Cajuns, who cling to their old ways and poetic expressions in the heavily-wooded bayous of Louisiana. It's an entertaining story with colorful characters and a fly-on-the-wall feel. Corrosive parent-child relationships, jealousy and hate, the abuse of power, and the need for love are threads that bind a well-plotted story that revolves around two brothers: Beaux (Johnathon Schaech) and Pemon (Frederick Koehler)Dupuis. The brothers live on a houseboat and eke out a living selling seafood and bait while Beaux looks after his slow-witted younger brother. Their father hates Pemon, as does the deputy sheriff Carl Lebauve (Jeremy Davidson), who has eloped with Beaux..s girlfriend. Good acting with special kudos to Frederick Koehler, who transforms his face and body as Pemon, and the always-interesting Clifford Collins Jr. (the morose Perry Smith in ..Capote.. and an assassin in "Traffic"), who provides comic relief as Beaux's best friend T-Bone Trahane. During the Q&A, co-writer, director Bethany Ashton Wolf, originally from Lake Charles, spoke eloquently and movingly about bringing the story to life in the steamy summer of 2005 one month before Hurricane Rita forever changed the landscape and lives of many who had opened their hearts to the cast and crew. A final scene as the credits roll emphasizes their loss.
DIRECTOR'S APPROACH
Bethany Ashton Wolf
My influences have always been foreign films. Italian directors, Guiseppe Tornatore and Bernardo Bertolucci, Spanish directors, Alfonso Arau and Pedro Almodovar, are some of my favorite filmmakers. I think a lot of American films are afraid to let a scene breathe.
LITTLE CHENIER is a film that deserved to breathe. I wanted long, fluid shots, like the movement of water. I wanted to bring the audience into this world with the most unobtrusive camera movements possible. I wanted the edit to be as subtle as possible. I wanted to film long moments of nothingness. I told my actors, "You can never wait too long. Do nothing. Say nothing. The longer the better for me."
Bethany Ashton Wolf began her career in Los Angeles as an actress but soon found herself co-writing and co-producing the controversial indie film, DONS PLUM, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Following this, she continued on to write, produce, and star in the short film, THE BURGUNDY ROOM, winning three awards at the Louisiana Video Shorts Festival in New Orleans; including The Best of the Fest award. Her next project was a SAG experimental called FIRST AND LAST, which she starred in, wrote, directed, and produced. She succeeded this endeavor with her short film, WAIT, which was screened at the Waterfront Film Festival to a standing ovation. LITTLE CHENIER is Bethanys feature directorial debut.
DIRECTOR'S QUEST
Bethany Ashton Wolf
I feel such a moral responsibility to show the world what Cajun culture is all about. So many misconceptions about the culture exist, largely because no one knows anything about it. It is a culture that cannot be studied out of a textbook. Its history is predominately one of oral tradition, as the Cajun language, people, and customs were oppressed by a government eager to Americanize the states inhabitants. Luckily the strong willed Cajun people survived those dark days.
Cajun people are the most generous and gracious people I've ever had the experience of knowing. They have an enormous amount of love and respect for their traditions, family, and land. I wanted to honor that with this story. I wasn't making a documentary about the culture, yet I wanted to tell a deeply rich story that the culture could permeate through.
Cajun culture is rich, beautiful, and alive. I wanted the setting to be as authentic as possible. In order to create an environment sensitive to my approach, I knew Louisiana funding would be imperative. I wanted all of our extras to be Cajun, all of our musicians to be Cajun, to cast as many locals as possible, and to have true Cajun accents.
HURRICANE RITA
WORDS FROM THE DIRECTOR
Little did I know it at the time, but as we were shooting this film we were capturing for posterity the beauty of a place which may never be the same. On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita, the most intense storm ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, plowed into the bayou communities of Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. Just 31 days after wrapping principal photography, the areas in which we filmed were devastated. Little was salvageable in Little Chenier, which suffered incessant storm surges as high as 30 feet. The very Cajun homes, land, and businesses that were so graciously given to us were lost. We set out to make a film that honors the importance Cajun people place upon land and family. Now that land has been lost and many of the families have been separated. This film represents their hearts and their homes, and is the only footage they have of the life they once lived on the bayou.
However, this will not stop these beautifully courageous people. Since the beginning of their existence, Cajuns have faced great struggles and adversity. These people are survivors. They are heroes. They will triumph yet again. After the Hurricane hit, my dear friend and former Police Juror, Scott Trahan, turned to me and said,
"We still have our faith in God and each other. We will rebuild. We will take care of our own."
My family and I have set up a non-profit organization to help rebuild the bayou communities hit by Hurricane Rita. If you would like to donate money directly to these communities please contact:
Jane Dennison
Rita Remembered
PO box 145
Lake Charles, LA
70602
JaneDennison@ritaremembered.com
Purchasing art from the following website, C.J. DESIGNS ART, will generate funds for Hurricane Rita victims. The artist is our own production designer CJ Strawn, and the artwork consists of the flora, fauna, and landscape in which"Little Chenier" was filmed (as it existed prior to Hurricane Rita).
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This film is exactly who we are.Its the heart and soul of southern Louisiana. All we strive to be, we are, all we are, we have always strived to be. This film captures the best of the very best. Watch it, learn from it..and most of all...love it
It..s what southern Louisiana is all about, tell your friends, your family, ask for it at your local video store. Give it as gifts. The scenery is glorious, the accents are ours. The love of the land and bayous are what we are about. I was born and raised in a little southern Louisiana town, its my heritage, its what we are......proud and beautiful people
Hey! How's it going? It's getting hot outside and it's time for indie films.
This month I'm promoting this Indie Film - "Gentleman's Choice - The Chris Adams Story" - a hard hitting documentary on the tragic death of a sports entertainer.
Watch it online ($5) or buy the DVD at http://gentleman.eyesoda.comGentleman's Choice: The Chris Adams Story Trailer
Hey! How's it going? It's getting hot outside and it's time for indie films.
This month I'm promoting this Indie Film - "Gentleman's Choice - The Chris Adams Story" - a hard hitting documentary on the tragic death of a sports entertainer.
Watch it online ($5) or buy the DVD at http://gentleman.eyesoda.comGentleman's Choice: The Chris Adams Story Trailer
First, let me start by saying thank you for being a friend here on myspace! I really like meeting new people and meeting other artists, too! I've been playing guitar for 5 years now, and though I'm only 13, it and songwriting is my passion. I'm determined to do all I can to make it in this business - I know it will take work! I'm ready! Please feel free to stop by my page anytime and listen to my music and read by backstory! I love feedback and comments! Always Rockin' - Brad Theriot
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