.PAT MIRE FILMS

If you would like Pat Mire to attend a screening for any of his films below, please contact him directly at the address or phone number at the bottom of this page to coordinate a schedule and discuss your special event!

Pat Mire Filmography

Forever My Love: Music from the Bayou (2002, 60 mins. Color). In "Forever My Love", Louisiana filmmaker, Pat Mire, takes us on an unforgettable journey into the history and soul of Cajun roots music. The film features guitarist Gerry McGee, who has played with Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand and many other famous entertainers. Gerry is the son of the late legendary fiddler Dennis McGee, who has been called "the father of contemporary Cajun music."

Gerry and Pat roam the countryside in a 1976 convertible Cadillac, stopping along the way to play music with many of Dennis' former students including Cajun legends Michael Doucet, Zachary Richard, Steve Riley, D.L. Menard, famed slide guitarist Sonny Landreth and too many others to name. "We don't do typical music, we play music of who we are." -- Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil

(Click for more about Forever My Love: Music from the Bayou!)

Against the Tide: The Story of the Cajun people of Louisiana (2000, 60mins. Color). Against the Tide is the epic story of one of the most celebrated and misunderstood ethnic communities in North America.

Ravaged by bloody religious wars, French farmers left Western France in the 17th century to establish a new homeland in the wilderness of what today is Nova Scotia. After a brutal deportation by the British, (ethnic cleansing in contemporary parlance) the ancestors of the Cajun people were able to end their exile and reunite their families in Louisiana. Through the years the Cajun people have maintained their identity and language in spite of the overwhelming pressure of Americanization.

This is the true story of the Cajuns as told by five Cajun collaborators, director Pat Mire, host/narrator Zachary Richard, historian Carl Brasseaux, folklorist Barry Ancelet, and writer C. E. Richard.

"Against the Tide is a tribute to the tenacity of this remarkable community." -- PBS "Pick of the Week" November 2000

(Click for scenes from Against the Tide!)

Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana (1998, 30 mins. Color). Tall tales, oyster shucking monsters, and some good old fashioned jokes are all on the menu in Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana. "This documentary introduces a living tradition of storytellers, capturing the flavor and allure of the dynamic interplay of folklore with contemporary life and community in Louisiana." Malcolm Collier, College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University

(Click for more about the stories!)

Dirty Rice (1997, 85mins. Color). The debut feature from award-winning Cajun documentary maker, Pat Mire, captures the raw essence of the rural Cajun community in South Louisiana in a tale of a man rediscovering his roots and reclaiming his heritage.

Returning from the city of New Orleans, where he works as an architect, to his parents' farm following the death of his father, Louis Daigle (Benjamin Mouton) is drawn back into the life of farming and a relationship with an old flame. But times are hard and the falling value of rice is threatening the farmers' livelihood.

"While The Big Easy, No Mercy and most recently, Eve's Bayou, have flirted with the Cajun world, this is the real deal, 100% proof." -- Neil Norman, 42nd London Film Festival.

Sisters of the South (1994). Writer and director for a PBS promotional shoot for the Louisiana segment of the "Sisters of the South" musical tour which features Louisiana artists Balfa Toujours.

Dance for a Chicken: The Cajun Mardi Gras (1993, 60 mins. Color). This award-winning film brims over with stunning images of carnival play and a rich soundtrack of hot Cajun music. Cajun filmmaker Pat Mire gives us an inside look at the colorful, rural Cajun Mardi Gras. Every year before Lent begins, processions of masked and costumed revelers, often on horseback, go from house to house gathering ingredients for communal gumbos in communities across rural southwest Louisiana. The often-unruly participants in this ancient tradition play as beggars, fools, and thieves as they raid farmsteads and perform in exchange for charity or, in other words, "dance for a chicken."

"Dance for a Chicken is an articulate, intelligent, and compelling film portraying the richness of indigenous Louisiana Cajun culture. Without question the best Mardi Gras film to date. A true gem." -- Tom Rankin, Center for the Study of Southern Culture.

"Dance for a Chicken" was the winner of the "Award of Excellence" at the 1993 American Anthropological Association Film Festival.

Legends of Louisiana (1991, 60 min., 16mm. Color). Consultant and segment director of Sandy Mortimer's travelogue on Louisiana's food, history, music, culture, historic sites, and visitor attractions. Aired nationally on The Travel Channel.

Anything I Catch: The Handfishing Story (1990, 30 mins. Color). Louisiana filmmaker, Pat Mire, teams up with veteran filmmaker and cinematographer, Charles Bush, to capture the natural drama of handfishing in this award-winning documentary. Highly visual, the film examines the thrilling regional phenomenon of Cajuns who wade in murky bayou waters to catch huge catfish and turtles by reaching into hollow logs and stumps with their bare hands. Friends and family accompany the handfisherman to the bayou banks for Cajun music, festive cooking, and storytelling, and to witness this increasingly rare tradition. Told from the inside with multiple voices, Mire and Bush explore the chain of events set off by man's attempt to "improve" his environment by dredging bayous in this remarkable study of the relationship between cultural and natural resources.

"Anything I Catch is a remarkable study of the relationship between cultural and natural resources. It is one of the best documentaries I have seen on any aspect of Louisiana French culture." -- Barry Jean Ancelet, folklorist.

Aired nationally on PBS and the Discovery Channel.

Wildflowers of the Cajun Prairie (1988, 39 min. Color). Producer, writer, director. A documentary on the remaining parts of Southwest Louisiana's natural prairie habitat and efforts to restore its original biodiversity.

Pat Mire Films - 625 Garfield Street, Lafayette, LA 70501

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