Maestro tells the story of beloved L.B. Landry High School band director Wilbert Rawlins Jr., using music to save lives in the historic New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers
Maestro World Premiere: Tuesday, October 27
7:45 pm, Warehouse Theater and Blackbox Theater at the Contemporary Arts Center
New Orleans Film Society Gala on October 21 honors Jay Duplass with Celluloid Hero Award and Josh Penn with Lumiere Award
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) is thrilled to announce Maestro as its Closing Night Film for the 37th New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) presented by Andscape. Making its world premiere at NOFF and directed by New Orleans local Jackson Fager, Maestro tells the story of beloved New Orleans band director Wilbert Rawlins Jr., who has spent more than 30 years using music to save lives at L.B. Landry High School in the historic neighborhood of Algiers.
Filmed over two years, the documentary captures everything from Mardi Gras parades to graduations and the quiet moments in between that reveal the reality of growing up amid gun violence, poverty and systemic neglect. Maestro will premiere on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. in 2027.
“Music saved my life,” said Rawlins Jr. “It gave me a chance to make something of myself, to be somebody my community could count on. So when I show up for these kids, I’m just giving back what was given to me.”
Announced today on ABC’s Good Morning America by co-anchor Robin Roberts, who serves as Executive Producer on the film, Maestro will have its world premiere on Tuesday, October 27 (7:45pm at the Contemporary Arts Center).
Maestro is produced by Highway West Entertainment for ABC News Studios. Produced by Raza Naqvi and Academy Award winner Jack Piatt with Fager directing. David Rohde and Joseph Langford serve as executive producers. For ABC News Studios, David Sloan serves as senior executive producer and Katie Conway is executive producer. The film features an original song by eight-time Grammy, Academy, and Emmy Award–winning singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist, Jon Batiste, who also appears in the film to discuss his own experience in marching band and how his own life crossed with Rawlins.
“Wilbert Rawlins has been quietly doing something remarkable in New Orleans for decades,” said Fager. “I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed it — and to now share it with the world.
Prior to the closing night screening of Maestro at the CAC, NOFF will also premiere the documentary short Champions of Change, which follows three men shaped by fatherless upbringings—including NFL champion Tyrann Mathieu—who return to their communities to become the mentors they once needed and help build a stronger future for the city that raised them. Immediately following the screening will be live recording of “In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu,”where he will dig into the film, the work of the mentoring organization Son of a Saint, and what it means to come home and give back to the city that raised you.
The festival also announced the addition of the documentary film The Brittney Griner Story, directed by Alexandria Stapleton, about the life and career of the legendary WNBA player. The film had its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and will screen on Saturday, October 24, at 11:15am at the Contemporary Arts Center.
These films will accompany previously announced titles, including the festival’s Opening Night selection Victory, a documentary about New Orleans icon Irma Thomas; and a number of awards season favorites fresh from festival premiers at Cannes, Telluride, and Toronto, including Centerpiece Films La Bola Negra and Wild Horse Nine, in addition to Spotlight Films including Club Kid, The Debut, Gentle Monster, I Play Rocky, A Talent for Murder, and Tender Loving Care.
The 2026 New Orleans Film Festival will take place in-person October 22–27 and virtually October 22–November 1 through the NOFF Virtual Cinema (available globally). All Access Passes and individual tickets for NOFS members are now available, with the general public on sale tomorrow (October 1) at 12 PM CT at neworleansfilmsociety.org. Thanks to the continued support of The Helis Foundation, the “First Ticket On Us” campaign returns for its fourth year, offering every New Orleanian a promotion code (ARTFORALL) good for one free ticket to any film or shorts block during NOFF.
New Orleans Film Society Gala
One night before the festival begins, NOFS is excited to host its annual Gala on Wednesday, October 21 at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market (Patron Party at 6 PM, the Gala at 7 PM, and the After Party at 10 PM). NOFS is thrilled to announce its two annual award honorees: Jay Duplass (who stars in NOFF selection I Play Rocky and whose credits stretch from directing the indie breakout The Puffy Chair to notable roles in major films and TV series) will receive the Celluloid Hero Award, NOFS’ highest individual honor, celebrating an artist whose passion, vision and contributions have left a lasting mark on film and the cultural life of New Orleans; and Josh Penn will receive the Lumière Award recognizing a storyteller whose journey began right here and whose work now shines far beyond it. Penn produced Beasts of the Southern Wild, the Louisiana-made film that won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. He is a Producers Guild Award nominee, a Peabody Award and Sundance Producers Award winner, and a longtime mentor and champion for the filmmakers coming up through NOFS programs.
VIP tickets ($500) include a seat at a table in the VIP section, access to the Patron Party at 6 PM, a sit-down dinner from New Orleans’ most celebrated chefs, and a place in the live auction. The evening features live music by Nu Groove, presented by Entertainment Sponsor Positive Vibrations Foundation, and tastings from craft cocktails to caviar, with dishes from Commander’s Palace, Cochon, Atchafalaya, and Galatoire’s, cocktails from the Sazerac Bar, canned mocktails from Mockly, and beer and seltzer from Southern Eagle.
General Admission tickets ($125) include a seat in the General Admission section, light bites, and an open bar. General Admission tickets do not include access to the VIP section or the Patron Party.
Everyone is invited to keep the celebration going at the After Party, presented by Liberty Bank, beginning at 10 PM.
Bringing together filmmakers, celebrities, patrons, and industry leaders, the Gala funds NOFS’ year-round filmmaker programs, including the Emerging Voices Directors Lab, South Pitch, and the Southern Producers Lab, which have launched the careers of Oscar nominees and Emmy Award winners. Every ticket is an investment in the future of Southern storytelling.
The 2026 Gala is made possible with support from ELEMENT, Liberty Bank, Positive Vibrations Foundation, and Sazerac.
NOFF Filmmaker Conference Spotlights
The NOFF Filmmaker Conference presented by NOTCF will take place this year at the NOFF Hub at the Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St.), featuring 40+ free conference events, including panels, workshops and fireside chats that are open to the public. The full Filmmaker Conference schedule is now available to view at www.neworleansfilmsociety.org.
Conference Highlights Include:
- Fireside chat with film critic and Letterboxd star Angelica Jade Bastién.
- A Town Hall–style discussion on Filmmaking in Louisiana featuring important voices in the Louisiana filmmaking community.
- Panel discussion on how to maximize the life of a short film, featuring the lead Vimeo Staff Picks curator Meghan Oretsky.
- A conversation with some of the most in-demand, New Orleans–based actors as they discuss what it means to be an actor based here (presented by SAGindie).
- REEL Futures: a two-day program offering local students opportunities to engage with filmmakers and industry professionals.
About Maestro
Director: Jackson Fager; Producers: Jack Piatt, Raza Naqvi; 90 min; United States.
Synopsis: In the historic neighborhood of Algiers, New Orleans, beloved band director Wilbert Rawlins Jr. has spent more than 30 years using music to save lives. At L.B. Landry High School, he leads one of the city’s top marching bands while guiding students through the daily realities of gun violence, poverty, and systemic neglect, helping more than a dozen earn college scholarships each year. Filmed over multiple years, Maestro offers rare, intimate access as Rawlins faces the greatest challenge of his career, rebuilding his band after the pandemic. It’s a powerful portrait of one man’s fight to lift up a generation of young people and a testament to the enduring power of music to transform lives.
Screens Tuesday 10/27/2026 at 7:45PM at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse Theater and Blackbox Theater.
About Champions of Change
Director: Jess Speight; Producers: Jess Speight, Andy Duensing, Josh Duensing; 26 min; United States.
Synopsis: In New Orleans, three men shaped by fatherless upbringings have returned to become the mentors they once needed. At the center is NFL champion Tyrann Mathieu, whose complicated relationship with his incarcerated father shaped his childhood and, ultimately, his commitment to the city that raised him. Alongside former NFL player Cornelius Lucas, who lost his father to drowning, and levee engineer Shawn Delahoussaye, Mathieu’s story unfolds across a city each man is working to protect—mentoring fatherless boys, teaching children to swim, and building a stronger New Orleans for the next generation.
Screens Tuesday 10/27/2026 at 5:45PM at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse Theater.
About The Brittney Griner Story
Director: Alexandria Stapleton; Producers: Alexandria Stapleton, Stacy Scripter, Funmi Akinyode, Megan Goedewaagen, Carolyn Hepburn; 105 min; United States.
Synopsis: Like so many women’s basketball talents before her, U.S. star Brittney Griner pursues a better financial opportunity by playing in Russia. In 2022, she is detained by Russian authorities, and her high-profile imprisonment sets off a far-ranging geopolitical struggle to secure her freedom, one that would reach the highest levels of power in Washington, D.C. and Moscow. This extraordinary odyssey tells the tumultuous story of this towering presence on and off the court, including the circumstances that led her to Russia, the unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her renewed perspective upon returning home.
Screens Saturday 10/24/2026 at 11:15AM at the Contemporary Arts Center Blackbox Theater.
NOFF TICKETS
All Access Passes and individual tickets for NOFS members are now available, with the general public on sale tomorrow (October 1) at 12 PM CT at neworleansfilmsociety.org.
- All Access Pass ($350): Good for all in-person and NOFF Virtual Cinema screenings, parties and events.
- Unlimited Film Package ($85 NOFS members, $99 GA, included with Scene Stealer Membership): Watch as many films as you desire, virtually or in-person.
- Virtual Pass ($75): Watch all festival films virtually October 22 – November 1.
- Individual tickets (Spotlight Ticket $20 GA | $17 NOFS Members; Standard Ticket $16 GA | $13 NOFS Members; Virtual Ticket $11 GA | $8 NOFS Members): Available for every screening (NOFS Member individual tickets are on sale today at 12 PM CT; general public on sale October 1).
- Student + Teacher Passes ($75): Students and teachers can purchase a discounted pass for access to all virtual and in-person screenings.
New Orleans Film Society members receive $50 off of All Access passes, $3 off of in-person screening tickets, and $3 off of NOFF Virtual Cinema tickets. Become a member today and save with these great benefits! Sign up for membership here.
All festival transactions will be contactless; cash or check payments will not be accepted–– acceptable forms of payment include credit and debit cards, and Apple and Google Pay. Click here for more details.
Support for NOFF 2026 Comes From
The 37th New Orleans Film Festival is presented by Andscape. The festival’s marquee sponsors are the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation, and Worklight Pictures. The festival’s producing sponsors are Film New Orleans, ELEMENT, Gilead, Henderson Hutter Group, Keslow Camera, and LMP Studios. The festival’s premiere sponsors are The Chloe, The Helis Foundation, MBS, NBCUniversal, and Paramount. The festival’s feature sponsors are Goldring Family Foundation, Liberty Bank & Trust, MUBI, Positive Vibrations Foundation, and Shawscope. The festival’s supporting sponsors are AOS Interior Environments, Columns Hotel, Cool Brew, COOL Cooperative, Crescent 9 THC Seltzers, Dan Lucas Memorial Fund, Delta Marine Logistics, Dew Drop Inn, Film Prize, Freret Napoleon, Historic New Orleans Collection, Innovative Strategic Partners, Katherine Klimitas, Kino Film Collection, Kodak Film Lab Atlanta, LEUCHTTURM1917, The McEnery Company & McEnery Residential, Mockly, Poste, Premium Parking, OWC, Quiet Creatures, Raising Cane’s, Recording Academy, Reel South, Richard’s Disposal, SAGindie, SERIOUS PLAY, The Shop Workspace, The Solomon Family, Tulane Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, Tulane Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and Q&C Hotel. The festival’s media partners are WBOK 1230AM, WWNO 89.9, WWOZ 90.7, The Advocate, Times-Picayune, NOLA.com, The Gambit, Antigravity Magazine, New Orleans Magazine, and Louisiana Weekly. Grantors include Azby Fund, the City of New Orleans through a Community Arts Grant administered by Arts New Orleans, Entergy, Ford Foundation, Greater New Orleans Foundation’s LGBTQ Fund, Jazz & Heritage Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, New Orleans & Co., Perspective Fund, and Science on Screen.
For more information on the New Orleans Film Society and 2026 New Orleans Film Festival, visit www.neworleansfilmsociety.org.
ABOUT ANDSCAPE
Andscape is a content studio that explores the depth of Black identity through its power in sports and culture. Magnified by the power and reach of The Walt Disney Company, the Andscape umbrella includes daily journalism, film, television, book publishing and music. For more from Andscape, visit www.andscape.com.
ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS FILM SOCIETY
The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to promote, nurture, and amplify the diverse voices of filmmakers and to facilitate conversations through film and film-related programming that inspire, educate, challenge and entertain our audiences.
Founded in 1989, NOFS produces the Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival annually and invests year-round in building a vibrant film culture in the South to share transformative cinematic experiences with audiences, and connect dynamic filmmakers to career-advancing resources. Year-round programming includes free and low-cost screenings for members and the broader community of cinephiles in New Orleans, the French Film Festival, the longest-running foreign language film festival in the United States, featuring contemporary and classic Francophone cinema, and filmmaker professional development programs created to nurture diverse voices in filmmaking in the American South.
The New Orleans Film Society is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation; The Azby Fund, Perspective Fund; and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The City of New Orleans supports NOFS’s programs through a Community Arts Grant administered by Arts New Orleans.