A sea of green flooded the Manship Theatre on Saturday as lovers of Celtic culture gathered for the second annual Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival.Traditional dancers, bagpipers and a batch of Irish films were on hand to entertain attendees to the festival, held by the Baton Rouge Irish Club.The presence of the Irish Film Festival in Baton Rouge puts the city in league with only four others in the nation with similar festivals, said Laura McDavitt, president of the Baton Rouge Irish Club.”Baton Rouge has stepped up,” McDavitt said. “There’s Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and us.”Three movies and one short film were shown at the festival, each piece chosen for its significance to a different part of Irish culture, McDavitt said.The films included “War of the Buttons,” a family film about rivaling Irish children, “The Nephew,” the story of a part-Irish man who discovers his family, and “Peacefire,” a film about Irish political conflicts.The films showed various sides of Irish culture, including both political unrest and the lighter aspects of Ireland, said Rex Fortenberry, a member of the Irish Club who works with technical parts of the festival.”When a lot of people think of Ireland, the first thing they think of is the troubles, like conflict in Northern Ireland,” he said. “But the Irish people are also known for their sense of humor. We are showing varied aspects of Irish life.”McDavitt said the festival is preparing for a further dose of Irish legitimacy by partnering with the Irish Film Institute for future festivals. McDavitt plans to visit Ireland in August and meet with members of the institute to discuss ideas.The Irish Club has a five-year plan for the festival, McDavitt said, which she hopes will eventually result in adding a day of independent features to the festival with Irish judges who could give awards to the films.Fortenberry said a working relationship with the IFI would also be helpful in acquiring the rights to show some films at future festivals in Baton Rouge.In addition to the festival’s cinematic offerings, a bagpipe band was on hand to perform. The band, called Na Cait Dubh (Gaelic for “The Black Cats”), includes about 24 members and is part of the Celtic Society of Louisiana.The pipers were uniformed with the traditional pageantry of Irish culture, carrying musical instruments and wearing kilts. The wool used to make the garments, which are printed with the official Louisiana tartan, can cost $60 to $80 per yard, with each kilt requiring about 9 yards of material to make, according to Marty Bergen, the band’s pipe major.The bagpipers were a proper Irish inclusion to the festival, though many people associate the instrument more with Scotland than Ireland, said Allen Kinney, Irish Club secretary.Bergen said there are some traditional differences in Scottish and Irish bagpipe construction, but the two cultures have significant similarities.”The Irish and Scottish cultures are so intertwined that to say something is only Scottish or only Irish is a conservative view,” Bergen said.Kinney, who helped organize the first Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival last year, said the festival was originally planned to coincide with Bloomsday, the annual June 16 celebration of Irish author James Joyce.The timing of the festival was changed slightly so it could be held at the Manship Theatre, which was chosen for its successes in hosting local French and Jewish film festivals, Kinney said.Melanie Couvillon, director of family programming, events and education outreach at the Manship Theatre, said programs like the Irish Film Festival are great for exposing different parts of the Baton Rouge community.”It’s incredible because we’re opening the door to all the different demographics in the community,” Couvillon said. “It’s a wonderful way to bring people together.”The Baton Rouge Irish Club has been in the city since the early 1950s and is dedicated to promoting Irish culture, Kinney said.McDavitt said that task is especially important in Louisiana, where many Irish people immigrated following the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1800s.There is still a strong Irish presence in the state, McDavitt said, and exploring the culture is beneficial to the people of Louisiana.”Once you know your heritage, you know yourself,” she said.
 
 
 
—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]