FACETS CINÉMATHÈQUE
February 2009
The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.
Chicago Theatrical
Premiere

with filmmaker Lisa Katzman
TOOTIE'S LAST SUIT
"See
Tootie and you'll never ask again 'Is New Orleans really worth saving?'"
-New York Newsday

"An affecting experience"
-Chicago Tribune
Recommended! "Bold lives, inspiring beauty and a minor-key parallel to
King Lear"
-NewCity Chicago
Recommended! "Director Lisa Katzman eschews stylistic curlicues and lets the community's history speak for itself"
-Chicago Reader
Eighty-one-year-old Allison "Tootie" Montana is a New Orleans icon, famed for his brilliant handmade Mardi Gras costumes and renowned as a community leader for his onetime role as Big Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas Indian tribe. His family life, however, is undoubtedly more complicated. When he decides to come out of retirement to participate in one last carnival, a long-simmering conflict with his son (and heir apparent) Darryl erupts. As both vie for the spotlight, it becomes evident that they are fueled less by animosity than by a deep passion for their craft. For Tootie, the costumes are artistic creations as well as emblems of a long-standing family history; for Darryl, they are a means of self-expression but also a way of distinguishing his own carefully honed suit-making skills from those of his father. At once a riveting family drama and an insightful exploration of the history of Mardi Gras within the city's vibrant African American community,
Tootie's Last Suit is above all a celebration of the resilient spirit of a man determined at all costs to preserve a vital tradition. Additionally, this documentary includes footage of New Orleans filmed both before and after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. (
Tribeca Film Festival)
Directed by Lisa Katzman, U.S.A., 2006, DVD, 92 mins.
Cinechat: Filmmaker Lisa Katzman will be here for a Q&A after the 7 & 9 pm screenings on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7.
Official site
YouTube trailer
Director interview
Tootie bio
Chicago Tribune
NewCity Chicago
Chicago Reader
Showtimes:
Fri., Feb. 6 at 7 & 9 pm
Sat.-Sun., Feb. 7-8 at 3, 5, 7 & 9 pm
Mon.-Thurs., Feb. 9-12 at 7 & 9 pm
Tickets: