Reserve seats now for special premier screening in Lafayette

Published 2:30 am Sunday, December 1, 2019

There will be a definite Acadiana theme to one of the two scheduled screenings of Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s “In the Blind.”

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On Dec. 11, the day before the broadcast premier on LPB, the documentary about duck hunting in Louisiana takes center stage at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion St., Lafayette. There will be a special performance by Ami du Teche, a band representing another generation of Cajun musicians.

Emma Reid of Baton Rouge, the film’s producer, said the free screening starts at 6 p.m. with drinks and hors d’oeuvres, plus a special performance by Ami du Teche. While it is a free event, sponsored by Ducks Unlimited, space is limited, organizers said while encouraging people to RSVP by logging onto www.intheblinddoc.org.

Ami du Teche features three Breaux Bridge Senior High School students who are rising rapidly in the regional music industry. They are brother and sister, Robert Miller and Adeline Miller, and their friend, Amelia Powell, the granddaughter of a Cajun music legend, the late Dewey Balfa.

Reid said the band and its music are included in the hour-long movie that took her two years to make one year after she went on her first duck hunt in 2016.

“They’re great. They’re doing the whole soundtrack, so the Lafayette premiere should be really fun,” she said.

Reid, a Minnesota native, appreciated what the Millers and Powell added to the documentary about duck hunting in the Sportsman’s Paradise. While Reid did most of the filming, she also was thankful for the contributions from videographer Rex Fortenberry and Hampton Rutland. Rutland, who hunts ducks with his young son, has a growing following on his web video series, Louisiana Wetlands.

The avid outdoorsman shared video for the documentary.

“His YouTube channel is really great stuff,” Reid said.

Acadiana also will be represented in the movie for a brief span as Reid shows duck gumbo and the serving of duck gumbo with all the fixin’s during the Duck Wake held in February at the Francis Romero Memorial Building.