A Q&A with Mark Boyance

Published 7:00 am Monday, January 6, 2020

Photo by Sarah Soprano 

Since he was young, Mark Boyancé has had an interest in short films, making home movies with his Sears VHS camcorder. Today, he is an active member of the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) and creator and director of the New Iberia Film Festival. While he encourages those behind the camera, he’s behind the scenes of numerous community projects that have helped and showcased the city that has inspired him all his life.

Where did you get the idea to start a film festival in New Iberia?

Eight years ago, I submitted a short film for a festival in San Antonio that got accepted, and I thought it would be awesome to bring an event like that to New Iberia.

What did/do you hope to accomplish?

I want to show off Iberia Parish’s local talent – many of whom work in the TV and movie industry in New Orleans.

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How has the film festival been received by the community?

A lot of people didn’t know what a film festival was about, but were open to it. Last July was just our second event held at the Essanee Theatre. Over 700 people attended in the course of the three days and there were more than 60 submissions, from Spain, London, Mexico and other countries, as well as across the U.S. We had a lot of student participation.

You’re associated a lot with IPAL, but your community involvement goes way beyond that.

Yea, I’ve been on several boards. I’ve haven’t kept track of the hours I’ve volunteered over the last several years not only with IPAL, but at the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff, the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival, building homes for Habitat for Humanity…I was proud to be grand marshal at the 2019 downtown Christmas parade.

This year, you’re the incoming Chairman of the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce. What do you want to accomplish?

I believe the strength of Iberia Parish is in its diversity and during my term I want to see that strength recognized. We can use a lot of the mechanisms/processes we have in place now to recognize more of the business and cultural diversity that we have as a community.