1996, 90 minutes
Produced & Directed by Susan Todd & Andrew Young
Edited by Andrew Young
Cinematography by Andrew Young
Sound by Susan Todd
Origonal score by Ted Kuhn
Music by Professor Longhair, Kermit Ruffins, the Wild Magnolias
Executive Producers, Chantal Bernheim, Eve Vercel & Robert Nador
An Archipelago Films Production for Leapfrog/Dune
Broadcast on Arte, Channel 4


Awards
Filmmaker's Trophy Sundance Film Festival
Cinematography Award Sundance Film Festival
Golden Spire San Francisco Film Festival

 


Malise & Oliver, King & Queen of Nereus

 


Dick, Queen of Petroneus

 


Larry, Big Chief of Golden Star Hunters

 


Kermit Ruffins at Little People's Place

 


Dorothy, a homeless woman

 


GiO, Queen of Krewe de Vieux

 


New Orleans is famous for its excesses - wild Mardi Gras celebrations, spicy cuisine, sultry jazz, and most recently, the highest murder rate in America.

It is a city where reality often takes a back seat to fantasy, where a stripper can become a Queen and a poor black man, a regal Indian chief. In Cutting Loose we become intimate with a diverse handful of New Orleanians -rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, sheltered and streetwise- for whom Mardi Gras is the ultimate fantasy.

Through spontaneous verite scenes, we experience the passionate ordeal these people go through to cut loose during Mardi Gras. Generously spiced with music and humor, Cutting Loose is a veritable gumbo pot of unforgettable characters on an outrageous journey of transformation during this uniquely American ritual.