TCHOUPITOULAS Young Americans

The Ross brothers’ TCHOUPITOULAS is a dreamlike documentary following three young boys who venture across the mighty Mississippi River into New Orleans’ famous French Quarter for a night of revelry among street performers, drag queens, burlesque dancers and Mardi Gras parades. Following their Independent Spirit Award winning debut film, 45365, Bill and Turner Ross have once again applied their incredible observational style to one of America’s oldest and most colorful cities, thereby adding themselves to the roster of filmmakers with a truly distinctive eye. Expertly weaving together a visual and aural tapestry, the Ross brothers bring to life a distinct portrait of a thriving nocturnal population renowned for its decadence and debauchery. The directing duo skillfully captures this teeming adult world through the wide eyes of their adolescent subjects. The film’s vignettes – colorful local characters, quiet moments of exploration, blaring brass bands – make TCHOUPITOULAS a kaleidoscopic journey through the “other” side of New Orleans.