Episode 087 - Dane Moreton and Lauren Durr - CAILLOUX: THE FIGHT TO FREEDOM

The Viewfinder Podcast with Chris Hadley

Now streaming on Amazon Video for rent or purchase, and co-produced by Dane Moreton (who also directed) and Lauren Durr (who also edited), CAILLOUX: THE FIGHT TO FREEDOM vividly and informatively presents the extraordinary story of Andre Cailloux, an ex-slave turned Union Army soldier who led a Black battalion against the White Confederate Army during the Siege of Port Hudson, and whose heroism and sacrifice during the Civil War made him a catalyst for both the abolition of slavery in America and the beginning of full civil rights for Black Americans in the centuries since the end of the Civil War.

Andre Cailloux's story, as well as that of his bond with White abolitionist priest Father Claude Maistre, who ministered to Andre and his fellow troops against the wishes of his superiors in the New Orleans Archdiocese, had been all but forgotten by everyone except for the most experienced historians. No photos or journals of Andre's survived, which made the job of telling this story harder than Dane and Lauren could have comprehended.

Luckily, thanks to commentary from local historians and experts, archival paintings and news clippings from the Civil War era, and sequences featuring artist Langston Allston creating an epic mural that commemorates the lives of Andre, his family and Father Maistre outside the very same church that brought them together - the former St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church located on Bayou Road in New Orleans, now known as the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice - the incredible life of one of American history's most unsung heroes is finally on the record.

Check out the film on Amazon Video:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B8M83R6F/

Find out more about CAILLOUX: THE FIGHT TO FREEDOM on its official web site:

https://www.caillouxthemovie.com/

More details about the film on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CaillouxTheMovie/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caillouxthemovie/

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Music by Audionautix.com