A film by Margaret Brown

DESCRIPTION
The first Mardi Gras in America was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. In 2007, it is still racially segregated. Filmmaker Margaret Brown, herself a daughter of Mobile, escorts us into the parallel hearts of the city s two carnivals. With unprecedented access, she traces the exotic world of secret mystic societies and centuries-old traditions and pageantry; diamond-encrusted crowns, voluminous, hand-sewn gowns, surreal masks and enormous paper mache floats. Against this opulent backdrop, she uncovers a tangled web of historical violence and power dynamics, elusive forces that keep this hallowed tradition organized along enduring color lines.

SPECIAL FEATURES
· Audio Commentary by Director Margaret Brown
and Cinematographer Michael Simmonds
· Q&A with Director and Cast at the Premiere
· Deleted Scenes
· Theatrical Trailer

FESTIVALS & AWARDS
* Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival, 2008
* Official Selection, SXSW Film Festival, 2008
* Winner, Cinematic Vision Award, Silverdocs Film Festival, 2008
* Winner, Youth Jury Award, Sheffield Doc/Fest, 2008
* Official Selection, Full Frame Film Festival, 2008
* Official Selection, True/False Film Festival, 2008
* Official Selection, Edinburgh Film Festival, 2008

DVD INFO
USA / 80 minutes / 1.85:1 (16/9) / English Dolby Digital

REVIEWS
“As big and richly complex as the United States itself... A wise and soberly affecting documentary... More than most, Ms. Brown knows that there’s nothing black and white about race in America, and nothing specifically Southern about its calamities. Or maybe she’s just more honest. The extent of her sincerity doesn’t become apparent until late in the proceedings, when she reveals a personal connection to Mobile that gives this very fine movie a bracing emotional kicker. In contrast to the cloistered, all-white Mardi Gras membership group that gives the movie its poetic and freighted title, Ms. Brown has a beautiful grasp of gray.” Critic’s Pick
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Brilliantly captivating. An invaluable portrait of us-and-them America, a smart, generous, poignant, quietly disturbing movie.”
– Robert Abele, LA Times

“An intimate excavation of the history of American racism.”
– Logan Hill, New York Magazine

“Brilliant. Heartbreaking. A winner!”
– David Edelstein, New York Magazine

“A haunting and important documentary about modern-day American segregation. It is the kind of illuminating work that sends audiences stumbling home in a wide-eyed state of astonishment.”
– S. James Snyder, The New York Sun

“The Order of Myths is the best documentary in ages, and one of the best films of the year.”
– Jeff Reichert, Reverse Shot

“Engrossing. This deftly made portrait is provocative, but not vitriolic. As Sen. Barack Obama makes history… it’s unsettling to realize racism’s ugly shadow continues to loom large.”
– Claudia Puig, USA Today

“Fascinating. A beautifully restrained, intelligent documentary about how complicated race relations can be in the modern South.”
– Stan Hall, Portland Oregonian

“Quietly shocking, The Order of Myths is a deft, engrossing cross-section of Mobile life, heavy on local color and insight.”
– Vadim Rizov, The Village Voice

“Extraordinary. It may be one of the best films ever made about the paradoxes and complexities of the postwar South. Hugely entertaining.”
– Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene

“Highly sophisticated nonfiction filmmaking... Brown has managed, in a fleet 80 minutes, to uncover quite a lot about (obviously) America’s entrenched racism and (perhaps not so obviously) why our presumably modern sensibilities allow for its continuity.”
– Michael Koresky, Indiewire