Mysterious Behaviors

For LSU's first-ever student feature film, seventeen writer-directors, each taking specific scenes, teamed with another 100+ students serving as cast and crew to tell one continuous story.

In Mysterious Behaviors, a naïve, shapeshifting extraterrestrial embeds herself on campus to research “backward but fascinating” Earthling college students. Through her mistakes and misadventures, her twisted relationships, and one very tortuous romance, she learns that humans aren’t nearly as primitive as she at first believed. Running time is 83 minutes.

A long-planned project of LSU’s Screen Arts program, six entire courses were entirely devoted to Mysterious Behaviors’ scripting, production, and editing. Faculty members, the veteran Louisiana filmmakers Glen Pitre and Paul Catalanotto, shepherded the students as producers. Program Chairs Patricia Suchy and Jason Buch oversaw the project as executive producers.

“The students burst with so much energy and so much creativity,” says Pitre, “but they all wanted to explore different themes and different genres. Forcing them to meld their individual efforts into one coherent story helped them learn the teamworking skills that are the essence of moviemaking.” The seventeen writer directors included Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asian Americans and represented all points on the geographic, economic, and gender-identification spectrums.

Mysterious Behaviors had its world premiere as part of the Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival on 19 October 2024, 1:30 p.m. at the Broad Theatre.

More information about the festival on the New Orleans Film Festival website.