
2025 • 1h 25m • Documentary
Availability
Available between Mar 27, 2026 - Apr 01, 2026
Available in US
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About the film
The stars of What We Can Know About Edmond and Basile are 19th century New Orleans composers Basile Barès and Edmond Dédé.
Basile Barès and Edmond Dédé were Creoles of Color in 19th century New Orleans– Dédé a free man, Barès born into enslavement.
From the tailend of slavery to racial segregation Barès and Dédé wrote and performed operas and concert popular with black and white audiences. Yet, since their lifetime their compositions have not been performed, and some have never been presented to the public. New Orleans musicians and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra are now resurrecting their long lost compositions.
From rehearsals to costume fittings Edmond and Basile documents the path to these premieres and uses the performances as a springboard into a journey into a hidden history.
Director
Sascha Just
Crew
Michelle Barbin, Kevin Hughes, Justin Ditch, Jon Vogl, Abdul Twebti
Upcoming screenings
Awards & recognition
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
Humanity Documentary Film of the Year 2026
What people are saying
‘Filmmaker Sascha Just’s mastery of form is on clear display in this documentary. The title of this subtle, expertly assembled inquiry into the lives of two contemporaneous Black Creole classical musicians from New Orleans is telling: When it comes to both brilliant New Orleans native sons, the scarcity of archival traces means there’s not too much we can know about Edmond Dédé and Basile Barès definitively. It is to Juste’s credit that she leans into the mystery—showing the racial motivations behind their erasure while also answering her own question in unexpected ways. The main characters of the film, besides the titular musical ghosts, are contemporary New Orleanians who answer to the challenge of resurrecting their music and search doggedly through the archives to find everything they can. There is a man who fixes old pianos, including those owned and distributed by Barès, and Oscar Rossignoli, the New Orleans piano virtuoso who performs Barès pieces at Sung Harbor.‘
Holly Devon
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