New Iberia resident Phanat Xanamane works tirelessly to document the unique culture of the Louisiana Lao people, who settled in Acadiana and south Louisiana in significant numbers following the end of the Vietnam War.
Last week his short film, “Bayou, Buddha, and Padaek,” aired on the Library of Congress YouTube channel. This documentary, produced with filmmakers Sami Haggood and Badar Hamdani, explores the transplantation and continuation of Lao foodways in south Louisiana — with an inside look at how Laotian families maintain their culinary traditions decades after coming to Louisiana.
The project was produced with a grant from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, for the Homegrown Foodways Film series…