[R-G] "Trouble the Water": An Inside Look at Hurricane Katrina

[james m nordlund]

I want to tell you about a powerful new documentary that I
helped produce:"Trouble the Water". This remarkable film takes
you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way that you have never seen
before. "Trouble the Water" will have special meaning for all of
us in the UNITE HERE family, and that's why I am writing to
invite you to see "Trouble the Water" as soon as you can.

"Trouble the Water" is the moving personal story of two young
people in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans as they struggle
to survive the crisis of Hurricane Katrina and help out others
on the way. But it is more than just a personal story -- it's
the story of the crisis that poor and working people face in
America. It's a powerful illustration of why we, as UNITE HERE
activists, must continue to struggle everyday to fight for a
different America.

"Trouble the Water" begins as Katrina makes landfall, just
blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans
that tourists know. Kimberly Rivers Roberts turns her video
camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the
city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim says into her
new camera as the storm is brewing. As the hurricane begins to
rage and the floodwaters fill their world and the screen, Kim
and her husband Scott continue to film, documenting their
harrowing voyage to higher ground and dramatic rescues of
friends and neighbors. 

After the hurricane, Kim and Scott started walking out of New
Orleans, with hundreds of thousands of poor and injured people.
On the way they encountered Brooklyn filmmakers Carl Deal and
Tia Lessin, who had traveled to New Orleans right after the
hurricane. Carl and Tia immediately saw the power of Kim and
Scott's story, and started following them as they searched for
food, shelter and assistance, and as they picked up homeless
people, old women, and children along the way. With Kim and
Scott's amateur home video, and with their relentless spirits,
Carl and Tia have created a film that you will never forget.
When the hurricane struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and
tore through New Orleans it did not turn the region into a Third
World country -- it revealed one. "Trouble the Water" opens up a
meaningful space to examine critical and pressing issues that
have remained unaddressed and unresolved since the Katrina
disaster three years ago. It is a necessary film for a necessary
change.

The message of "Trouble the Water" is our message about the
crisis of poverty in America, about the critical failure of
imagination of our government, and about the creative solutions
we need to build a better America for everyone. I need your help
to get Trouble the Water's message out far and wide. The film
will only be a success if it does well at the box office THIS
WEEK. That's why I need all UNITE HERE members to "Trouble the
Water" this week.

"Trouble the Water" is currently playing at the IFC Center in
New York City, the Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, and the Edwards
Westpark 8 in Irvine, CA. For other listings, please visit
www.troublethewaterfilm.com 

Get a group of friends together to see "Trouble the Water" this
week, and send me an email at dglover at unitehere.org  to let me
know what you think of the film. 

Danny
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