Trouble the Water: A Film About Hurricane Katrina & Poverty in America
Tonight I went to a film screening of the Academy Award nominated documentary film, “Trouble the Water”. This film is a true story of a New Orleans couple, Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott Roberts, who capture with a home camcorder the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina as the storm hits land on August 28, 2005. Scenes include footage taken from the refuge of the couple’s attic located in the Ninth Ward neighborhood – as the floods overtake their community and their own home. “Trouble the Water” is a first-hand account of survival, courage, compassion, and shared humanity.
Sadly, this film is not just about a hurricane. It’s about poverty in America, as the filmmakers suggest. The legacy of Hurricane Katrina demonstrates this bottom line: if you are poor and uneducated in America, you wield little influence, little power. One of the messages of the film is that if you are poor, certain rights and governmental services we expect as citizens of the United States, are not guaranteed.
One heartening outcome of the storm’s tragedy: by seeing a better way in another city, Kim and Scott Roberts see their own possibilities with new eyes. Upon returning to New Orleans, the couple transform their lives, start a music record company, and are launch a non-profit to help people in their community.
I’m thankful that filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal made it possible for this couple’s story to be told. Film and video is a powerful medium to bring to life a story and communicate an important social message.
