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 "It left me speechless. I feel like I want to cry, but I can't. I think this should be dedicated to all the people who either stayed and never left, or came back as soon as possible to begin rebuilding. We are what will make this city live again. There were many heroes of this storm, but I think anyone who is living here now and giving this city a chance is a hero." "This is hard to watch" "I'm about 15 minutes in. Wow, wow, wow! I love the bungalow style houses. It is such a shame that historic aspect of the city is now gone, or will be gone once they are demolished." "Wow, that is utterly sad and shocking. Something that certainly isn't coming across in the media, that is for certain." "I just finished watching the video. Thanks so much for telling us about it. It really opened my eyes on what had happened, and with what is going on now in New Orleans. [...] I want to cry now after watching it. It's very powerful." "It's an excellent video. I'm still stunned after watching it." "I was in tears and in shock....it makes me want to go down there and help or do something....it's scary." |
One Year After (62 minutes) |
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After Hurricane Katrina devestated my city, New Orleans, Lousiana, the nation sat and watched on numerous TV stations, read in an infinite number of papers and magazines, listened on radio stations everywhere, and refreshed blogs all over the web to see what was happening as each minute passed. Then, once the flood waters receded, so did the media coverage. Pictures and videos "from the inside" slowly dissipated. The only time New Orleans, or the Gulf Coast for that matter, made the news was when something sensational happened, like Nagin's "Chocolate City" speech. And once he calmed down, we dissapeared from the media once again. Then on the first anniversary of the event, we made headlines as Spike Lee's documentary When then Levees Broke aired on HBO. Unfortunately, Lee's documentary -- while incredibly done and performed a task few were up to -- only showed America the events before, during, and immediately after. But we still need help. The city is covered in debris and washed-out cars and dried, cracked mud. Houses are still falling on top of themselves. And there's still this unforgettable stench in the area to remind us of what that water smelled like. Most of our schools haven't opened. Restaraunts and businesses can't stay open as late as they used to because of the lack of employees and the fact that many areas just aren't alive enough for a business to thrive. Would you believe some areas, heavily populated by returning citizens, still don't have working traffic lights? If you had no idea or have no idea what the state of the New Orleans area is one year after Hurricane Katrina, then I urge you to take a look at this semi-documentary. I'm not a professional filmmaker, nor am I a professional cameraman. I'm just a guy who loves our city and wants the nation -- no, the world -- to know that we're still not okay One Year After. The film is lengthy, I sometimes ramble, the camera is shakey at times, and I accidentaly mis-identify the name of one of the neighborhoods, but that shouldn't discourage you. I urge you to watch and learn and to pass this on to anyone you know. And if you can lend us a helping hand, either physical or financial, please do. If you'd like a copy of the video on DVD for yourself or anyone you know, send me an e-mail. All I ask is that you cover the cost of postage. Thanks, How to help: |
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