Synopsis
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, this astonishingly powerful documentary is at once horrifying and exhilarating. Directed and produced by Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, Trouble the Water takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall-just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her 9th Ward neighbors trapped in the city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim declares. As the hurricane begins to rage and the floodwaters fill their world and the screen, Kim and her husband Scott continue to film their harrowing retreat to higher ground and the dramatic rescues of friends and neighbors. The filmmakers document the couple's return to New Orleans, the devastation of their neighborhood and the appalling repeated failures of government. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, Trouble the Water is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes-two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.


2008, 96 mins, Color, USA
In English, 35mm


directed and produced by
TIA LESSIN and CARL DEAL

executive producers
JOSLYN BARNES
DANNY GLOVER
TODD OLSON
DAVID ALCARO

directors of photography
P.J. RAVAL
KIMBERLY ROBERTS

editor and co-producer
T. WOODY RICHMAN

additional editing by
MARY LAMPSON

co-producer
AMIR BAR-LEV

consulting producer
HAROLD MOSS

Original score by
DAVIDGE / DEL NAJA

Introducing the music of
BLACK KOLD MADINA

USA - 2008 - 96 mins - Color - In English

press materials are available at www.troublethewaterfilm.com
or www.zeitgeistfilms.com



PRIX / FESTIVALS / AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS / TELEVISIONS


2008 | SIFF - Seattle Film Festival | SEATTLE, Usa | www.siff.net
* OFFICIAL SELECTION
* Documentary Competition