This was my last day at the festival while enjoying the dinner fare of the city.
The Day started with a quintessential film about Katrina survivors. This has to be the definitive film regarding the hideous priorities of a nation whereby over a thousand of its citizens died, many still missing and thousands more displaced from their homes.
One would almost say it wasn't necessary to make another Katrina film, but, this one had to be made.
The film used actual footage taken by the people in the picture above. They were stranded in the storm. The woman is Tia Lessin, a rap artist. She happened to have a camera and video taped many of the realities the people of New Orleans were faced with when attempting to stay alive.
She managed to protect her film footage, then next thing she knew she was speaking to people connected to films like Fahrenheit 911 and the rest is history.
The film is compelling. The American government completely failed people along the Gulf Coast. This storm was 'expected' by so many in that region of the country. People planned their survival for more than a decade by placing axes in their attics to hack through the roof of their homes to escape rising flood waters. That is NEGLECT of a government. The American people need to sincerely examine the chronic denial they live in as a result of poorly placed priorities.
The film should be a staple in everyone's home. This level of government neglect due to denial of the truth is more than just a 'Katrina thing,' it is a citizen thing. The next time it might be a Homeland Security issue that involves you and the ones you love. This film isn't about 'just' Katrina, it is about how well the government listens and responds to its citizens.
