Trouble the Water

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2008, Trouble the Water is a documentary about a street-smart couple trapped in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, the producers of Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), travel to the deserted and wrecked city to meet Kim and Scott, two drug dealers, who have videotaped their struggle against the storm, along with the rescue of friends and neighbors. Kim proves to be a talented aspiring rap artist; her engaging and storytelling songs play an important role in the film.

Lessin and Deal mix the couple’s footage with an in your face interviewing technique, resembling that of Michael Moore, with whom both of them have worked. An exciting story unfolds about two unlikely heroes and their chance for a new beginning. At the same time, it is a shocking exposé on the US Government’s failure in assisting the victims of Katrina.