During the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the media reported on the violent and criminal incidents occurring in New Orleans. But those horrific tales were only a small percentage of the stories to come out of the tragedy.
The 30 minute documentary "After the Storm: Katrina Survivors & the Memphis Community" tells the stories of ordinary people whose lives were upended by the tragedy that forced them to leave everything behind and seek refuge in Memphis. The documentary was produced by The Center for Multi Media Arts (CMA) at the University of Memphis' FedEx Institute of Technology in conjunction with the United Way of the Mid-South and the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis.
"It was a discussion between those two groups that got it started and then they brought the idea to us," said Michael Schmidt director of the CMA.
When the refugees arrived in Memphis, non-profit organizations like The United Way and the Women's Foundation came to their aid, initially providing shelter, food and the essentials. When it became clear these people would be starting new lives in Memphis, these organizations helped them secure jobs and relocate.
"When they started to come, the non-profit organizations of Memphis really rallied together," said Dave Skorupa of the United Way.
After witnessing the refugees try to make Memphis their new home and integrate themselves into a new community, the people behind these organizations, as well as the newly formed organization Displaced Citizens of the Gulf Coast, wanted to make sure that their story was told.
"It was really a great opportunity to capture this unique period in our city's history," said Skorupa.
Because one of the major roles of The Women's Foundation involved finding places for them to live, they contributed valuable information that helped ready the film for production.
"We supported the documentary by helping to identify people for interviews," said Ruby Bright of the Women's Foundation.
They had the stories and the people, now they needed filmmakers to produce the documentary. The three organizations brought the idea to the University of Memphis because a few of the key volunteers had connections with the university.
Once approached, the CMA saw great potential as well.
"Most people have moved on, and nobody talks about Katrina anymore," said Schmidt. "We wanted to make sure that people don't forget about it, because the impact this disaster had on the people at the Gulf Coast, and, ultimately our community, didn't just go away a year or so later."
The CMA used funds from both organizations to produce the film. Eric Wilson a producer with CMA, shot, edited and directed the film.
"After the Storm," takes a different approach than most documentaries. Usually, voice-overs play over videotaped coverage of events. But here, Wilson and the CMA used minimalism to convey the story by merely recording interviews. Instead of a lofty narrative action guiding the piece, the audience watches and listens to people from New Orleans tell their tales. If the film were longer, it could have dragged, but because of the short length of the film, the audience is given an opportunity to know these people by hearing about their experiences during the storm, the commute to Memphis and their reception from the city's citizens.
At the beginning of the film, the president of The United Way of Memphis Henry Shaw talks about why it was important for people to hear their stories.
"This could be any one of us going through the same tragedy. There story is really not getting out into the media. You're always hearing about someone who stole something and that's a very small percentage of the people who are dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy. Here, you're going to hear about people who are just like us," said Shaw.
Since the film wrapped in 2006, the United Way and the Women's Foundation continue to help the city's new residents.
"They are still continuing to meld into or transition out of the Memphis community while still seeking assistance from the foundation and other organizations the Women's Foundation supports," said Bright.
The film airs on WKNO channel 10 Tuesday August 19 at 8 p.m and again at 1 a.m August 20. Also that night it will broadcast on WKNO's digital channel WKNO-2 at 8 p.m.
