August 17, 2006
- Thousands of people in New Orleans attended a
special preview Wednesday of a new documentary film
about Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated
the historic city in the southern state of Louisiana
nearly a year ago.
The four-hour documentary, "When the Levees Broke,"
is directed by award-winning African-American
filmmaker Spike Lee, who has made such films as "Do
the Right Thing" and the recent "Inside Man". The movie features lengthy interviews with at
least 100 New Orleans residents and government
officials, including Mayor Ray Nagin. It also shows
the storm's enormous damage and the suffering its
victims experienced afterwards - images that have
become indelible reminders of the disaster for
Americans.
Many of those interviewed by the filmmaker say
the federal government's response to the storm
damage was slow and inept.
Broadcasts of the documentary will begin next
week on U.S. cable television network HBO.
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Information about When the
Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts from HBO
As the world watched in horror, Hurricane Katrina hit New
Orleans on August 29, 2005. Like many who watched the unfolding
drama on television news, director Spike Lee was shocked not
only by the scale of the disaster, but by the slow, inept and
disorganized response of the emergency and recovery effort. Lee
was moved to document this modern American tragedy, a morality
play witnessed by people all around the world. The result is
WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS. The film is
structured in four acts, each dealing with a different aspect of
the events that preceded and followed Katrina's catastrophic
passage through New Orleans. Acts I and II premiere Monday,
August 21 at 9pm (ET/PT), followed by Acts III and IV on
Tuesday, August 22 at 9pm. All four acts will be seen
Tuesday, Aug. 29 (8:00 p.m.-midnight), the first anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina.
Read more at HBO.com
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