Back and Forth

Curated for the 2007 New Orleans Human Rights Film Festival, this program of short films about New Orleans takes a look at pre-Katrina and federal flood premonitions as well as post- issues. Most of these films are made by New Orleanians, from a local perspective. The most notable exception is the Yes Men segment, which is featured in their new film. Sorry for the lack of images - still putting it together.

	Mr. Bill Presents the Estuarians of America’s Wetlands, dir. Walter Williams, 2002, 3 min. Murky the Mudcat explains land loss in south Louisiana to Mr. Bill.
	Before the Flood, dir. Royce Osborn, 2006, 6 min. Royce Osborn offers historical perspective on the Afro-Creole culture of New Orleans.
	Back that Thang (Ass) Up, DJ Jubilee music video, dir. Will Horton, 1998, 7.5 min. DJ Jubilee’s fans hold nothing back in this music video shot around New Orleans and in housing developments in the late 1990’s. The director lost his masters in the flood; please forgive the youTube quality.
	H.O.P.E. – Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, dir. Survivors’ Village, 15 min. On Martin Luther King Day, 2007, residents of the St. Bernard Housing development marched through the fences and began to clean up their apartments so they could return home. To support them, activists occupied units in the development until they were forcibly removed. This is an inside view of local activism and efforts to reopen public housing.
	Decorating Grandma Bobbie’s House, dir. The Gert Town Hounds - New Orleans Kid Camera Project, 2007, 3.5 min. Even a boarded up house can have color and character, according to this Gert Town family. A community art project is functional as well as beautiful.
	HUD Identity Correction in New Orleans, dir. The Yes Men, 2007, 13.5 min. The Yes Men take on the closure of public housing in New Orleans in their unique way, by impersonating a HUD official, the “assistant secretary” to Alphonso Jackson.
	The Changing of the Mascot: Bobcats vs. Rebels, dir. Earlneka Royale, summer 2005, 5 min. A student researched the history of race relations at Douglass High School and created this digital story about the changing of her school’s name and mascot in the 1970’s.
	Sneekin’ in the Superdome, dir. J. Bogas, 1985, 3:5 min. A tribute to big arena rock and roll and the refusal to pay an admission fee. “Sneekin in the Superdome” includes a short glimpse (the bootleg tape) from the Rolling Stones concert that set an indoor attendance record – 81,500 - in 1981. Original music by J. Bogas, former 30 yr resident of N.O., now residing in Oregon.
	Katrina’s Children, excerpt, dir. Laura Belsey, producer Babs Johnson, 2007, 5 min. A young girl’s drawing brings out the story of her experience in the Superdome, the city’s designated “shelter of last resort.”
	Paco’s Gert Town Story, dir. Helen Schmehl, 2006, 4.5 min. NOCCA student Helen Schmehl created this piece about an area of New Orleans known as Gert Town where residents face unique safety hazards. Paco tells of his involvement in the project to save his environment from the nearby closed chemical facility, now a brownfield site, the Thompson-Hayward Plant.
	Monster in New Orleans, dirs. Helen Hill and Paul Gailiunas, 2006, 1.5 min. Animator Helen Hill and husband/musician/doctor Paul Gailiunas created this piece upon return to New Orleans in September 2006. Helen was murdered in her home on January 4th, 2007. This sobering piece attests to the difficulty they had in deciding to return to the city they loved.