"We set out originally to tell the story of a future, hypothetical hurricane and how the rapid erosion of the wetlands left New Orleans more vulnerable to flooding," says Hurricane on the Bayou director Greg MacGillivray. "But when Katrina struck in the middle of that, we were no longer filming what might happen; we were suddenly more like news reporters filming what did happen. We had to completely rethink the film, which evolved into a much broader and more deeply emotional story than we ever imagined."
That story is recounted in the movie through the reflections and music of some of the Big Easy's most famous musicians, including Allen Toussaint, Tab Benoit, Amanda Shaw and Chubby Carrier. They speak of the culture of New Orleans and ruminate on the destruction caused by Katrina while exploring the region's cypress-studded bayous on bright-yellow fan-powered airboats. And since Katrina didn't stop the wetland erosion, Hurricane is an account not just of a disaster that can and did happen, but of one that's happening still at a rate of one acre lost every thirty minutes.
Hurricane on the Bayou opens today on the IMAX screen at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, and runs daily through June 21. Visit www.dmns.org or call 303-322-7009 for showtimes and prices.
March 16-Oct. 4, 2007