From desperation comes inspiration
Katrina survivor's video leads to a film - and turns her life around
Kimberly Rivers Roberts didn't expect her face to show up on cineplex screens across the country. The woman at the center of the film 'Trouble the Water" was a child of New Orleans' Ninth Ward, an aspiring rapper (a.k.a. Black Kold Madina), and a high school dropout.
But about a week before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Roberts bought a secondhand
She filmed when she and her husband, Scott, took shelter in their attic. She filmed Scott going out to rescue people, and foraging for food, clothing, water, diapers, and formula for neighbors.
If the worst happened, Kimberly hoped that someone would find the camera and see how they died in the storm.
New York filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin bumped into Kimberly and Scott at a Red Cross shelter in Alexandria, La., where they had gone to make a documentary about the National Guard. The filmmakers quickly changed their focus, and a cinematic partnership was born.
"Trouble the Water," the result of that pact, won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival this year and is showing at the Kendall Square Cinema, Cambridge. Directors Deal and Lessin will be at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. screenings today.
Kimberly Roberts, 27, spoke to us in telephone interviews about the journey.
Q. It's been reported that after the first screening of "Trouble the Water" at the Sundance Film Festival, the audience jumped to their feet and cheered. Were you blown away by their reaction?
A. I was kind of, sort of, blown away because no one had ever reacted so strongly toward something I'd done. I was blown away to the point that I went into labor.
Q. Later that night, you were rushed to the hospital in Salt Lake City and gave birth to a daughter. Why did you name her Skyy?
A. Her name is a mixture of Scott and Kimberly. I named my baby Skyy because the sky's the limit for us.
Q. At one point in the movie, you say the authorities "treated us like we were un-American, like we lost our citizenship."
A. We've been abandoned all our lives living in poverty and being black in New Orleans. It wasn't a surprise that they didn't help us. There's a lot of neglect in our neighborhoods and crime. [During Katrina] we were stuck in the attic in our house for two days, that's the first time I expected that the government might come rescue us.
Q. This summer you went to the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention to show "Trouble the Water." What was the message you wanted to deliver?
A. To draw attention to New Orleans and the other Third World-like rundown communities around the United States. There's crime, drugs - and the schools have failed us. We're disenfranchised. Hopefully we can get something done for the next generation.
Q. When Katrina hit New Orleans, did you realize the magnitude of the calamity, or have any idea that you would become more than just a faceless victim of the storm?
A. No, it didn't occur to me. I didn't know I'd get all this media attention. After Sundance, I realized how big it was. When it hit me, I went "Wooooah!" Before, I didn't understand the importance of the film festival. . . . Of course I'm proud of the movie. This movie is just the beginning. It's a platform [for generating] talk about the poverty and neglect in this country. It's a mission.
Q. Did your heart skip a beat when you heard Hurricane Gustav was headed your way recently? Did you stay in New Orleans?
A. Yes, I did evacuate this time. I evacuated and went to Atlanta. When Katrina came I was financially disabled and had no other choice [but to stay in New Orleans].
Q. Do you plan to make more movies?
A. Of course. I'm hooking up with NOCCA [New Orleans Center for Creative Arts] to learn how to make movies. And then I'm going to teach others so they can tell their stories.
Q. What's been your reaction to all the acclaim you've received?
A. People have been touched. I'm blessed. But I'm not puffed up. . . . People are being inspired, moved, empowered, and I'm so grateful. One of the most beautiful things that has happened on this journey, is one lady at a screening in Atlanta said to me, "Thank you for your life." That was so overwhelming. That's the highest praise I've ever received in my life, and I'll never forget that. I realize my life is very special.
Q. You've also heard critics say that the people featured in your film were just the non-productive members of society, compared with more responsible residents of New Orleans who evacuated and took care of themselves rather than wait for the government to care for their needs. How do you respond?
A. How does [anyone] think I'm non-productive! The educational system has failed. It's easy to get alcohol licenses in New Orleans. There are no playschools. [The system] prepares you for prison and to work in the French Quarter. . . . In New Orleans, people work hard to pay their bills and have something to eat at night. That's all they expect out of life.
Q. After all that you've been through, how do you find the strength to get out of bed in the morning?
A. I've overcome many storms in my life. I live to overcome. 