FILM REVIEWS

Read below what educators, people in New Orleans, church leaders, and other professionals are saying about Still Waiting: Life After Katrina.

WHAT EDUCATORS ARE SAYING:

"I was charmed by the desire of African Americans to return to their homes in Saint Bernard Parish despite their unanswered pleas to the Federal government and their local governing officials in Saint Bernard Parish. It is shameful that this situation exists two years after Katrina when billions of construction dollars are spent in Iraq with little or no accountability."

-- Junius Solomon
Willingboro, NJ
Retired, United States Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights

"The documentary is wonderful. So many of the issues your subjects raise are so key. The students in the class were stunned by how good it was. (We don't trust the capacity of outsiders to "see" and you and your collaborators do.) …It is the way in which you reveal the personal dilemmas about what to do that for me is so powerful. If there are opportunities to nominate it for a documentary award, please let me know."

-- Shirley Laska, PhD
Professor of Sociology
Director,
Center for Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology (CHART)
University of New Orleans

"Watching Still Waiting will challenge your beliefs and assumptions about New Orleans and the people who live there. The stories in this video are more than just personal reminders of Katrina’s devastating impact—really this is the story of how people survive. Still Waiting should find a useful home in anthropology and sociology classes and courses in American Studies among others."

-- Jeffrey H. Cohen, PhD
Department of Anthropology
The Ohio State University

"You have captured the fragility and the resilience of the lives of one extended family that represent a fraction of the population affected by Katrina and the aftermath of human and system failures. The film delivers an intriguing mix of hope and despair in this unique statement of the greatest American tragedy to date."

-- Sherry Elmes
Associate Director
Center for Transportation Policy Studies/Regional Center
for Homeland Security and Major Disaster Management
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

"WOW, this film is wonderful-- moving, rich, powerful, and beautifully told. There should be much much more of this work…Congratulations!!"

-- Carla Freeman
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

"I just watched Still Waiting, and I was incredibly moved. I lived in Southern Mississippi for years--taught at the U of Southern Miss until I moved here in '02. I so miss the sense of family and history. I've tried so many times to explain to friends and colleagues here the close ties, the culture of connection, that is so deep in the deep south. It's not about restoring New Orleans; it's about restoring family in the whole flood area. The documentary captures this beautifully."

-- Lisa Langstraat
Associate Professor, English
Director, Writing Center
Colorado State University

"Everybody involved with this program should be so congratulated. I just had tears streaming down my face,. It’s hard to talk about still. IT really affected me. It’s a very powerful film. What an absolutely horrible situation for these people. I learned so much about new Orleans and people, culture, home, heritage. Fantastic. Remarkable movie. Thank you so much."

-- Andy Jensen
High school history teacher
Boulder, Colorado

"You did an incredible job in shaping representative and inter-connected stories and letting the storytellers present them in their own voices. Such good work! Congratulations."

-- Pattie Cowell
Professor, Department of English
Colorado State University

"Still Waiting is beautiful! Really really REALLY well done!"

-- Doug Henry
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of North Texas

WHAT CHURCH LEADERS ARE SAYING:

"The United Methodists and Quakers in Amherst showed Still Waiting as part of further relief organizing. I've coordinated service-learning trips from University of Massachusetts to the Gulf Coast for two years. I’m ordering it so we can use it in the seminars that prepare student teams to return to the Gulf."

-- Rev. Dr. Kent Higgins
Campus Ministry
University of Massachusetts

"I really can't thank you enough for sharing yourself and your beautiful film with us. All week people have been talking about what a moving experience it was to watch the film together. Your creativity and love and dedication and soul have produced a film that speaks on so many levels; it is rich indeed; it has already begun to transform lives. Many blessings to you as you continue to use your gifts for such good work!"

-- Beverly Brewster
Interim Pastor
Calvary Presbyterian Church
San Francisco

"I watched your film earlier this week on PBS. It is wonderful. Lots of heart. A group from my church will be traveling to New Orleans later this month for a mission trip to help with the rebuilding. When the mission trip group returns, as chair of the Adult Education Committee, I plan to show your film and thought you might be interested in hearing about the impact it is making. Keep up the good work!"

-- Mary Griffith
Cleveland, Ohio

WHAT OTHER PROFESSIONALS ARE SAYING:

"My project team got together last night to watch the documentary and they were really impressed, so was I. Thanks for all you have done to bring a portion of the Katrina experience to the public eye, desperately needed and done in such a powerful way."

-- Sara Hoerlein,
Senior Research Assisstant,
Kaiser Institute for Health Research

"Congratulations on an amazing film! Your voice is SO powerful! Please continue to encourage people to return to the New Orleans area to participate in the recovery process."

-- Barb Lehner
Compassionate Listening /Care Calls project in Southern Louisiana

"After watching Still Waiting: Life After Katrina last night I was sad and depressed and affected more than by any movie/program I've seen in the last few years. Thanks for the excellent program!"

-- Stephanie A. Anderson
First Data Corporation, Colorado