Stand by · pulling the latest frames
Stand by · pulling the latest frames


"Trouble the Water" takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall--just blocks away from the French Quarter but far from the New Orleans that most tourists knew. Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist, is turning her new video camera on herself and her Ninth Ward neighbors trapped in the city. Weaving an insider's view of Katrina with a mix of verité and in-your-face filmmaking, it is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes--two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.
6.9
Score
30 votes
“It's not about a hurricane. It's about America.”

Trouble the Water
Editorial context, craft details, and films that share its DNA.

Ray Nagin
Ray Nagin
Self (archive footage)