Over three years of oral history and candid footage was shot by Michael Woods.
Half of the collection pertains to the Repopulation Era, 11.11.05 – 3.1.06, respectfully documenting this surreal period from the Mathieu Family, Mama D, Rollin Garcia (aka Bullet), Angi Bachemin and volunteers’ 7th Ward points of view. We followed them all up to Hurricane Gustav 9.1.08. A documentary film project in development is “The 7th Ward”. Our mission is to capture the essence of surviving in that just lost 90% of its population to exile, reflecting back from Gustav.
Michael Woods, Lead Researcher
michael@thecontraflow.org
On 11.11.05, I landed in New Orleans for what was scheduled to be a four-day visit. Armed with a video camera, I was given a tour by Mathieu of his devastated hometown. It was a disaster zone like no other. There were tens of thousands of damaged homes and virtually no signs of life.
Eventually, we came upon a “camp” that was bustling with two dozen volunteers. It was the home of a community leader named Dyan French Cole, aka Mama D, who invited me to stay. All I had to do was wake up, turn on the camera and walk outside. People came from near and far to see Mama D. I soon branched out from her home base camp and went on to document the repopulation of New Orleans. I listened to over 1,000 relief workers and returning survivors. It was during this surreal period leading up to Mardi Gras, 2.28.06, that I found myself becoming a literary advocate for the Katrina survivors.
M. Darryl Woods, Lead Researcher
thecontraflow@yahoo.com
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