Must See Film: "Trouble the Water"

by Dorothee Royal-Hedinger · 2009-06-18 10:16:00 UTC
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"It's not about a hurricane, it's about America". That's the tagline accompanying the documentary film and Academy Award nominee Trouble the Water.

I saw the film for the first time this week and it absolutely blew me away. More than a story of disaster, it's about a woman who has triumphed over incredible odds to support herself and her community.

The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall-twenty-four year old aspiring rap artist Kimberly Rivers Roberts is turning her new video camera on herself and her 9th Ward neighbors trapped in the city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim declares. With no means to leave the city and equipped with just a few supplies and her hi 8 camera, she and her husband Scott tape their harrowing ordeal as the storm rages, the nearby levee breaches, and floodwaters fill their home and their community.

What really moved me about this film was not only the shocking footage of Katrina and it's aftermath, but the way it delves into Kimberly's past and showcases her courage. Halfway into the film, we learn that Kimberly's mother was a drug addict and died when Kimberly was only thirteen. She struggled to provide for herself and her younger brother by dealing drugs and has put her faith in God to carry her through hard times. This spirit of survival helps Kimberly and her husband rescue and transport thirty people out of New Orleans during the storm.

If you get a chance to see it, make sure you listen to the autobiographical lyrics of the rap song she performs toward the end of the film and you'll see why the best word to describe Kimberly is "amazing".

Dorothee Royal-Hedinger
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