What New Orleans Means

My last few days in New Orleans -- replete with successful test showings of "Rising from Ruins" and having to contend with Gustav -- have been quite instructive.

At first, I was concerned with how Gustav might change the Katrina narrative of the film.  The answer: they complement each other.  During the Q&A's after our screenings, I got a strong dose of this growing self-reliance in the Katrina Zone.  That folks don't trust big institutions (governments or companies) to save their bacon, and that they need to rely on their own independent judgment and resources to make crucial decisions.

For instance, check out blogger/gadfly Karen Gadbois' Twitter page.  Her acerbic tone and first-hand reports are exactly what a (rightfully) mistrustful citizenry require.  She may exactly be to whom The Economist is referring in a recent article "Half-empty streets":

Although New Orleans is still a laid-back place that likes a good time, the trauma of the storm and the long slog back to normality seem to have energised it. Residents devour news, and a busy network of bloggers has sprung up. Groups of New Orleanians have organised themselves into volunteer militias tackling everything from home repairs to grass-cutting in the parks. That change of attitude could bode better for the future.

The "ongoing conversation" of today's Digital Age also clearly applies to my film.  There's no such thing as a "finished good" to paraphrase Yochai Benkler's "Wealth of Networks".  And I've got some revisions to make, incorporating what I saw, heard and filmed last week in Louisiana.  We'll aim for another premiere sometime in October.