I’m pleased to report that Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek received the Audience Award for Documentary Feature at its premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival, and the new year promises to be a busy time as we share the film around the country. (Announcements soon about screenings in DC and other cities.)

Thank you to everyone who went above and beyond to make the launch of the film possible, including producer and editor Jane Greenberg, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Independent Television Service (ITVS), Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Fledgling Fund, Berkeley Film Foundation, Just Media Fund, Winograd-Hutner Family Fund, Nu Lambda Trust, LEF Moving Image Fund, Fleishhacker Foundation, Amelie Ratliff and Diana Patrick.

Your participation is much needed and much appreciated! Below are a few highlights from the year as well as ideas about how you can take part, including making a tax-deductible donation.

Leah and Derrick with Working Films, Bridge the Gulf and Gulf Coast Fund at Power Shift

• A sneak preview at Power Shift was hosted by Working Films’ Reel Power project, which is helping to introduce the film to schools and communities.
• Journalist Brentin Mock wrote a great piece about the film for Grist: “Southern survival: On the Gulf Coast, a community fights for its life.”
• Residents of Turkey Creek gave a warm welcome to the film, and residents of Africatown in Mobile, Ala., were moved to tears when they saw a preview this fall. Teresa Bettis of the Center for Fair Housing said, “For us it was a painful reminder, but it was validation, it was hope.” Other Gulf Coast communities will screen the film in partnership with the Gulf Coast Fund and Bridge the Gulf.
• Rethinking Schools editor Bill Bigelow described the film as “a saga of community, resilience, resistence and hope” and will soon publish an article by teacher Hardy Thames titled “Looking for Justice at Turkey Creek.”

Launching an independent film is a challenge, and there are many ways you can help:

• Share the film Website that includes the 1-minute trailer and the DONATE button to support the engagement campaign.
• Like the film on Facebook and stay tuned to find out when Come Hell or High Water will come to a film festival or public television station near you.
• Donate online to the Come Hell or High Water engagement campaign. Your tax-deductible donation to the Center for Independent Documentary will go directly toward outreach and promotion staff, travel, printing, festival fees and website development.
• Host a screening. You can send a request through the Reel Power site.
• Forward your ideas by email about people and organizations that should know about the film.

Here’s wishing you a wonderful new year!
– Leah