American Film Showcase workshop in Kendari on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia
From the Come Hell or High Water newsletter (Sign up!)
2015 was a year of long-anticipated milestones (the 10th anniversary of Katrina, the 5th anniversary of the BP disaster, and the UN conference on climate change), but it was also a year of the unexpected, with film tours of North Carolina and Indonesia and an invitation to the Sundance/Skoll Stories of Change Lab. The story of Turkey Creek traveled as far as Madagascar and into public conversations among scientists, lawyers, teachers and journalists. Here are a few highlights.
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Posts from the Road
Omega Wilson and Danielle Spurlock at WUNC Radio during Working Films’ Environmental Justice tour
American Film Showcase tour in Indonesia: “People consistently wanted to know what it meant for me to make a film that was critical of government. Was I afraid or did I fear reprisals? Given Indonesia’s history, the question wasn’t surprising …”
Working Films’ North Carolina environmental justice tour: “Don’t watch the film and consume their pain. Don’t let it stop there … What are we going to do? …”
Sundance/Skoll Stories of Change convening: “How a convening in Utah can spark ecological change 8,000 miles away …”
10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Literacy for Environmental Justice EcoStewards at Katrina 10th anniversary screening
Sundance included Come Hell or High Water in a short list of Katrina documentaries.
Conservation Law Foundation (Boston), Literacy for Environmental Justice (San Francisco), and Mississippi Center for Justice (Gulfport) held special screenings and discussions of the film in commemoration of the storm.
WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed series rebroadcast the film and hosted a #katrinastories twitter chat and shared a webisode and film clips.
Turkey Creek’s Katrina survival story was featured by the Washington Post and ABC News.
Climate Change Awareness
Lampuuk in North Sumatra with Aceh Documentary group during American Film Showcase tour
The Union of Concerned Scientists included Turkey Creek in a report about equity on the frontlines of climate change.
The Zinn Education Project recommended Come Hell or High Water to educators grappling with the challenge of addressing climate change in the classroom.
The New Republic published “After the Deluge: Building climate justice from the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina” featuring the story of Turkey Creek, and Jamil Smith, Senior Editor at The New Republic, interviewed Derrick Evans and others for a podcast titled “It’s Not Mother Nature Who’s Racist.”
News from Turkey Creek
$7 million in Restore Act funds designated for Turkey Creek habitat restoration.
Hundreds of middle-school students work with EPA scientists to study Turkey Creek.
Another Turkey Creek site placed on Mississippi Heritage Trust’s 10 most endangered historic places.
Controversy continues over 1,300-acre Ward property on Turkey Creek.
Teaching Resources
Visit the updated Come Hell or High Water Teaching Resources Page with videos, podcasts, articles and reports related to the film, from The New Republic, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cornell University Africana Center, Rethinking Schools, Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, Grist, Anacostia Community Museum and more.
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