Hexing A Hurricane
Encyclopedia
Hexing a Hurricane is a 2006 documentary film
about the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
. It has been billed as the "First Katrina documentary" released by a New Orleanian. The film is directed by Jeremy Campbell and distributed by the National Film Network. The film's score was orchestrated by New Orleans artist Eric Laws.
The film begins back when life was "normal" in New Orleans- six weeks before Hurricane Katrina
and the associated levee failures devastated the city. Hexing a Hurricane opens with a 9th Ward Voodoo
Ceremony at the start of Hurricane Season asking spirits for protection from dangerous storms. After the ominous hurricane strikes a few weeks following the VooDoo service, the film follows locals affected.
(Times-Picayune columnist), Angela Hill (WWL-TV
Channel 4 news anchor), Garland Robinette
, (WWL (AM) radio talk show host), Harry Anderson
(actor, former resident, former local club owner), Irvin Mayfield
(musician), Sallie Ann Glassman
(artist, Voodoo priestess), along with various people of New Orleans.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
The effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have been long-lasting. As the center of Katrina passed South-east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 3 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane force winds were experienced throughout the...
. It has been billed as the "First Katrina documentary" released by a New Orleanian. The film is directed by Jeremy Campbell and distributed by the National Film Network. The film's score was orchestrated by New Orleans artist Eric Laws.
The film begins back when life was "normal" in New Orleans- six weeks before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and the associated levee failures devastated the city. Hexing a Hurricane opens with a 9th Ward Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of underground religious practices which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African American...
Ceremony at the start of Hurricane Season asking spirits for protection from dangerous storms. After the ominous hurricane strikes a few weeks following the VooDoo service, the film follows locals affected.
Cast
Those appearing on screen include Chris RoseChris Rose (journalist)
Chris Rose is a New Orleans, Louisiana, writer. For years best known for light-hearted writing in the Times-Picayune, he gained greater attention for his chronicles of the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans since 2005. He left the paper in late 2009, and joined the New Orleans alternative...
(Times-Picayune columnist), Angela Hill (WWL-TV
WWL-TV
WWL-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station serving New Orleans, Louisiana, southeast Louisiana and parts of southern and coastal Mississippi, and is the primary CBS station for South and Coastal Mississippi. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 36...
Channel 4 news anchor), Garland Robinette
Garland Robinette
Garland Robinette is a journalist in the New Orleans area. He currently is host of "The Think Tank" on New Orleans radio station WWL ....
, (WWL (AM) radio talk show host), Harry Anderson
Harry Anderson
Harry Laverne Anderson is an American actor and magician.-Early life:Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Anderson was a street magician before becoming an actor.-Career:...
(actor, former resident, former local club owner), Irvin Mayfield
Irvin Mayfield
Irvin Mayfield, Jr. is an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He has been serving as Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana since 2003. He co-founded and has co-led the Afro-Cuban jazz group Los Hombres Calientes since 1998. Their debut album won Billboard's 2000...
(musician), Sallie Ann Glassman
Sallie Ann Glassman
Sallie Ann Glassman is a Vodou practitioner, author, and artist, born in Maine of Jewish–Ukrainian heritage.-Vodou:Glassman has been practicing Vodou in New Orleans since 1977 and in 1995 became one of few White Americans to have been ordained via the traditional Haitian initiation...
(artist, Voodoo priestess), along with various people of New Orleans.
Scenes
Scenes in the film include:- Members of La Source Ancienne Temple perform a voodoo ceremony asking powerful spirits to protect New Orleans from dangerous hurricanes.
- Jackie and her fiancee Carl return to the flood-damaged neighborhood of LakeviewLakeview, New OrleansLakeview is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Robert E. Lee Boulevard to the north, Orleans Avenue to the east, Florida Boulevard, Canal Boulevard and I-610 to the south and...
to view their devastated home for the first time. - New Orleans Cultural Ambassador (and Grammy nominee) Irvin Mayfield issues a call to action from beneath the unharmed statue of jazz great Louis Armstrong in the French Quarter.
- Acclaimed Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose provides amusing and unfiltered commentary on the local media and regarding day-to-day life after the storm.
- Former sitcom star and longtime New Orleans resident Harry Anderson (Night Court, Dave's World) trades in his Wednesday night comedy act at his French QuarterFrench QuarterThe French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
nightclub for a new role as "town hall" leader. - Locally famous broadcasters (and former husband and wife co-anchors) Garland Robinette (the Big 870) and Angela Hill (WWL Channel 4) reunite to share a candid conversation together in Jackson Square about personal experiences during a disaster of global interest.
- Voodoo Priestess Sallie Ann Glassman explains why she believed in her protective ceremony for years before the storm hit. She openly admits "what happened" with last year's service and tells a possible message from the spirits regarding the disaster.
- The Rebirth Brass BandRebirth Brass BandThe Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1982 by tuba/sousaphone player Philip Frazier, his brother, bass drummer, Keith Frazier and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, and other school marching band members from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School in New Orleans’ Tremé...
performs in the 77th annual Original Prince of Whales club second line parade dedicated to the memory of "all brothers and sisters lost in Hurricane Katrina." - The film also debuts Beyond Zero, a ballad by street musician "Willow".