Royd Anderson - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Royd Anderson is a Cuban American

Cuban American

A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...

filmmaker and historian based in New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.
He specializes in documentary films pertaining to tragic Louisiana events often overlooked by historians. In 2006, Anderson wrote and directed the documentary The Luling Ferry Disaster for his Master's thesis project in Communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...

. The film recounts the story of the worst ferry disaster in U.S. history, the MV George Prince ferry disaster

MV George Prince ferry disaster

The MV George Prince ferry disaster was a nautical disaster that occurred in the Mississippi River in Louisiana, United States, on the morning of . The ferry George Prince was struck by the Norwegian tanker SS Frosta, which was traveling upriver...

, 77 fatalities. The documentary was released on the 30th anniversary of the tragedy

Tragedy (event)

A tragedy is an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful. Such an event is said to be tragic....

, October 20, 2006. The success of the film generated a movement, initiated by Anderson, to build a monument in St. Charles Parish for the victims and survivors. The Luling/Destrehan Ferry Disaster Memorial Committee, led by St. Charles Parish Councilman Larry Cochran, was established on January 28, 2009, consisting of family members and friends of the deceased, St. Charles Parish Council members, and concerned citizens, along with Anderson. Through the diligent work of the bureau, a memorial was finally erected. It was unveiled, in a solemn ceremony, on October 17, 2009 at the East Bank Bridge Park in Destrehan, Louisiana

Destrehan, Louisiana

Destrehan is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census. It was named after Jean N...

. St. Charles Parish Councilman and architect Paul J. Hogan designed the monument.

In 2007, Anderson wrote and directed the documentary The Continental Grain Elevator Explosion. The film documents the deadliest grain dust explosion of the modern era, occurring on December 22, 1977 at the Continental Grain plant in Westwego, Louisiana

Westwego, Louisiana

Westwego is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 10,763 at the 2000 census. It lies along the west bank of the Mississippi River.-Geography:...

. 36 lives were lost.

Anderson's films were honored at the Pelican d'Or Short Film Festival at Nunez Community College

Nunez Community College

Nunez Community College is located in the town of Chalmette, in St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, in Louisiana. Its full name is Elaine P. Nunez Community College; it was named for the deceased wife of former Louisiana State Senate President Samuel B. Nunez.The school was formed by the 1992...

, winning the Best Documentary category in 2007 and 2008. His documentaries have also been accepted into The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region of the United States. It is located in New Orleans' French Quarter. The institution was established in 1966...

, one of Louisiana's prestigious archives. On television, Anderson has been a featured guest on the Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Louisiana Public Broadcasting is a state-run, viewer-supported state network of Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational Public television member stations serving the state of Louisiana outside Greater New Orleans. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television...

network show Louisiana: The State We're In and the WYES-TV

WYES-TV

WYES-TV is the primary Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. It broadcasts on virtual channel 12.-History:...

news program Informed Sources. He is an alumnus of Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...

, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...

, and Delgado Community College

Delgado Community College

Delgado Community College ' is a Louisiana public community college with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area, the East and West Banks of New Orleans, the East Bank of Jefferson Parish and on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Covington and Slidell in St. Tammany Parish...

External links

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