Magazine

There are three types of large-scale disasters: those that are man-made, those created by nature and those exacerbated by the media.With Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans suffered all three.

But if the national media’s Katrina coverage proved catastrophic, documentaries such as When the Levees Broke and Hurricane on the Bayou helped clear the wreckage. Trouble the Water, a documentary that won Sundance’s Grand Jury prize and opens in theaters this fall, is another vital piece of filmic journalism. Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal tell the phenomenal story of Kimberly and Scott Roberts, a married couple rebuilding their lives after the destruc tion of their home and Ninth Ward neighborhood.