Trouble the Water

Trouble the Water is the story of Kimberly Roberts and her husband Scott, two self-described street hustlers who don’t have a way out of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina comes to town. Kimberly—an aspiring rap artist—has a video camera and decides to film herself and her neighbors in the ninth ward, many of whom also have to stay behind. Filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lesson meet the Roberts at the Astrodome, where they show them her footage from inside the ferocious hurricane. The filmmakers then follow the displaced couple on their search for family and a new home. This definitive film about Katrina snaps the audience back five years and into the storm, which are shown through the eyes of the truly memorable and indomitable Kimberly Roberts.
—DH