Friday 5 September 2008

Here Comes the Story of the Hurricane, Says Filmmaker Paola Mendoza

Next week marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina�s hit on the Gulf Coast. Since and then, filmmakers have responded to the disaster in full force, roiled out a surprising bit of passionate, original films about the storm and its aftermath. (We featured one of them earlier this year.) Indiepix is releasing a four-DVD place of Katrina-themed films, including four features and quartet shorts. One of the best of these is Paola Mendoza�s Still Standing, a documentary account of the filmmaker�s visit to her Colombian grandmother as she deals with the wreckage of her Mississippi home. The highlight here is not so often the devastation on display (which is substantial) simply the touch, easygoing interaction between Mendoza and her grandmother as they ransacking through the debris, spill the beans about an uncertain succeeding, and discuss what makes a place a home � �a place where I canful fart,� as grandma puts it. It�s a lovely little film, and it makes us tidal bore to see what Mendoza does succeeding. Lucky for us, she is currently at ferment on her first tale feature.

Related: Hope Floats [NYM]







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