UF hosts symposium with creator of film about Hurricane Katrina

January 14, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Producer and filmmaker Tia Lessin will present a symposium Jan. 15 on the University of Florida campus about her 2008 film, “Trouble the Water,” which focuses on Hurricane Katrina.

The film chronicles the experiences of a young couple through the storm and later as they rebuild their lives and community. The symposium begins at 2:30 p.m. with a panel discussion in Ustler Hall. Lessin will screen the film at 6 p.m. Jan. 15 in Pugh Hall, and answer questions afterwards.

The trailer for the movie is available on YouTube from Zeitgeist films: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E

Lessin was the director and producer, with Carl Deal, of “Citizen Koch.” She directed and produced “Behind the Labels” and co-produced several of Michael Moore’s films, including “Capitalism: A Love Story” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” and she was the supervising producer of the Academy Award-winning “Bowling for Columbine.”

The “Trouble the Water” symposium and film screening is free and open to the public, and is organized by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and co-sponsored by the Center for Humanities and the Public Sphere Rothman Endowment, UF Center for Women’s Studies, Smathers Libraries, and Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

For more information about this event, call 352-392-7168 or go to http://oral.history.ufl.edu/.