The Lower9

This not another Katrina film, but a film that looks beneath the disaster to keep the focus and attention on the people and culture of New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward.

The Lower 9: A Story of Home is a feature-length documentary showcasing six determined Lower-Ninth-Ward residents who share their most intimate stories of home, as they resume their lives nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged their neighborhood. The individual’s stories find voice in a narrative that intersperses contemporary interviews, abstract cinematography of destruction, and powerful scenes of present-day lives.

Unfortunately, the story of New Orleans has become the story of Hurricane Katrina. The Lower 9: A Story of Home looks beneath the disaster to reveal the community, personal stories and importance of this tightly knit neighborhood. This not another Katrina film, but a film that looks beneath the disaster to keep the focus and attention on the people and culture of New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward.

“‘The Lower 9’ is a deeply disturbing, but an astonishingly beautiful visual and oral account of the ongoing devastation and broken promises that residents of one of New Orleans’ hardiest hit communities still face.”

Julie Gustafson
Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker

“It does not concentrate on the catastrophe and aftermath, as many films have done… ‘The Lower 9′ makes a convincing argument for rebuilding the neighborhood and not forgetting its inhabitants.”

Jan Roberts Breslin
Award Winning Media Artist
Graduate Program Director of Visual and Media Art at Emerson College/p>

The Characters

• Mack McClendon

  Before the storm, McClendon collected antique cars. However, the 24-foot waves stole his home, his hobby, his cars and his business. McClendon, 54, knows what it feels like to lose everything and now he is trying to make it easier for others who are dealing with the same problems to come home.

  McClendon started the Lower Ninth Ward Village after Hurricane Katrina. He bought an old metal, factory and is slowly turning it into a safe community center for the people to gather in the Lower Ninth Ward. He has provided bunk beds, showers, a library, a fitness center, a computer room, a basketball court and community gardens. McClendon started the “Where’s Your Neighbor” program which focuses on finding the displaced residents of the Lower Ninth Ward who were evacuated and never heard from again. Although, his goals are large, his funds are limited. McClendon receives no money from the government, is understaffed and uses personal funds from his disability check to help his community.

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• Sandos McGee

  After Hurricane Betsy, lifetime Lower Ninth Ward resident Sandos “Sam” McGee returned home to find his city and life in disarray. His high school lost all records of his attendance and tried to force him back into the grade that he had just graduated from. He left high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps where he was immediately sent to fight in the Vietnam War.

  Upon his return from the Vietnam War, Sandos was briefly married and worked in New Orleans. It was again in 2005 that Sandos was face death once again. When Hurricane Katrina landed in New Orleans, he decided to stay in the Lower Ninth Ward with the goal of finding work after the storm. Sandos experience the storm first hand. Despite being stuck in an attack, washed away by the floodwaters, being seriously injured by crumbling houses, he lived to tell and share his miraculous story.

  Sandos now lives in the Lower Ninth Ward and spends most of his time drawing and sketching in a neighborhood corner store.

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• Leo Gant Sr. and Donna Gant Williams

  Leo and Donna grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward and continue to reside there. With their father a preacher, the brother and sister say, “everything about church was a must.” They say they’re church in the Lower Ninth Ward, Battleground Baptist, was a strong community of brothers and sisters. But since the storm, the church has been washed away and the congregation has been dispersed all over the country. Leo and Donna are one of few remaining members of the church left living in the Lower Ninth Ward. Battleground Baptist Church temporarily holds services in a nearby church in New Orleans.

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• Angela Davis

  Despite her difficult childhood and the experience of Hurricane Katrina, Angela Shelbia, 26, looks towards the positive side of life. As a teenager, Shelbia lived in a neighborhood where drug dealers roamed the streets and in a house where the utilities were shut off and rats roamed the ground. She has noticed a slight improvement in her neighborhood and city; saying the storm washed away all of the “raggly” houses and drug dealers, leaving it a better place for people to come home to and bringing help and support that the city needs. Shelbia is currently a college student with dreams of winning an Oscar. She has many brothers and sisters and continues to live in the Lower Ninth Ward with her close-knit family.

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• Stanley Stewart

  Stewart gained an interest in cars as a child and began constructing model automobiles for fun. His hobby took a serious turn when he met his mentor and began working as a mechanic and detailer. He owns his own custom body shop in the Lower Ninth Ward and is well known for his expertise. Stewart’s shop had to be rebuilt from the ground up after Hurricane Katrina stole all of his tools and equipment. Stewart continues to be a positive and hard-working figure in the community where he has lived all his life.

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The Filmmakers

• Matthew Hashiguchi.com

  Matthew Hashiguchi is an award winning filmmaker, photographer and cinematographer based out of Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from The Ohio State University in 2007 with a BA in Photojournalism, he went on to work and intern as a multimedia journalist for The Washington Post, The Lima News and The Findlay Courier. In 2009, he left the world of journalism to find his voice as an independent filmmaker where he combines his experience as a journalist with his understanding of image and sound to tell a story.

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• Elaine McMillion.com

  McMillion uses storytelling techniques gained through writing, in addition to experience in research, audio/video production and photography, to express a story visually through film. To McMillion,the most rewarding aspect of creating non-fiction media is discovering individuals and learning more about their lives. Over the years, McMillion has developed her own style of storytelling focusing on small details and going beyond what is seen and heard by the common eye to reveal the true story behind a person. McMillion views her work as a writer and filmmaker as a chance to capture life in an artful and meaningful way and share it with the world. McMillion has over four years of experience writing, producing and freelancing for print and online media, including regional magazines, Washington Post Digital, the Charleston Daily Mail and the Dominion Post. She has won several journalism awards and was named a “Top Ten Scholar” by the Scripps Howard Foundation in 2008.

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Web and Graphic Design

• Ryan Merrill.net

  Ryan Merrill is a graphic and web designer based out of Cincinnati, Ohio.

  “I am a hungry designer living and working in Cincinnati who likes his friends old, his music loud and his work tough. I have been designing in various mediums for more than six years, and I’ve also been known to throw around a line of code or two. I graduated from The Ohio State University with degrees in Journalism and English. I was the Editor-in-chief of the Ohio State student-run daily newspaper, The Lantern.”

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Music and Audio

• Lee Strauss.net

  As an experienced composer and graduate of Berklee School of Music, Lee Strauss is fully prepared to handle any size and variety of film or TV project. Lee has over 12 years of experience in composing and producing music. This, combined with an intensive Berklee College of Music film scoring education gives him the edge needed in the realm of music production and composition today. With his diverse knowledge of musical styles and techniques, Lee will be able to achieve success with any project, style or genre.

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