August 24 marks the debut of HBO’s original documentary KATRINA BABIES

Edward Buckles, Jr., a New Orleans native, and first-time filmmaker directs KATRINA BABIES for HBO on Wednesday, August 24, 2013. Production companies Invisible Pictures, TIME Studios, Creative Control, and House of the Young Entertainment are collaborating on the film, which will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.

In the sixteen years following Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans, an entire generation still grapples with the lifelong impact of tragedy on their childhood. As a child, Edward Buckles Jr., a filmmaker from New Orleans, spent seven years documenting the stories of his peers who survived Katrina and its aftermath with the hope of opening a door for healing and capturing New Orleans’ spirit.

In KATRINA BABIES, the authors show how the 2005 hurricane uprooted the lives of close-knit families and vibrant communities in New Orleans. American children who were evacuated from their homes to refugee-like centers, or placed in makeshift, temporary living situations, were neglected after they were airlifted out of the rising waters.

After having experienced loss, displacement, and lack of support from government officials, families were faced with reintegrating into new communities, leaving the children to process their trauma.

As Buckles raises his camera, he raises the voices of his city; by using confessional footage, home movies, animation, harrowing archival footage, and candid interviews with Katrina survivors, he exposes a reservoir of grief and suppressed emotion.

These moving, first-hand accounts demonstrate how KATRINA BABIES is healing from not only the most destructive storm in U.S. history but also from the racial and ethnic traumas of being black and disenfranchised. The children of Katrina are left to chart their path to healing despite systemic racism, government neglect, and unresolved family issues.

Director: Edward Buckles, Jr, producer: Audrey Rosenberg, director: Rebecca Teitel, executive producer: Coodie & Chike of Creative Control, Ian Orefice, Loren Hammonds, Mike Beck and Alexa Conway of TIME Studios, and Eileen Tavarez and Jess Jacobs of Invisible Pictures; writer: Edward Buckles, Jr, Luther Clement-Lam, Audrey Rosenberg. HBO: Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, with Sara Rodriguez serving as executive producers.

Dakota Cameron

Dakota Cameron is a seasoned web content writer and covers the Hollywood movies for the MovieThop Website
Ms. Cameron began his professional life as a freelance blogger. Later, he worked for Witbe as a content writer for two years. His interests include blogging, reading, movies and travel.
Ms. Cameron graduated in Journalism and Mass Communication from University State of Georgia University. He is fluent in French, Spanish, and other languages.