Trouble the Water
| Trouble the Water | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tia Lessin Carl Deal |
| Produced by | Tia Lessin Carl Deal |
| Cinematography | PJ Raval and Kimberly Rivers Roberts |
| Edited by | T. Woody Richman |
| Music by | Davidge Del Naja Black Kold Madina |
| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films |
Release dates | August 22, 2008 |
Running time | 96 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Trouble the Water is a 2008 documentary film directed by Tia Lessin, and Carl Deal, producers of Fahrenheit 9/11. The film tells the story of an aspiring rap artist Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her streetwise husband, who were trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning. Trouble the Water was picked up by Zeitgeist Films and premiered in New York City and Los Angeles on August 22, 2008, followed by a limited national release.
Critical reception
Top ten lists
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.[1]
- 7th - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly[1]
- 8th - David Denby, The New Yorker[1]
- 8th - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times (six-way tie)[1]
- 8th - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon[1]
- 10th - David Edelstein, New York magazine[1]
- 10th - Josh Rosenblatt, The Austin Chronicle[1]
- Jim Ridley, The Village Voice
- Mike Scott, New Orleans Times Picayune
- Eugene Hernandez, Indiewire
- Scott Mccauley, Filmmaker
- Washington City Paper
Rotten Tomatoes has the film rated at 97% on the Tomatometer, based on 66 reviews.
Roger Ebert and New York Times critic Manohla Dargis both included Trouble in their "best of 2008.”
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature in 2009. It won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival[2] as well as the Grand Jury Award and the Working Films Award at the 2008 Full Frame Documentary Festival, and The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights, and the Special Jury Prize at the 2008 AFI/Silverdocs Festival.
The film won the Gotham Independent Film Award for best documentary and the Council on Foundation’s Henry Hampton Award. It has also been nominated for an NAACP Image award for outstanding documentary and a Producers Guild of America award.
Named best documentary of 2008 by the American Film Critics Association and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and came in 2nd place for the National Film Critics Circle Award.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
- ^ "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards" (PDF) (pdf). 2008-01-26.
External links
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