True Stories

supress dropcaps

Synopsis: The aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina, as seen through the eyes (and camera) of amateur filmmaker and rapper Kimberly Roberts. The backstory: Deal and Lessin, professional and personal partners for 15 years and frequent collaborators of Michael Moore’s, went to Louisiana to make sense of what they were seeing on TV in September 2005.

Budget: Deal and Lessin declined to say.

Financed by: Private investors as well as grants from the Sundance Institute and the New York State Council on the Arts, among others. The film does not yet have a distributor.

Sundance moment: Twenty-four hours after the premiere in Park City, Roberts, 38 weeks pregnant, gave birth to Skyy, a baby girl. “We call her the Sundance kid,” says Deal.

Directors’ next project: “It’s under wraps.”

Return to True Stories or read about other directors: Christopher Bell (Bigger, Stronger, Faster*) Alex Gibney (Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson) James Marsh (Man on Wire) Nanette Burstein (American Teen ) Marina ZenovichRoman Polanski: Wanted and Desired