Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Press Release

ATLANTA—Go on a journey deep into the soul-stirring heart of Louisiana — before, during and after the unprecedented devastation of Hurricane Katrina — when Hurricane on the Bayou opens in the IMAX® Theatre at Fernbank Museum of Natural History on January 20, 2007. Unfolding against the poignant backdrop of the most costly natural disaster in America’s history and featuring state-of-the art special effects depicting Katrina’s fury, Hurricane on the Bayou follows four musicians as they uncover the electrifying culture of New Orleans, recount their personal stories of Katrina, and most of all, bring the focus to the rapidly disappearing wetlands that are New Orleans’ first line of defense against deadly storms. 

Produced and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films (Everest, Coral Reef Adventure) with Executive Producer Audubon Nature Institute and narrated by Academy Award®-winning actress Meryl Streep, Hurricane on the Bayou is a haunting document of a Katrina’s powerful effects, a profound musical celebration of the city that has been called the “soul of America,” and a compelling call to protect the vital wetlands that are the foundation of New Orleans’ unique identity.

In early 2005, two-time Academy Award®-nominated director Greg MacGillivray began shooting Hurricane on the Bayou as a story he hoped would sound the alarm on the destruction of Louisiana’s vital wetlands and how a hypothetical hurricane could lead to a massive flood in New Orleans. Yet he could never have predicted that the nightmare he was imagining for the film was about to become real life – and that New Orleans would fall victim to a history-changing catastrophe in the middle of the film’s production. The filmmaking team suddenly switched gears to provide an eye-opening visual panorama of all that Katrina had wrought and created a larger-than-life look at what the nation would stand to lose without the rollicking music, rich culture and astonishing natural beauty of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. 

“We set out originally to tell the story of a future, hypothetical hurricane and how the rapid erosion of the wetlands left New Orleans more vulnerable to flooding,” said Greg MacGillivray, “but when Katrina struck in the middle of doing that, we were no longer filming what might happen, we were suddenly more like news reporters filming what did happen. We had to completely rethink the film, which evolved into a much broader and more deeply emotional story than we ever imagined. We realized we had a unique ability to capture footage of how Katrina impacted New Orleans with the tremendous sense of scale that IMAX theatre photography brings with it—and to tell this story in a way that captures the humanity of it, the essential role of the wetlands environment and the undeniable, musical magic of the city all at once.” 

In Hurricane on the Bayou, the audience is introduced to four charismatic New Orleans musicians:  the legendary singer, songwriter, pianist, producer and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Allen Toussaint; the impassioned Cajun blues guitarist and wetlands activist Tab Benoit; the then-14-year-old fiddling prodigy and rising teen sensation Amanda Shaw; and the man who discovered Amanda and helped produce her first album, high-energy zydeco accordion master Chubby Carrier. Through their eyes, the tragedy the city faced during Katrina and the hopes for a revitalized future unfold. 

The film begins in the bayou itself, as a family of alligators frolic in the water to the tune of the Cajun classic “Iko Iko.” The story then sets off on a historical exploration of how New Orleans rose up hundreds of years ago out of an untamed swampland and went on to become celebrated around the world as “The Big Easy.” Here, a spicy gumbo of African, Native American, Cajun, Creole and Southern influences forged a completely unique culture. The coastal location of Louisiana, which contains an astonishing 48% of all the coastal wetlands in the continental U.S., was both a boon and a bane to the city. As New Orleans evolved into the busiest port in the U.S., and engineers diverted the Mississippi River, the resulting depletion of the wetlands made the city increasingly vulnerable to the killer winds and rising waters of seasonal hurricanes. 

Today, the situation grows more dangerous as every year as Louisiana loses enough land to make up the island of Manhattan. Spectacular flights over the Gulf of Mexico reveal the shocking reality that every 30 minutes, a section of wetlands the size of a football field is lost.  Meanwhile, a side-trip into the vital swamplands probes how the bayou provides a fragile home to a family of alligators with newborn babies.  Here, Tab Benoit explains that hope for New Orleans’ future will lie in concerted efforts to not only preserve, but restore, these wetlands by redirecting the Mississippi River’s silt and re-planting vital foliage.

Ultimately, the story builds to the monster storm that was Katrina. Visceral, state-of-the-art Computer Generated Imagery effects recreate the fury of the storm, made all the more dramatic by the sheer size of the IMAX screen. Then, haunting, never-before-seen aerial footage of the storm’s aftermath provides a new perspective on the plight of the city. Finally, returning to New Orleans in the bittersweet 2006 Mardi Gras season, the film reveals a city in the first throes of recovery – and reunites Allen Toussaint, Amanda Shaw, Chubby Carrier and Marva Wright for a passionate performance of a resonant modern hymn (written by the film’s composer Steve Wood) in the oldest Cathedral in North America, New Orleans’ elegant St. Louis Cathedral. 

“This film reflects Fernbank Museum’s goal to connect people with the natural world,” said Christine Bean, Fernbank Museum’s Vice President of Education. “Through the lives of people who lived through Katrina, Hurricane on the Bayou allows us to discover how an ecosystem, like the wetlands of Louisiana, functions not just to protect the animals and plants, but supports and protects human lives as well. The film serves as an important reminder that nature provides us with built-in protection and that we need to preserve this line of defense against such storms.”

Hurricane on the Bayou will show in Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s IMAX® Theatre from January 20, 2007 through June 30, 2007. Tickets are available by calling 404.929.6400. Visitor information, including daily show times and Martinis & IMAX® viewings, is available at www.fernbankmuseum.org.

 IMAX tickets are $11 for adults, $10 for students/seniors, $9 for children ages 3-12, and $6 for Museum members. Value Pass tickets, which also include Museum admission, are $19 for adults, $17 for students/seniors, and $15 for children ages 3-12. Children two and under receive free admission, on a space available basis.

Hurricane on the Bayou is presented by The Weather Channel, produced and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films and executive produced by Audubon Nature Institute with major funding from the State of Louisiana and in association with MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation. Fueled by Louisiana’s vast array of musical talent, the film’s release will be accompanied by a soundtrack featuring such artists as Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Fats Domino, Mavis Staples, The Rebirth Brass Band and Zydeco Force. Proceeds from the CD will go to support the Audubon Nature Institute’s educational programs to teach people of all ages about the importance of saving Louisiana’s vanishing wetlands.

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