Beyond the French Quarter

Produced by Purple Valley Films, Beyond the French Quarter is a student production that captures the unconventional accounts of youth volunteers in New Orleans. Follow us beyond the cameras and tourists, as we try to find hope in the areas that still haunt of desolation three years after Hurricane Katrina.

Preview

If you're on the Williams campus, you can watch the high-resolution copy of the film here.

Watch on YouTube.

Technical details

Title: Beyond the French Quarter

Form/Genre: Documentary/Short

Running Time: 08 minutes 50 seconds

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Language: English

Background of this project

In March 2008, our eight-person production team visited New Orleans. We were all members of Purple Valley Films, an independent student film production company in Williams College, MA. Funded by the College, this project is not only about doing community services and helping with the reconstruction in the region over the Spring Break; it is about telling our peers stories of the City of Jazz three years after Hurricane Katrina. During our one-week stay, we talked to people — college volunteers hammering on roofs, ordinary folks, kids in the neighborhood, the homeless in Tent City — and filmed the interviews. We captured images of the destruction and reconstruction, faces of volunteers and local residents. In the French Quarter there may be parties, neon lights, tourists, fine dining and jazz; beyond that, there is still a lot to be done.

Poster