Texas Focus: By the River of Babylon: An Elegy for South Louisiana

August 29, 2015 marks ten years to the day of one the most devastating natural disasters to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast — Hurricane Katrina.

South Louisiana is drowning, surrendering a football field of land to the ocean every hour for the past seventy years. And one of its richest cultural resources--its music--may be drowning as well. Laissez les bon temps rouler.

This film grew from the filmmakers’ 25-year-long interest in South Louisiana’s dancehalls, habitat for the Cajun, Creole, Swamp Pop, and Zydeco musics that have made the area "America's greatest musical wellspring." During that time, sadly, they’ve seen the dancehalls dying, and Mike Tidwell’s 2003 book, Bayou Farewell, helped them to see, too, that there are much larger forces at play in the wetlands.

In 2008, with the help of cinematographer David Layton, they began shooting a film that would interweave these parallel stories of loss in the dancehalls and the marshes, where the cataclysm continues. And with the help of producer Megan Field, additional cinematography by Lee Daniel, some exceptional sound recording and design by Justin Hennard, and the graphics work of Mike Nicholson, these Texas filmmakers have created a heartfelt tribute to this incredible landscape, and an elegy for one of America’s most amazing cultures.

The filmmakers will be in attendance for the screening and will be present for a Q&A session.

Ticket prices are $3 for Bullock Museum members and $5 for non-members.