In Katrina’s Wake

A new IMAX film charts a killer storm’s lasting effect on New Orleans.

Timing, they say, is everything. And nowhere is that more evident than in the IMAX film Hurricane on the Bayou, which made its Pittsburgh debut on December 26 at Carnegie Science Center’s Rangos Omnimax Theater. 

When director Greg MacGillivray (Everest) and his team set out for New Orleans to film a documentary on the impact of Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands, their timing couldn’t have been better—or worse.

The movie was initially conceived as a cautionary tale. MacGillivray wanted to paint a picture of how the Bayou’s eroding wetlands—they are in fact slipping away at the rate of one acre every 30 minutes—leave the region more and more vulnerable to hurricane damage. 

Wrapping up his location shooting in May 2005, MacGillivray began to turn his focus on another aspect of the film. Part of his vision included a simulated sequence detailing the effects of a category 5 storm. Using all the tricks of his trade—wind machines, rain generators, water pumps and special effects—he created a world that left New Orleans flooded and people stranded on rooftops.

On August 29, 2005, the day Katrina made landfall, reality started to tragically imitate art. Katrina would go in the record books as the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane and the third-strongest to hit the United States. New Orleans would become the scene of the most costly disaster in American history, and the city would ultimately suffer more than 1,500 deaths.

As news of Katrina’s devastation continued to unfold, MacGillivray stopped everything and gathered a crew together to return to New Orleans. Overcoming logistical challenges, the group captured images that when seen on an IMAX screen take on a heightened sense of immediacy and poignancy.

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, Hurricane on the Bayou tells the story of the wetlands and Katrina through the eyes—and music—of real New Orleans residents Amanda Shaw, a teenage fiddling prodigy; Tab Benoit, a singer, guitarist and wetlands activist; and composer Allen Toussaint, a true “Big Easy” legend.

Throughout the film, they talk about how they weathered the storm. Shaw shares her panic at being unable to reach her grandparents. Benoit reveals how his favorite cabin retreat was destroyed by high winds. And Toussaint explains how he chose to stay in his flooded house, only to be forced to evacuate due to a lack of food and water.      

According to John Radzilowicz, Carnegie Science Center’s director of visitor experience, the entire environment—the people, the animals and the wetlands—are still reeling from Katrina. 

The film, he says, offers a “very powerful, very emotional” look at a city, its natural resources and culture; as well as a catastrophic event and its aftermath.

Hurricane on the Bayou is presented by TRACO. For show times and tickets, visit www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org or call 412.237.3400. For detailed information about the film, visit www.hurricaneonthebayou.com.

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