KICKSTARTER goal reached!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by

A couple of months ago, I started a Kickstarter project to help raise funds for some of the production costs for the film. Fortunately, the project was 100% funded, and my appreciation goes out to the following individuals for their incredibly generosity and support:

K. Lee Lerner; Marsha Paisley; Jim Murphey; Hannah & Georg Kuhn; Tom & Nancy Baker; Patrik Neustrom; Matthew Cooper; Joe & Betty Watson; Peter Jones; Ron Howard; Barbara Hofmann; Richard & Linda DuBose; Jacque Berry; Debbie Moloney; Valentine Daniel; Joel Jennings; Joe Moloney; Jen Grace; Mastadge; Amy Steig; Lucy Griggs; Tricia Johnson; Stephanie; Alethea Roach; Deia Schlosberg; Cynthia Oschmann

 

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NEW SPONSORS!!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by

The Sunrise People has been fortunate enough to acquire new sponsors in the form of in-kind donations from The Vitec Group, which has supplied production tools from the following companies:

 

The support of these companies is vital to the production quality of The Sunrise People and is incredibly appreciated. I will be posting pictures of the gear in use shortly, as well as some reviews of the gear.

Again….a big THANK YOU to these amazing supporters!

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Back in the Bayou…

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

Well, I arrived last night back in Grand Bayou Village. Uncle Bimbo (Maurice) met met at the dock and took me by boat back to Rosina and Ani’s house. It kind of feels like coming home; it’s so wonderful to see everyone again.

Bimbo and Danny are busy right now trapping and selling their furs (nutria, otter, and mink), and I plan to go out and check the traps on Monday with Bimbo.

Tomorrow, I am taking a flight with LightHawk to get some aerial footage along the coastline. It will be a super early morning, but I’m looking forward to the experience…should be fun!

Lots has changed down here since Devon and I were here last May. There is so much to tell, and I will try to do it gradually.

Best wishes from the Bayou!

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Your support is needed!

Posted on February 20, 2011 by

I am extremely grateful for the guidance and support of local environmental non-profits dedicated to the crisis after the BP oil disaster, who have provided wonderful insight. However, I am in need of financial support to make this project a reality so that it can have the kind of positive impact that I envision.

Your support would provide me one very large step in that direction.

Please visit the film’s Kickstarter page, where you’ll see some exciting rewards for your sponsorship and help. Please pass this on to as many people as possible, and let’s see if we can get this film funded!

KICKSTARTER FUNDING FOR THE SUNRISE PEOPLE

Thanks so much, Christi

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Gearing up to head back down to the Gulf!

Posted on February 20, 2011 by

Well, many months have come and gone, and school and other projects have kept us very busy. Nevertheless, we’ve continued to plug away with this project.

Although footage was captured on our trip last May, we were far from having enough to tell the complete story. So, on February 23rd, I (Christi) will fly down to New Orleans and travel to Grand Bayou Village to meet up with the Philippe family for several weeks. Hard work and energy has gone into preparing for this second-phase of production, and we are still in desperate need of funding support.

Nevertheless, in-kind support has come from Cartoni in the form of a 2-stage tripod system. I am incredibly grateful for this generous support and am excited to share images from the equipment in use!

In addition, LightHawk, a volunteer-based environmental aviation organization that provides donated flights to make the aerial perspective freely available to conservation groups, has offered to take me on a flight to catch aerial footage along the coastline and over the bayous. Although I am terrified of heights and at this stage cannot even comprehend 3 hours of sitting next to an open door of a Cessna 207, I am thrilled at the opportunity to be able to capture needed aerial footage for The Sunrise People.

 

Thank you for the support of Cartoni and LightHawk! It is so very much appreciated!

 

 

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MSU Bozeman Interview

Posted on June 21, 2010 by

Here’s an interview that came out on the university homepage today:

Films shot by MSU students used in Gulf oil spill PSAs

June 21, 2010 — Carol Schmidt, MSU News Service


Devon Riter, a South Dakota native who came to MSU’s Science and Natural History Filmmaking program from a graduate program in Michigan, on a boat while filming the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Riter was one of the first people to film the effect of the Gulf oil spill on the Native fishermen in the Louisiana bayous. Photo courtesy of Christi Kuhn.

In early May, Devon Riter and Christi Kuhn were at a party of fellow students in Montana State University’s graduate Science and Natural History Filmmaking program http://naturefilm.montana.edu/index.php celebrating the end of their first year of graduate school. The mood was high before the conversation turned to the then-recent disastrous BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.”I felt like I had to go there,” recalls Kuhn of the conversation. “I felt there was something I could do.”

What Riter and Kuhn did was drive to the Gulf on their own dime, capturing a series of videos that are now being used by national conservation groups to illustrate the human cost of the Gulf disaster. Riter and Kuhn’s short clips about the Atakapa-Ishak Native people, who live in Louisiana’s Grand Bayou, have been used as public service announcements for the Gulf Restoration Network. (See one on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCEtCQr1w_o&feature=related.) The Sierra Club and other conservation groups also plan to use the videos that put a face on the impact of the disaster on the people who live in the marshes and bayous off the Gulf. The clips can be viewed on Riter and Kuhn’s Web site, Deepwater Films: http://deepwaterfilm.com/films.

“The people there have lived in the bayou, have had this way of life, for 1,000 years,” Kuhn said. “And now, they are waiting for it to be ruined forever (with the inevitable approach of the oil). It breaks my heart.” Riter and Kuhn’s immediate response, and their capturing of some of the first video to come out of the Gulf of the human impact of the spill, drew praise from their MSU professors. “Christi and Devon have shown how the production skills taught at MSU can be applied quickly to rapidly changing events,” said Dennis Aig, program head of MSU’s MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking. “Their initiative and social commitment have put the filmmaking principles of our program into socially important and productive action.”

Kuhn and Riter lived with the Atakapa-Ishak while making the films, forging deep bonds with the people who live in a water world where there are no cars, only boats, and houses are built on stilts above the water. The tribe lives off the water as its ancestors did for generations, making a life fishing, shrimping, trapping and digging oyster beds. It was a world away from Riter and Kuhn’s life in Bozeman, and even farther from their respective homes in Michigan and Sweden and their professions prior to enrolling in MSU’s Master’s in Fine Arts program. Kuhn, who is a native of Boulder, Colo. and a graduate of Colorado State University, is a neuroscientist who came to MSU from Sweden. She and her husband, who both have Ph.D.s, established a center for stem cell and brain research at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Her husband, a German national whom Kuhn met while in graduate school at the University of Regensburg in Germany, and her 9-year-old daughter live in Sweden, and traveled to Bozeman several times during the last year to visit Kuhn while she was studying for her MFA. Kuhn said she has always been interested in filmmaking and her family made sacrifices so she could attend MSU’s one-of-a-kind program that combines science and film. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” she said of the science and documentary filmmaking course.”It was definitely the right thing for me.” Riter, a native of Waubay, S.D., graduated from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. He has been a scientist and a high school teacher. He was a Ph.D. student at Michigan State when he found the MSU Science and Natural History filmmaking on a random Google search. “I thought that it would be an interesting way to combine my interests in science and education,” Riter said.

Kuhn said the two didn’t know each other well until their trip to the Gulf. They drove in Kuhn’s car three days from Bozeman to New Orleans. Kuhn had her own camera and Riter had sound and lighting equipment. They didn’t have any contacts in Louisiana, but they identified three dozen environmental groups who might be looking for videographers and began contacting them to let them know that they “would love to help out.” That led to a contact with the Gulf Restoration Network headquartered in New Orleans and the Atchafalaya Basinkeepers. The group invited Riter and Kuhn to attend a meeting of conservation groups at the University of New Orleans. “We were really the only filmmakers at the meeting,” Kuhn said. “That was the basis for all our contacts.” Kuhn said the MSU filmmakers were fortunate to film Gina Solomon, senior scientist at the National Resource Development Council as she took air samples in the Grand Bayou. Kuhn recalls that all on the boat were chilled when Solomon found that the air in the bayou already had many times more parts of dangerous benzene than normal long before the oil slick had come close to the area.

Through that experience Riter and Kuhn met Rosina Philippe, a community leader for the Atakapa-Ishak people in the Grand Bayou. The Philippes took in the MSU filmmakers, who spent one week filming the people as they lived, shrimped and waited in despair for the oil slick to destroy their way of life. “They treated us like family,” Kuhn said.”Their main source of income is from fishing, which is also their food source. They live off the land. These people make their whole year’s living during shrimping season, and the season was halted just a few days in because of the oil spill.” Kuhn said the short-term as well as long-term ramifications are grim for the people, who believe they had just gotten back to even keel after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. “Everything — their food, income, culture, religion — are linked to this area,” Kuhn said, adding that she and Riter saw dead fish and tar balls on the beaches. “They do not want to leave. They said they would die before they leave. It’s very sad.”

The importance of family was magnified during the two-week trip when Kuhn learned that her own father had died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Kuhn and Riter debated whether to abandon the project, but eventually decided that Kuhn would catch a plane in New Orleans to Colorado for the funeral. She returned the day after the funeral to help finish filming. Riter and Kuhn never saw other documentary filmmakers in their two weeks in the Gulf. However, other media outlets have recently interviewed the Philippes, who have since been featured on National Geographic’s Web site and NPR pieces. Soon after they returned to Bozeman, Kuhn flew to Sweden to bring her daughter to Bozeman for the summer. Riter left for the University of Michigan where he is making a scientific film. The two stay in touch with the Philippe and the people of the Grand Bayou, where the oil slick is now about 10 miles from their home.

Riter and Kuhn hope to return to Grand Bayou in August to resume filming. Kuhn said she and Riter and their Deepwater Productions are working to raise $50,000 to make a 10-minute short and then a full-length documentary about the Atakapa-Ishak and how the spill has affected their way of life. Kuhn and Riter will host a viewing of a Sierra Club DVD that includes their footage Friday, July 2, at a time and location to be determined. “This experience was life changing for Devon and me,” Kuhn said. “The culture and way of life there was so different from what we both know. “(The oil) is going to come. They know that. How do you prepare yourself for that? To see the pain on their faces is hard, knowing that there’s nothing that they can do.”

For more information on the project, see http://deepwaterfilm.com/films/

A second Deepwater Film PSA may be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uczmW9cZoZs&feature=channel

For additional stories about the MSU Science and Natural History Filmmaking program and the MSU School of Film and Photography, see: (links to come) http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=8579
http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=7847

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6902

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6501

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6208

Dennis Aig (406) 994-6216, daig@montana.edu

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Day #60 of the BP oil DISASTER!

Posted on June 18, 2010 by

In all honesty, I never could have imagined that I would be writing a new post with Day #60 in the headline. It’s difficult for me to comprehend that not only is the leak still gushing oil, but the estimates of the flow have reached staggering numbers.

We have remained in contact with the Philippe family. Both Danny and Maurice are not longer able to fish, as well as the rest of the Grand Bayou Village community. They are trying to continue with their lives as much as possible, but how can you possibly continue with your live when every single aspect of your live has been affected? My heart and thoughts are with them each and every day, and I look forward to returning to the Gulf to continue documenting their story.

Here’s some numbers to date:

  • Approximately 1.33 million gallons of total dispersant have been deployed—833,000 on the surface and 382,000 subsea. More than 529,000 gallons are available.
  • 68.2 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline has been impacted by BP’s leaking oil—34.8 miles in Louisiana, 10.8 miles in Mississippi, 7.2 miles in Alabama and 8.7 miles in Florida.
  • Approximately 78,000 square miles (33% of federal waters) of Gulf of Mexico federal waters remain closed to fishing in order to balance economic and public health concerns. (citation)
  • The oil gushing from the sea floor contains 40% methane, compared to 5% found in typical oil deposits. This methane will suffocate marine life and create “dead zones”, where oxygen levels are so low that no life can possibly exist. Although BP has captured more than 7.5 million gallons of crude from this gusher, they are also burning 30 million cubic feet of natural gas on a daily basis, which equals 450 million cubic feet since the containment effort began on June 3rd. That’s enough gas to heat 450,000 homes for 4 days!
    HOWEVER…this figure is nothing compared to what has landed in the water. This results in several problems. Yes, there are microbes in the sea that feed on oil and help to break it down. However, if the oxygen levels are too low, they are no longer able to break down the oil, which turns into a deadly cycle of further oxygen depletion for all living organisms in the water. (citation)
  • The oil gush estimates have been increased to 35,000-60,000 barrels/day, which translates to 1.5-2 million gallons/day. This spill dwarfs the 11 million gallons that were dumped into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989.
  • Nearly 30,000 people are working in four states to contain and clean up the spill. (citation)
  • At least 71 people have been hospitalized due to spill-related health problems. Whether or not these illnesses are due to chemicals in the oil or the dispersants remains uncertain. (citation) But one thing is for certain, there are hundreds of relief workers that are helping to contain and clean up the oil and many of them are not protected with respirators.
  • BPs cost for the cleanup could reach $23 billion, which doesn’t even include the $14 billion in claims from fishermen and the tourism industry. (citation)
  • According to numbers from June 12th, Louisiana has collected more dead animals than Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi combined. In total 885 DEAD BIRDS, 665 oiled but alive, and 42 cleaned and released. A total of 363 DEAD SEA TURTLES, 75 oiled but alive, and 3 cleaned and released. A total of 44 DEAD MAMMALS, including dolphins, 1 oiled but alive, and 1 cleaned and released. (citation) These numbers are expected to continue to rise, and the loss of offspring and progeny of the breeding animals will likely never be measured.
  • Species threatened by the oil spill
    1. Nesting and migrating shore birds
    2. Migrating song birds
    3. Brown pelicans (only just removed from the endangered species list last year, and the major population (34,000) are currently nesting in the Gulf at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge)
    4. Sea turtles (of the 7 remaining sea turtle species, five are in the Gulf)
    5. Whales and dolphins (a total of 21 whale and dolphin species inhabit the northern Gulf and two may be in the area of the spill (Bryde’s whales and endangered sperm whales). These animals are filter feeders and if the oil gets in their filtering structures, they will starve to death.
    6. Manatees (these animals spread out into the Gulf in the summer, and they breathe at the surface of the water, which makes them extremely vulnerable to the volatile organic compounds)
    7. Fish, Shellfish, and Crabs (the Delta Estuary is the breeding ground for many fish, shellfish, and crabs. Approximately 40% of the aquatic life in the Gulf is in this area, so essentially, the entire Gulf is effected. The eggs could absorb many of the toxic and volatile compounds from the oil, as well as the larvae and juvenile stages of the fish. The fish that we eat could also be tainted from exposure to the dispersants and increased concentrations of oil in the water column, which could have a major impact on human health. The coastal marshlands are crucial for the life cycle and development of the Louisiana shrimp and blue crab, which are both staples of the local seafood industry. These waters are home to some of the most productive oyster farms in the country. Hydrocarbons from the oil can persist in sediments for months and even years.)
    8. Gulf Sturgeon (these fish gather in the coastal areas to migrate upstream and spawn. This fish has been under the protection of the Endangered Species Act since 1991.)
    9. North Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (overfishing has already brought these numbers to staggering low levels, and they are now listed as critically endangered. Their stocks have fallen 90% since the 1970s. These fish return to the area close to the spill at this time of the year to spawn.)
  • Number of sea creatures and life destroyed? Unfathomable…
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Dr. Gina Solomon – NRDC

Posted on June 15, 2010 by

Dr. Gina Solomon is a senior scientific advisor for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She and other scientists have volunteered their time to help with sampling oil-affected regions and educating local fishermen about the dangers of exposure to the oil.

You can keep up with what she’s doing on her blog.

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Earthea Nance, PhD

Posted on June 8, 2010 by

Dr. Earthea Nance is a scientist from the University of New Orleans, who has been involved in community outreach for local fishing communities. Together with Dr. Gina Solomon (NRDC), she has been measuring air and water quality in the Gulf Coast areas that have been affected by the BP oil drilling disaster.

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Efforts to contain the oil leak, NYT graphics

Posted on June 4, 2010 by

Graphics of BP’s attempts to curb the oil leak

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Interview with Devon – Aberdeen News

Posted on June 3, 2010 by

Read an interview with Devon:

Filming a disaster: Area native in Gulf documenting oil spill

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Momentum

Posted on May 29, 2010 by

Devon will be in Michigan for the month of June working on a promotional film for the university, and I am heading to Göteborg, Sweden to pick up my daughter, Hannah, for the summer.

We will continue to work on the PSAs that we will be handing over to conservation groups, and the next two months will be dedicated to cutting together the 10-minute documentary about the shrimp fishermen in the Grand Bayou Village.

This story is far from completely told, and we plan to return to the Philippe family towards the end of the summer. In the meantime, we hope to increase awareness about the effects of this enormous disaster on the local communities in this region. Their stories are often the ones that never get told…

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Byron Encalad – an oyster fisherman

Posted on May 28, 2010 by

On our original trip in the Grand Bayou, we also met Byron Encalad, an oyster fisherman. His life and livelihood will be greatly affected by the BP oil drilling disaster.

Devon and I have been back in Bozeman since Monday night, but our hearts and thoughts are still with the people in the Grand Bayou village. The news of the fishing closure on Monday was heartbreaking for us, and we realize the consequence that this will have on all the people that we met on our trip.

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KTVM interview

Posted on May 27, 2010 by

Jessica Debbas, a reporter from KTVM in Bozeman, interviewed us this morning about our trip down to the Gulf Coast region.

You can follow this link to see it!

Look in the local news section of the videos (MSU students in Gulf Coast).

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Boston Globe – The Big Picture

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

These are some pretty powerful and depressing pictures that the Boston Globe posted today. I’m horrified to see them, but grateful that they are getting out there!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/oil_reaches_louisiana_shores.html

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Day #16 – The Price of Gas

Posted on May 24, 2010 by

Oil continues to wash ashore along more and more of Louisiana’s coast.  The marshlands, barrier islands, and sandy beaches that border the Gulf aren’t exactly popular tourist destinations at the moment.  However, the local people we have been staying with use these beaches as a place for family fun and relaxation.

Shell Beach

Shell Beach

Shell Beach - Sand Pipers

Shell Beach

Shell Beach - Rosina walking along the beach, contemplating the future.

Shell Beach

Shell Beach - Maurice (Bim) still enjoying the water while he can.

Shell Beach - Maurice (Bim) and Ani taking a swim.

On one of these beaches, just two days ago, we finally saw what has been spewing out in the Gulf for the past thirty-five days.  Oil coated several plastic containers, and tar balls were lying on the beach.  We had heard that these waters were all closed to fishermen, but just off shore, three boats continued to drag their shrimp nets through the water.

Tar ball found on Shell Beach

Oil-covered plastic bottles on Shell Beach

Shrimp fishermen oblivious to the fishing closure.

The white sand beach stretched as far as we could see down the coast.  Pelicans and gulls flew over, oblivious to the ongoing catastrophe changing their waters.  The landscape would have been breathtaking, if it weren’t for the hundreds of oil wells, pipes, and processing stations that rise out and dominate the entire coastal region.

Oil visible just under the top surface of the sand.

Shell Beach - dead fish

Shell Beach - washed up oil boom not really doing its job.

Shell Beach - dead fish

Shell Beach - dead fish

Becca, Bim, and Ani enjoying possibly one of the last days on Shell Beach.

Their presence was just one more reminder that oil is King in this part of the country, and the spill is simply the latest and quickest method of destroying the environment and the region.  Unless something is done to change the policies governing the oil industry, families soon won’t be able to play on these beaches, fisherman won’t be able to make a living off the land, and the only thing that will be able to live here will be oil.

Oil rig in the bay

Oil rigs as far as the eye can see...

Wonderful backdrop of the Gulf Coast

A constant reminder of the presence of oil.

More oil

After 20 minutes in the boat, we are still surrounded by oil rigs

Spill Baby Spill

We have left our new friends, for now, and have started the trek back to Bozeman.  It was tough leaving these people we have gotten to know so well.  Especially since authorities were telling them that today (5/24), the Louisiana Game and Fish would close the fishing season for the entire area, due to the oil.  As we were driving out of Grand Bayou, we heard that the price of gas had fallen from $2.78 to $2.76 over the past two weeks.  As we drive 2500 miles back home, everything seems a bit surreal and we begin to realize the incredible sacrifices people are forced to make for us to have cheap gas.

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Day #11 –

Posted on May 18, 2010 by

Oil spreads to Key West.  BP intimidates reporters in their off time from engineering blunders.  And Christi is back into a world of the corporate bottom line driving reality.  We are planning on heading down to the bayou tomorrow to resume filming.  We have also been cutting short PSA’s for the Gulf Restoration Network and today handed off most of our work/footage to their media person.  Here’s another short piece from that collection and our boat trip a few days back with the NRDC.

Grand Bayou - Salt Grass

Grand Bayou - Maurice's house (Bims)

Grand Bayou - Rosina's house

Grand Bayou village

Grand Bayou - Uncle Norris' house following Hurrican Katrina

Grand Bayou - Uncle Norris' house following Hurricane Katrina

Grand Bayou village

Grand Bayou village

Grand Bayou village - Miss Sylvia

Grand Bayou village - another home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina

Grand Bayou village - Maurice's boat - Miss Karen

Grand Bayou village

Grand Bayou village - the most common means of travel

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What went wrong…

Posted on May 17, 2010 by

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The numbers…

Posted on May 17, 2010 by
  • 6,000,000: The number of gallons of oil that spilled in the first week.
  • 840,000: The number of barrels that spill a day. 
  • 42,000: The number of barrels of oil per day that BP said were leaking. 
  • 11,000,000: The number of gallons of oil that spilled from the Exxon Valdez
  • 20,600,000: The estimated number of gallons of oil that have spilled in the gulf as of May 10 (today)
  • 8: The number of Gulf of Mexico’s fishing ports that rank among the top 20 in the nation by $.
  • $10,000,000,000: the value of Florida’s recreational/commercial saltwater fishing industry 
  • 150,000: The number of jobs in Florida’s recreational/commercial saltwater fishing industry.
  • $75,000,000: The official legal cap on damages that BP can be held to for economic problems like lost wages or dwindling tourist dollars.
  • $10,000,000,000: The amount that some members of Congress want to hold BP accountable for. 
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    Day #10 – Gulfport Mississippi

    Posted on May 17, 2010 by

    My thoughts are with Christi and her family today, as I find myself in Gulfport, MS.  Yesterday I worked with the Gulf Restoration Network to film an interview with the actor Tim Robbins.  A benefit concert, GulfAid, was taking place in New Orleans with local musicians such as John Legend and Lenny Kravitz.  Backstage of the concert, Tim Robbins was kind enough to spend a few minutes in front of the camera for the GRN, to talk about the oil spill and the effects it will have.  Here’s a short clip from that interview.

    I would like to give a special thanks to Pat Heidingsfelder.  Pat is a local photographer and environmental researcher at USM.  He stepped in to run camera on the Tim Robbins interview and is kind enough to let me stay at his home in Gulfport until Christi gets back and we once again head down to the bayou.

    One of the biggest surprises that I have learned about since coming down to this area is the extent that the oil industry has been changing/destroying the unique wetland environment of southern Louisiana for the last seventy years.  Because of channels and levees built to support the oil industry and its drilling in the wetlands, approximately thirty square miles of coastal marshes are disappearing every year.  For more information about this issue visit http://louisiana.sierraclub.org/byecoast.asp

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    Day #9 – Losses

    Posted on May 16, 2010 by

    This morning is a grey and dreary start to the day. As I sit here at the New Orleans airport and look out at the storm that’s brewing, I wonder how the next couple of days will be.
    Devon and I arrived back in New Orleans last night, and to our dismay, all the hotels were fully booked. We retired to a coffeehouse to get some work done until we could figure out what we were going to do. Luckily, after a little bit of searching, we were able to find a motel room not too far away from the airport.
    You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about the airport…because we certainly haven’t finished filming and our story remains incomplete. But, as life and all it’s tribulations would have it, a horrible tragedy has struck my family. On Thursday night, my brother called to tell me that our father had suddenly died. He had been complaining of upper back pain, went to the hospital to get it checked out, and very shortly afterward, he suffered from a massive heart attack that was too devastating for him to recover from. The doctors tried, but his heart was too damaged to be able to continue on its own. He was only 65 years old. Much too young for life to be over and certainly much too early for him to be taken from me.
    Devon and I spent a day trying to decide what we should do. I was numb and not able to comprehend what had actually happened. At the same time, I knew that we were involved in something important and although I had an intense desire to be home with my family, I felt an immense responsibility to continue and to finish what we had started. The people, who are directly affected by the BP drilling disaster, have a story to tell, and it is our job to help them tell it. We have been fortunate enough to befriend a wonderful community in the Grand Bayou, and they have welcomed us into their homes. They want to share their stories, their heartaches, their fears, and their hopes, and we would love the opportunity to help them with this.
    So, the decision was made for me to travel to Colorado for my father’s funeral, but to return on Tuesday to continue what Devon and I have started down here in the Grand Bayou.
    I’m sitting in the plane that will take me back home. The captain has decided to stand here and wait for the lightning bolts and torrential downpour to subside so that we can proceed with the flight. And I am finally confronted by my loss and my sadness. I loved my father dearly. He was a loving, affectionate, supportive, and proud father. He hadn’t always had it easy. He came to America as a young man, excited to start a new life in a new country. He made this place his home, and he felt an amazing connection to the Rocky Mountains, which reminded him so much of his youth in Berchtesgaden. I share that connection with him. The mountains will always be my home and the place that I can go to to find peace in my heart.
    Rosina and Danny Philippe, as well as the rest of their family and community, also have an incredible connection to their home, the Grand Bayou. This place has been their home for 1000 years. It’s part of who they are and where they have come from. They have endured more than their fair share of trials and tribulations, and they have withstood these calamities. They are a resilient people. Their connection to their place, their home, is so strong that they don’t want to leave…no matter the cost. They have finally returned to their village following the aftermath of Katrina, and they have no intention of leaving again. I worry for them. I worry for their health, their safety, and their future. The oil is still spewing from the well, and it’s headed their way. They live from these waters…literally! Their homes are built on stilts, and when it is high tide, the water laps beneath their homes. Everything they eat comes from these waters…the fish, the shrimp, the oysters, the plants, the animals. They only know this life, which is truly a wonderful life. But, their very existence is being threatened, and Rosina has vowed to stay, even if it means her death. This breaks my heart. She has a beautiful, 18-year-old daughter – Anni. Although I am beginning to comprehend Rosina’s connection to the land and her need to remain where she belongs, I can’t bear the thought of what the consequence of that could be.

    Posted in Deepwater Films | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

    Day #8 – Back to the Bayou

    Posted on May 15, 2010 by

    I never thought I would travel 2500 miles, to the other side of the country, and find a place that felt just like home.  Last night we went out on a shrimp boat to try to get a taste of the Cajun life and the lifestyle that is most directly threatened by the BP drilling disaster.

    Danny Philippe was kind enough to take us out and show us not only how the falling tides can put shrimp in your nets, but also how closely he and his community are tied to this small place of salt grass and brackish water.

    It was about two in the morning, the tides were still falling, and Danny was hauling in several more pounds of shrimp, when it dawned on me how strange this all was.  The climate, the environment, the work was all so different from anything I had ever experienced growing up, yet it felt somehow familiar.  Christi and I had put the camera away several hours before and were now getting the hang of sorting out the white and brown shrimp.  We could even separate out the hundreds of crabs without getting pinched, most of the time.  The heat and the work might have been foreign, but the people we were talking and joking with seemed just like close friends and family from back home.

    We were all complete strangers just two days ago. Yet, amazingly, this community was open to a couple of filmmakers coming in and pointing cameras everywhere, and this small inviting community instantly reminded me of the small town I grew up in.

    Their main street is a waterway instead of a road, but they still wave and call out to each other when they pass by.  Instead of having to pull out trucks that are stuck in snowbanks, they pull out boats that have gotten stuck on the flats.  This bayou community is small and tight-nit, with everyone looking out for and helping everyone else.

    Danny grew up here.  He learned to fish from his dad and has made his living off the land his entire life.  Even after having his home was wiped out by Katrina, Danny came back to fish where his father had fished.  After spending just one night on Danny’s shrimp boat in the bayou, I can see how important this place is and exactly what is at stake as oil continues to spew out in the gulf and everyday gets a little closer to what feels a lot like home.

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    Gulf oil spill much worse than originally estimated!!!

    Posted on May 14, 2010 by

    Although BP would like us to believe that the spill is small compared to the size of the Gulf and the amount of water volume in the region (?!?!?!), scientists have been able to determine that the amount spewing out of the leak is much much larger than what the Coast Guard has estimated based on surface predictions.

    The amount spilled has clearly exceeded the amount that was spilled from the Exxon Valdez.

    GULF SPILL MAY FAR EXCEED INITIAL ESTIMATES

    BP’S CEO TONY HAYWARD THINKS THE AMOUNT OF OIL SPILLING INTO THE GULF IS SMALL IN RELATION TO AMOUNT OF WATER!

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    Biloxi, Mississippi – Day #7

    Posted on May 13, 2010 by

    Biloxi, MS

    Our journeys took us to Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi today. We spent the day with a NGO group, Below The Surface, who are focused on promoting water conservation and improving water quality in rivers and oceans. Pat Heidingfelder, a concerned, local citizen, was generous enough to take us to some of the local beaches so that we could document some of the birds that come to these beaches to nest.

    Biloxi, MS

    Biloxi, MS

    Biloxi, MS

    The Greater Crested Tern come to these beaches to lay their eggs. The local citizens put great effort into protecting their nesting areas. Many of these seabirds, however, are endangered by the oil, as well as the dispersants that BP are injecting into the water.

    Biloxi, MS

    Biloxi, MS Shrimp Fisherman

    Biloxi, MS Local Shrimp Fisherman

    Biloxi, MS

    Bilox, MS

    Biloxi, MS

    The local fishing industry is already suffering. Many of the retailers are already ordering their seafood from other regions, including overseas regions, such as China. Although we were able to enjoy some local foods today, these shops will not be carrying locally caught seafood for much longer.

    Biloxi, MS Crawfish from local seafood retailer

    Biloxi, MS Local seafood retailer - Louisiana oysters

    Biloxi, MS Local seafood retailer

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    Day #6 – Rosina

    Posted on May 13, 2010 by

    We finally have a rough cut.  It profiles one of the individuals we met and a few of the issues that people are dealing with in coastal Louisiana.   This would be something we hope groups like the Gulf Restoration Network could use to give people around the nation a glimpse of the importance of this environmental catastrophe.

    We have enough footage from the same boat trip to make short profile films of two or three other people.  We are also planning on making an introductory short to the oil disaster using footage already shot by the Gulf Restoration Network and Green Peace.  Be on the lookout for these short films in the coming days.

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    Day #5 – Grand Bayou, Louisiana

    Posted on May 11, 2010 by

    We woke up this morning, bright and early, and headed down to Grand Bayou, LA to meet with a group of conservationists and local NGOs. National Resource Defense Council had a large presence, and there were some members from Gulf Restoration Network, Louisiana Gulf Fund, and the University of New Orleans. A family of local fishermen took us out on their boat to show us some of the region, and to share some of their stories and concerns with us.

    The oil well continues to flow, spewing over 200,000 gallons per day into the ocean. On Sunday, the dome that was constructed failed to contain the flow, which many scientists had predicted. It is common for hot, high-pressure oil to expand when it hits colder temperatures, and it subsequently forms hydrates. The hydrates were what ultimately plugged the dome. Although other efforts are being made, these processes will take time to fully realize. From what we heard from the local scientists, it could take 6-8 weeks to drill a relief well, which should help to stop the flow.

    Grand Bayou, LA

    Grand Bayou, LA

    Grand Bayou, LA

    Grand Bayou - LA - Local fishermen

    The oil continues to spread, particularly to the west of the Mississippi River opening. Significant amounts of oil have been detected on the shores of the Chandeleur islands, and tar balls have been found in Mobile Bay. We will be heading out with some groups on Thursday to get some footage on the Chandeleur islands, so hopefully we can post some of our footage from there shortly.

    BP has attempted to emulsify the oil with chemical dispersants. Although the formulas of the dispersants, Correxit 9500a (surface spray) and Correxit 9527a (injected into deep waters), are proprietary, EPA has performed toxicity testing on them. The LD50 (median lethal dose) for these chemicals is 25-50ppm and 14-25ppm, respectively, and tests have shown that the combination of dispersant and fuel oil #2 results in twice the amount of toxicity of either substance alone. At this point, very little is known about the effects of these dispersants on suspended or emulsified oil, but there is great concern that one poison is simply being masked by another.

    Grand Bayou, LA - Oysters

    Grand Bayou, LA - Oysters

    On a lighter note, Devon and I attempted to get some B roll footage of Conoco-Phillips today, and we got caught. We had no idea that it is illegal to take pictures of “critical infrastructure.” It was rather comical, because we were literally on the side of the road, where tons of cars drive by each day, but the fact that we actually got out of our car with cameras signified “danger” for them. Within a couple of minutes, we had a very friendly cop at our side. We were escorted to the security office of Conoco-Phillips and were very politely informed that what we were doing was illegal and Homeland Security and the FBI would be informed. I showed them the “pictures” that we had taken, and then they proceeded to grill us as to why we had focused on “restricted area” and “Conoco-Phillips” for the shots. Well…duh…

    At any rate, we managed to get out of there unscathed, and with some minor hand-slapping, but they actually didn’t even ask me to delete the images. It’s easy to understand how people can get revved up about this stuff.

    Grand Bayou, LA - Local fishermen

    Grand Bayou, LA

    Grand Bayou, LA - Local fishermen

    Posted in Deepwater Films | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

    Day 4 – New Orleans, LA

    Posted on May 10, 2010 by

    We arrived in New Orleans late last night.  In the morning, we made phone calls to conservation groups, NGO’s, and different agencies working on the continued Gulf spilling clean-up efforts.  Luckily we were able to reach several groups who are on the front lines of monitoring and mobilizing the environmental response to the oil disaster.

    Lake Pontchartrain - The 2nd largest saltwater lake in the United States. Containment booms are being set up to protect it from oil contamination from the BP Drilling Disaster.

    One of the first groups we met face to face with was the Gulf Restoration Network.  It didn’t take long before we realized how dire the situation is not only for the fragile Mississippi Delta ecosystem but for the whole community and economy of the Gulf region.  After discussing the problems on the ground, we got down to specifics about how films and promotional media could be used to help.

    Lake Pontchartrain - a family was enjoying a day in the sun and splashing in the water. How much longer will they be able to do this?

    We are currently working with footage the group has already taken of the oil spill in the local environment and planning our own trips out around the bayou and into the affected regions.  Besides the Gulf Restoration Network, we were able to meet with many other environmental groups, who were all passionate about their work.  We’re excited to start working and filming side by side with these individuals, and we’re sure that we will find lots of ways to help each other in the coming days.

    Lake Pontchartrain

    These pictures were all taken just off the campus of the University of New Orleans, where we attended a meeting with national conservation groups and local NGO’s concerning BP’s oil drilling disaster.

    Lake Pontchartrain - many of these sea birds are threatened by the water contamination from the oil AND the chemical dispersants that are currently used to emulsify the spilled oil.

    Lake Pontchartrain

    Lake Pontchartrain

    Lake Pontchartrain

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    Denver-Tulsa

    Posted on May 9, 2010 by

    We made it into Tulsa last night.  During our ten and half hour drive we contacted several scientists, conservation groups, and government agencies.  We discussed our desire to assist in the clean-up effort them by donating our services to make promotional film and social media for those groups working on the front lines of the oil spill.

    Oklahoma Sunset

    We will be meeting with marine toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott tomorrow morning in New Orleans, to interview her and learn about her work evaluating the environmental impacts of the oil spill and the chemical dispersants being used to clean it up.  You can learn more about her work at http://rikiott.com/

    We are still looking for accommodations in the Louisianna/Gulf Coast area.  If you have any information or contacts that you think might help, please feel free to contact us.  We would also like to thank all of you for your continued support and we especially thank those that have contributed to the film project.  -our list of supporters-

    Our media office this morning - Tulsa, OK

    Posted in Deepwater Films | 2 Comments

    Bozeman-Denver

    Posted on May 8, 2010 by

    Well, we made it safely to Denver and are preparing for our continued journey tomorrow. We discussed a lot of the story ideas and ways that we could best portray and document the stories that are arising due to this horrific tragedy.

    While tanking up in Wyoming, we were struck by the irony of filling our car with gas as the entire Gulf Coast is soon to be contaminated by oil.

    KTVM, the local news station out of Bozeman, MT, interviewed us this morning before we left for our journey. You can view the broadcast by following this link:

    http://www.ktvm.com/pages/4056577.php?channelIndex=0&mediaIndex=1

    Good Night and Good Luck!

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    First Day

    Posted on May 7, 2010 by

    Christi Kuhn and Devon Riter are currently traveling to Louisiana to make a film to document and promote the recovery efforts going on as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  We are looking for contacts with scientists, conservation groups, or anyone else who might be involved in the clean up.  If you know of anyone in the Gulf region who might be able to help us document this environmental disaster and/or would like promotional material made about their role in the clean up efforts please contact Devon (406-570-1515) or Christi (720-917-9223).

    You can see an interview about our trip on channel 6 KTVM at 5pm out of Missoula and at 6pm and 10pm on the regional KTVM/NBC news.  You can also donate to the film production on this website under “Donate Now”.  Feel free to also contact us by email at devonriter@hotmail.com Thanks.

    Further updates will be posted tonight.

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