While visiting New Orleans in the spring of 2008, documentary filmmaker Patricia Federico became captivated by the Katrina stories still being told on the street by the locals who survived the storm.
After overcoming a catastrophic disaster, loss of life, and the separation of their families, residents come front and center to give first-person accounts of what happened to them before, during and after the hurricane. They describe the struggles still facing them as they try to rebuild what the levee breaches destroyed.
With the voices of restaurant owners, nurses, volunteer workers, school children, firemen and other citizens who outlasted the destruction, Survival Strength Starting Over tells the gritty stories of those who lived through an experience that has changed them and their lives, and will never be the same again. You will hear these stories from their mouths, in their homes, from their towns, in their communities.
It’s easy to forget the big stories of the day once they are out of the news. Survival Strength Starting Over reminds us that at the heart of all newsworthy events are real people with real lives who must pick up the pieces and move on. The stories are painful, powerful, and thought provoking, but they are filled with a humanity and humor that illustrates the best in all of us.