My journey in video started unexpectedly when my childhood home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I had zero experience in animation or video, but I had an irresistible urge to capture both what came to mind when I returned to my destroyed post-Katrina home, and what I saw when I returned to my pre-Katrina home in my dreams.
It began as a personal tribute to my family and our life together in that place, but I soon realized that there was a bigger story that, if told carefully, could be appreciated by a much broader audience.
Having just survived cancer only a few months before the storm, I was filled with a deep appreciation for love, loss, and the time we get to spend with the people we love. With that perspective as a foundation, I was determined to convey the true nature of what had been lost in Katrina in a way that anyone could relate to, even if they had no personal connection to the storm.
The result was this six-minute short whose success developed an unforeseen life of its own. It worked its way up the film festival ranks and eventually won several prestigious awards, including “Best Documentary Short” at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, and received multiple national television broadcasts on the PBS series “Independent Lens”. I hope you like it.
Having just survived cancer only a few months before the storm, I was filled with a deep appreciation for love, loss, and the time we get to spend with the people we love. With that perspective as a foundation, I was determined to convey the true nature of what had been lost in Katrina in a way that anyone could relate to, even if they had no personal connection to the storm.
The result was this six-minute short whose success developed an unforeseen life of its own. It worked its way up the film festival ranks and eventually won several prestigious awards, including “Best Documentary Short” at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, and received multiple national television broadcasts on the PBS series “Independent Lens”. I hope you like it.
Me accepting the Best Documentary Short award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Me and Robert De Niro at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Me being interviewed by Radio France on the spot where my bedroom once was.
Me being interviewed by a TV station in Abu Dhabi
Me at a ceremony where a copy of Home was included in a time capsule in my hometown.
The images below are the pages of a booklet that I made to serve as a press kit, which was often required by film festivals. My idea was to extend the theme of the film by assembling all of the required stills and related information into a simulated scrapbook.
