For Immediate Release:
New Orleans Hurricane Katrina documentary "REFUGE OF LAST RESORT" Completed
LOS ANGELES - February 17, 2006 - Al Gomez Productions announces the completion of a James L. Bills documentary film "Refuge Of Last Resort". New Orleans' first feature length documentary from a first person perspective. Shot entirely in Hi-Definition video, ”Refuge of Last Resort” tells a harrowing story of how James took his family to a "Hurricane Proof" building in the heart of New Orleans to save them from the ravaging effects of Hurricane Katrina.
James, a New Orleans resident and local filmmaker, was in pre-production on a feature film when the news that one of the most powerful storms in recorded history was heading his way, "We didn't have the resources to get out of the city in time, so when I spoke with my friend Gabriel Black, he told me his wife, Melissa, a manager at a downtown hotel wanted us to stay with them, so we grabbed our kids, animals, as much food as we could carry, and went straight to the hotel". Bills had the wherewithal to take his hi-definition video camera with him, and once his family was safely secured, he began to 'document' their ordeal. "We couldn't fathom that New Orleans was going to get hit head on, and neither did many others. As we roamed the streets only hours before the storm hit, people were partaking in hurricane parties in the French Quarter", he relates, "They really didn't know what was coming their way." Al Gomez, a Los Angeles based film producer who was working with Bills on his film relates, I had asked James to join all of us in Baton Rouge, but he told me he and the family would be safe at the hotel. He called me right after the storm passed and told me everything appeared fine and was going to try and make his way home. It would be several days later, after New Orleans fell into chaos that James was finally able to reach me again by telephone. He sounded dead tired and he told me how “all hell had broken loose” in the city. That's when I got extremely concerned and told him to find a way to reach Baton Rouge - I would stay around until he got out.
This story could have happened in any city in America. It could have happened to any family.
“Refuge of Last Resort” also details the experiences of Gabriel Black, his friend Ariel Pietrello and James’s wife’s best friend Frankie Riley, all residents of New Orleans and the surrounding areas where the flooding first occurred. They each tell their horrifying stories of trying to survive the man made catastrophe after the storm had subsided. In the film Black is interviewed as he holds tightly onto a loaded shotgun and relates, "We soon ran out of food. After a couple of days there was no drinkable water, and the electricity had gone out right after the hurricane. Every night was a dark night. We found ourselves having to survive by whatever means necessary". The exhausted Ariel nervously recalls, "Anarchy broke out in the city. Hundreds of looters took to the streets searching first for food and water, then in a complete frenzy, turn animalistic and began to assault anyone who appeared helpless. We had to face the harsh reality that we were on our own." Frankie Riley, a Chalmette resident only blocks away from a broken levee, sadly speaks of how she and her family suffered from the beginning, "We barely made it out alive. The water came so fast, that we only had minutes to escape. We were lucky that a neighbor came by in a boat, or we all would've drowned!"
Although they were in a 21st Century American city, they found themselves living like refugees from the Dark Ages. It's only with the raw instinct to survive did they discover the will and means to make sure water was found, food secured, and their families protected. With only a few voices that will speak for thousands who will never get the chance, "Refuge Of Last Resort" is a powerful film that will serve as a reminder of how this could have happened anywhere in the United States, and how we should deal with the best and the worst in all of us!
Composed entirely with James L. Bills’ original Hi Def footage, "Refuge Of Last Resort" has been submitted for and is being considered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2006, recognized as the premier documentary film festival in the United States. "Refuge Of Last Resort" is seeking distribution and for further information, please contact Al Gomez Productions at (562) 843-9026, or via email at al.gomez3@verizon.net. Website: http://www.refugeoflastresort.net
About the Filmmakers
Director James L. Bills is a leading commercial director from New Orleans, who has managed multiple national accounts while pursuing a career in feature film direction. Al Gomez is a veteran producer who has produced the award-winning film River Bottom, and the hilarious and highly acclaimed “Elvis is AliveÉ I Swear I Saw Him Eating A Ding Dong at the Piggly Wiggly”.
end
All images and content are ©2006 James L. Bills and Al Gomez Productions.
Images and content may be used by News Media and Weblogs without special permission.