Discoveries...America, Louisiana (2010)

Big Charity: The Death of America's Oldest Hospital

This documentary film includes never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews to tell the story of Charity Hospital, from its roots to its controversial closing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. From the firsthand accounts of healthcare providers and hospital employees who withstood the storm inside the hospital, to interviews with key players involved in the closing of Charity and the opening of New Orleans’ newest hospital, “Big Charity” shares the untold, true story around its closure and sheds new light on the sacrifices made for the sake of progress.

Hurricane on the Bayou

The film "Hurricane on the Bayou" is about the wetlands of Louisiana before and after Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina Babies

A first-person account of the short-term and long-term devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, as told by young people who were between the ages of 3 and 19 when the levees broke.

The Battle of New Orleans: A Meaningful Victory

The Battle of New Orleans: A Meaningful Victory explores how the British misjudged their opponent and miscalculated the complexities of the battle ground. It also describes why the multi-cultural population of New Orleans proved the naysayers wrong about their loyalties to a young nation. WYES Community Projects Producer Marcia Kavanaugh and Tom Gregory hosted and produced this documentary.

The Re-Up

A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.

A Tuba To Cuba

A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba, where — through the universal language of music — dark and ancient connections between their peoples reveal the roots of jazz.

Hot Pepper

A musical portrait of Zydeco King Clifton Chenier, who combines the pulsating rhythms of Cajun dance music and black R&B with African overtones, belting out his irresistible music in the sweaty juke joints of South Louisiana.

Always for Pleasure

An intense insider's portrait of New Orleans' street celebrations and unique cultural gumbo: Second-line parades, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. Features live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more. This glorious, soul-satisfying film is among Blank's special masterworks. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

The New Orleans Sazerac

To make the perfect Sazerac combine one part technique, one part interpretation, and a dash of folklore.

Saving Pelican 895

HBO Documentary Films Presents the story of the effort to save the 895th surviving oiled pelican in Louisiana, showing how conservationists, government agencies and wildlife activists joined forces to preserve this one life.

Shelter

At the Covenant House, located on the outskirts of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, the doors never close, and there is always room for one more. On any given day, a constant stream of young people carrying everything they own in plastic garbage bags fills the courtyard. The prospective residents are just teenagers, but have already been labeled drug addicts, schizophrenics, criminals and outcasts. As one staff member puts it, “the most damaged population of youth that exists in society today”. Filming over the course of a full year, brothers Brent and Craig Renaud tell the raw and emotional stories of the incredible kids who seek shelter at the Covenant House, and the staff struggling to work miracles everyday on their behalf.

Gleason

At the age of 34, former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Gleason found out his wife, Michel, was expecting their first child. A video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle Steve’s determination to get his relationships in order, build a foundation to provide other ALS patients with purpose, and adapt to his declining physical condition—utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible.

Murda Capital

MURDA CAPITAL documents the harsh reality of a post-Katrina New Orleans. Rapper, entrepreneur and New Orleans native K. Gates sets out into New Orleans most treacherous ghettos to discover the root of a cycle of killing. People from all factions of the city give their take on how murder has affected them directly and indirectly. Stories of a convicted murderer and a mother who lost all four sons to gun violence shivers the soul. Drugs, money, ignorance, ego, and envy make a deadly concoction which equates to the nation's highest murder rate for more than a decade. See how violence intertwines with the cities rich culture. Obtain access to the part of New Orleans hidden from tourist as K. Gates strives to 'Save The City'.

Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker

Bayou Maharajah explores the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker, the man Dr. John described as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." A brilliant pianist, his eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle, prejudice, and isolation. Illustrated with never-before-seen concert footage, rare personal photos and exclusive interviews, the film paints a portrait of this overlooked genius.

I Am One of the People

Harmful chemicals are disproportionately affecting Black communities in Southern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. I am One of the People is an experimental short film exposing the environmental racism of “Cancer Alley.”

Spend It All

Another short documentary of "Real Food, Roots Music, and People Full of Passion for what they do!", Spend It All is Les Blank's spirited look at the French-speaking Cajun community of southwest Louisiana. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Maravich's 68

"Maravich's 68" is a documentary short that revisits the NBA legend Pete Maravich and his 68-point performance on February 25th, 1977. It includes play-by-play breakdowns, era-inspired editing, and retrospective discussion about this special night in NBA history.

Can't Stop the Water

For 170 years, a Native American community has occupied Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny island deep in the bayous of Louisiana. They have fished, hunted, and lived off the land. Now the land that has sustained them for generations is vanishing before their eyes. Coastal erosion, sea level rise, and increasing storms are overwhelming the island. Over the last fifty years, Isle de Jean Charles has been gradually shrinking, and it is now almost gone. For these Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, their land is more than simply a place to live. It is the epicenter of their people and traditions. They now must prepare to say goodbye to the place, where, for eight generations, their ancestors cultivated a unique part of Louisiana culture.

Birds of America

In the first half of the 19th century, the French ornithologist Jean-Jacques Audubon travelled to America to depict birdlife along the Mississippi River. Audubon was also a gifted painter. His life’s work in the form of the classic book ‘Birds of America’ is an invaluable documentation of both extinct species and an entire world of imagination. During the same period, early industrialisation and the expulsion of indigenous peoples was in full swing. The gorgeous film traces Audubon’s path around the South today. The displaced people’s descendants welcome us and retell history, while the deserted vistas of heavy industry stretch across the horizon. The magnificent, broad images in Jacques Loeuille’s atmospheric, modern adventure reminds us at the same time how little - and yet how much - is left of the nature that Audubon travelled around in. His paintings of the colourful birdlife of the South still belong to the most beautiful things you can imagine.

Pete!

Narrated by Phil Harris, a longtime friend of Fountain's, "Pete!" uses performance film, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and a home videos to offer an intimate portrait of Fountain, the walking, talking embodiment of his hometown. Produced and directed by by John Beyer, the film originally aired on PBS stations nationwide. When it aired locally as part of a PBS membership drive, "Pete!" was credited with raising "more than had ever been raised by a single program in the history of WYES," according to a story published in The Times-Picayune in August 1980.

Destination Francophonie Louisiane 1 : Nouvelle-Orléans, Créoles, Saints, Amérindiens des Bayous

Plot unavailable

Bad Boy of Bonsai

Bad Boy of Bonsai is an experimental art-house documentary that focuses on Guy Guidry, a Louisiana local, and his passion for bonsai.

Seed of the Son

Spanish musician Santiago Auserón soaked up the rhythmic wisdom of son during his first visit to Cuba in 1984, an influence he soon transferred to his own work.

Sugar in Their Blood

Mainly through the voice of family patriarch Joe Judice, Sugar in Their Blood follows a family of 7th generation Louisiana sugarcane farmers as they struggle with all of the challenges inherit in staying in business. It's a story of pride and resilience in the face of constantly changing conditions, both in terms of business and climate.

Inside Hurricane Katrina

From the creators of critically acclaimed Inside 9/11 comes another powerful journalistic account, Inside Hurricane Katrina. Go beyond the round-the-clock news coverage for a comprehensive look behind the devastation caused by nature's fury and human error. How did this happen? Can it happen again? Why weren't emergency personnel fully ready to respond to a real disaster? Using comprehensive analysis of events, hours of government audio tapes, and personal interviews, National Geographic takes viewers into the eye of Katrina to uncover the decisions and circumstances that determined the fate of the Gulf residents.

Bogalusa Charm

A contemporary portrait of a small Louisiana town created at the site of the world’s largest lumber mill. Captured here in its last days after thirty years, Miss Dixie Gallaspy conducts a charm school for girls in order to teach the young women of Bogalusa the social graces and skills that would guide them into “Ladyhood”. Dixie’s week long school, in a town confronted with many challenges (including a legacy of racial conflict and financial dissipation) preserves fragments of a world that may already be lost.

The Waterboy

Bobby Boucher is a water boy for a struggling college football team. The coach discovers Boucher's hidden rage makes him a tackling machine whose bone-crushing power might vault his team into the playoffs.

Tigerland

A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.

Snakehead Swamp

A horrifying hybrid of genetic science and nature has taken over the Louisiana bayou, leaving terror in its wake! In the heat of the summer, what began as an day of boating and bikinis changes drastically when a school of genetically enhanced snakehead fish finds their way into Black Briar Swamp.

The Big Easy

Remy McSwain is a New Orleans police lieutenant who investigates the murder of a local mobster. His investigation leads him to suspect that fellow members of the police force may be involved.

Belizaire the Cajun

In 19th-century Louisiana's Cajun country, Belizaire is the informal spokesman for his citizens, who don't see eye to eye with local racists who wish to eradicate all Cajuns. Complicating matters is that Belizaire's former flame is now married to his biggest rival, an affluent landowner's son. Before he knows it, Belizaire is caught up in a web of murder, lies, and prejudice.

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

Annie, a young schoolteacher struggling to solve the brutal murder of her father, unwittingly summons the "Candyman" to New Orleans, where she learns the secret of his power, and discovers the link that connects them.

Red Water

In the quiet waters of the Mississippi, body parts are being discovered. No one knows what is behind it all, until a huge man eating bull shark turns up. This bull shark is different, as it can breath in fresh water, making a deadly encounter between anyone who comes before it. John Sanders must now try and reach the surface, with his ex-wife and whilst being held hostage.

Blaze

A middle-aged Louisiana governor falls in love with a young stripper, which jeopardizes his political career and the radical policies which have made him a controversial figure.

The Buccaneer

During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte. Although Lafitte never attacks American ships, the governor hates him for selling merchandise without taxes - and is loved by the citizens for the same reason. When the big fight gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between the fronts. His heart belongs to America, but his people urge him to join the party that's more likely to win.

Déjà Vu

Called in to recover evidence in the aftermath of a horrific explosion on a New Orleans ferry, Federal agent Doug Carlin gets pulled away from the scene and taken to a top-secret government lab that uses a time-shifting surveillance device to help prevent crime.

Jezebel

In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.

Hard Target

When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.

Infinity

Story of the early life of genius and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.

The Badge

A sheriff begins an investigation into the death of a local transsexual after hearing that high ranking politicians may have been involved. Although he is homophobic, his investigation causes him to be rejected by others, forcing him to seek help from the people he once despised.

C'mon C'mon

Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.