“A moving portrait of ordinary people battling the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina.”
— James Croot, Otago Daily Times

Winner of the Grand Jury prize for documentary at Sundance in 2008, nominated for an Oscar in 2009, this directorial début by Fahrenheit 9/11 producers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin provides, in the words of Time Out’s Wally Hammond, “essential, startling and distressing insight” into life in the eye of Hurricane Katrina, and in the continuing disaster of its aftermath, for the black residents of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

“What divine inspiration moved Kimberly Rivers Roberts, an aspiring rap artist and toweringly self-possessed woman from New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, to grab her Hi8 camcorder and document the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina as it smashed up her neighborhood? And what grace brought Roberts to the attention of Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, filmmakers who, like so many others, went to Louisiana after the levees broke? Whatever the cosmic luck, the result, Trouble the Water, is essential, unique viewing: a stunning experience of the hurricane and its aftermath, rooted in immediate personal response and emotions that encapsulate the full national catastrophe.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“While her neighbours pack up, Kim and her husband film the ghostly neighbour-hood and remaining residents as they prepare to tough it out. What follows is astonishingly dramatic as the waters trap the pair in the attic. As the street signs disappear, Kim provides a calm yet colourful commentary - ‘It’s like a ocean in my street, waves and shit’ - overlaid with recordings of desperate 911 calls: ‘I’m sorry ma’am but at this time they’re not rescuing.’ ;’So, I’m going to die here?... The editing is expert and ironic, requiring no extra finger pointing. While Kim herself provides a storming title track, other music includes Dr John, The Roots and John Lee Hooker, augmenting a moody original score by Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja.” — Jason Solomons, The Observer

“Superb... One of the best American documentaries in recent memory... A beautiful woman with a bashful smile and a swagger, Ms Roberts is an extraordinarily vivid screen presence... If Trouble the Water simply tracked what this one gutsy 24-year-old endured as she and her husband and friends moved to higher ground and eventually out of Louisiana altogether, it would be enough to warrant your attention. But Ms Lessin and Mr Deal haven’t cooked up yet another softheaded story about triumphant humanity; with the help of these New Orleans residents, they have made a powerful political argument...” — Manohla Dargis, NY Times