New Orleans Airport prior to Gustav Shutdown 8/31/08

Update: Terrific example of a breaking news blog, www.gustavnewsblog.com (thanks LostRemote).  And great value-add comment from Joey Mornin below about how activists are using social media during Gustav, especially the “Gustav Information Center.”  As Joey remarks: You’d think it’d be a cacophony of tweets and blogs, but it’s actually self-organized into something with real potential to help the Hurricane relief efforts.

I’ve spent the last 24 hours staying “connected” with New Orleans even as I planned my own departure.

The impending hurricane forced us to cancel our world premiere last night.  But we still had to “contingency” screenings – the latest one right after Mayor Ray Nagin’s press conference declaring Gustav to be the “mother of all storms.”

I noticed a starkly different “feel” to Thursday’s screening, compared to last night.  Thursday, “Katrina” was still the working premise, part of the city’s most obvious vocabulary.  Now Gustav may supplant it, and it’ll be interesting to see how I’ll have to modify my film (“permanently beta!”) to fit this potential new reality.

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UPDATE 08.30.08: My flight is still good for tomorrow.  I’m going to spend today with local journalist Ariella Cohen from CityBusiness as she reports on the voluntary evacuation.  One way or another, Gustav adds to my film, and I need to gather additional elements to tell this story.  We may even attempt a little house party premiere tonight if there’s anyone left in the city.  My hotel closes tomorrow at noon, and I intend to give myself at least 3 hours to get to the airport (normally a 20 minute drive).  Shades of Baghdad!

UPDATE 08.29.08: Thank goodness we had a successful sneak preview of the film last night.  We’ve canceled the premiere for tomorrow with an impending mandatory evacuation as Gustav approaches.  I’m supposed to return to Seattle on Sunday morning.

The film premiere of Independent America: Rising from Ruins, is up for grabs right now with Gustav gathering strength and heading to the Gulf of Mexico  Once local officials get a handle on the hurricane’s path, they may issue a 48-hour evacuation notice.

I’m ready either way.  I brought my camera, waterproof gear, and even my Pentax W60 waterproof point & shoot — which I may call into duty if I need to re-start production of a film that won’t end (as we like to say in the MCDM program, “permanently beta”).  Or we have the premiere as scheduled with even more to discuss (organizers have already cancelled the daylong conference, but will proceed with the screenings unless there is an evacuation).  For my latest updates, catch my Twitter feed.

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