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Desert Bayou

Play trailer Poster for Desert Bayou 2007 1h 11m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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78% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After Hurricane Katrina, more than 600 black New Orleans evacuees find themselves air-lifted to predominately white Salt Lake City, where they must struggle with displacement from their homes and cope with the suspicions of residents.

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Desert Bayou

Desert Bayou

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Critics Consensus

Although the presentation is sometimes clumsy, the compelling interviews and story make Desert Bayou always informative and enthralling.

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Critics Reviews

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Amy Nicholson I.E. Weekly 02/03/2008
D
Thematic schizophrenia...it agrees that the media stereotype blacks as uneducated thugs and rappers, while its own main characters are crack addicts, ex-cons, and Master P. Go to Full Review Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter 11/26/2007
This little known human interest story is a fascinating one. Go to Full Review Joe Leydon Variety 11/13/2007
[Director] LeMay earns points for his balanced presentation of key figures on both sides. Go to Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed 01/27/2008
3/4
A fascinating glimpse at the almost endless obstacles given to Katrina survivors... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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08/29/2013 White people treating black people like crap. :( See more 10/13/2012 the different issues and concerns that come to light after hurricane Katrina See more 02/05/2012 loved this. heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. can i say how much i love mayor rocky and rabbi shmuley?? See more 01/02/2012 Very eye opening, sad but glad that many were able to turn over a new leaf and go on with their lives even though it was clear out in Utah. See more 02/11/2010 What an amazing story being documented here. Worth it just to see the contrast of sincere/sensitive Salt Lake City Mayor & snarky/phony Utah Governor - esp. in the bonus footage. Incredible indictment of racial profiling in the US & of the Mormon & militaries control in this part of the country. A humbling account of how vulnerable the New Orleans citizens were when they got on planes to get out of their destroyed city. See more 11/11/2009 Ive seen alot of documentaries on Hurricane Katrina but this was the only 1 I found truly interesting See more Read all reviews
Desert Bayou

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Alex LeMay

Director

Master P

Actor

Rock Anderson

Actor

Jon Huntsman

Actor

Shmuley Boteach

Actor

Thomas Lemmer

Writer

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Desert Bayou

Desert Bayou (2006) Desert Bayou (2006) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After Hurricane Katrina, more than 600 black New Orleans evacuees find themselves air-lifted to predominately white Salt Lake City, where they must struggle with displacement from their homes and cope with the suspicions of residents.
Director
Alex LeMay
Producer
Alex LeMay, Mary-Beth Mazzone, Mike Russell, Master P, Jimmy Finkl
Screenwriter
Thomas Lemmer
Distributor
Cinema Libre Studio
Production Co
Taproot Productions LLC, Third Coast Media Group
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 5, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2016
Runtime
1h 11m