LOUISIANA, USA — Discovery has announced it is releasing a documentary about a grass-roots movement born during amid the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina to save hundreds of victims.
The group, known as the Cajun Navy, was born during Katrina, made up of men and women of all backgrounds.
The Cajun Navy members caravanned down the highways, with boats in tow, and ultimately saved hundreds.
When Harvey hit, the Cajun Navy had grown, and thousands were saved. Each year, communities across the south and eastern portions of the U.S. gear up for what could be the next catastrophic storm according to a Discovery news release.
The documentary is set to air on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. CST.
From a Discovery news release:
In the days after Hurricane Katrina, a group of ordinary citizens came together with one goal: to pull people from the water. The government had failed New Orleans, and it was up to the people to get the job done. These men and women hailed from all walks of life: fishermen, lawyers, pastors, housewives. This group — known as the Cajun Navy because its members caravanned down the highways, boats in tow — realized that their government wasn’t going to act in time. All that united them was a love of boats and a deep-seated desire to help their fellow man. In that storm, these men and women saved hundreds. When Hurricane Harvey hit, their numbers had grown, and together they saved thousands. Now, every year, communities across the south and eastern portions of the U.S. gear up for what could be the next catastrophic storm. 2018 was no different — it was the third consecutive year of devastating hurricanes. With intimate access to these heroic men and women during Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael, CAJUN NAVY (w/t) chronicles the inspiring, spontaneous grass-roots rescue efforts from a movement that started during Hurricane Katrina and lives on today.
From production company Lightbox’s multi award-winning team of double Oscar®-winner Simon Chinn, Emmy® winner Jonathan Chinn, and Suzanne Lavery, produced and co-directed by Laura Warner, and directed by award-winning filmmaker James Newton, CAJUN NAVY (w/t) follows a group of men and women who, when everyone else flees deadly storms and floodwaters, run towards it and do the work of saving their community and its people from utter destruction.
“These are stories of neighbors helping neighbors, of people relying on each other, of communities overcoming devastating obstacles together.” says Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery & Factual. “Our audience craves this type of programming and we are excited to shine a light on the Cajun Navy’s inspiring work for them.”
Hailing from all walks of life, this informal group of boat enthusiasts came together in 2005 in direct response to Hurricane Katrina, after realizing their government wasn’t going to act in time. Later named the Cajun Navy, these everyday people mobilized out of a sheer desire to help their fellow citizens in the face of devastation, even as armed police and FEMA officials ordered them to turn back, or face being arrested and even shot.
The film profiles various men and women like Carlton Boudreaux, a former elevator technician and volunteer firefighter who has been rescuing people in his boat since Katrina. As he explains in the film, “We just love to help people. If you fall in the water, I will help you out. If you drown, I will help you.” He is teaching his teenage son Brayton the ways of the Cajun Navy, passing down the work to the next generation.
CAJUN NAVY (w/t) is on the frontline as members are facilitating re-entry into victims’ homes. While a physical job, there is also a need for members to convey compassion and empathy as people come to terms with the devastation and loss from the storms. In the film, Cajun Navy volunteer Ben Husser explains to a family how his daughter helped him get through the destruction of Katrina. “The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was bring my little girl into my house…she said, ‘Daddy it is just stuff’…She is right…we can replace stuff, we can’t replace babies or you.”
Year after year, parts of the country brace for hurricanes and people work to prevent and prepare for devastation. Yet there are those that don’t have the ability or means to do so. As farmer and drilling technician Allen Leonard explains, “As long as there are poor people, low income people, old people, generally the people that are forgotten, there will always be a Cajun Navy”.
CAJUN NAVY (w/t) is produced by Lightbox for Discovery Channel. The Executive Producers are Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn and Suzanne Lavery for Lightbox, with James Newton as Director and Laura Warner as Producer and Co-Director. Jon Bardin, Andrew O’Connell, and Howard Swartz are Executive Producers for Discovery.
