Desert Bayou

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Desert Bayou

2007

1h 11m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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.

Critics Consensus

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

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

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.

Rated: D

Feb 3, 2008

Full Review

Frank Scheck

The Hollywood Reporter

This little known human interest story is a fascinating one.

Nov 26, 2007

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Joe Leydon

Variety

[Director] LeMay earns points for his balanced presentation of key figures on both sides.

Nov 13, 2007

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

A fascinating glimpse at the almost endless obstacles given to Katrina survivors...

Rated: 3/4

Jan 27, 2008

Full Review

Sean P. Means

Salt Lake Tribune

A case of great material and sloppy presentation.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 26, 2007

Full Review

Jeff Vice

Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

Screenwriter Thomas Lemmer and director Alex LeMay appear to have some sort of agenda or ax to grind.

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 25, 2007

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Audience Member

White people treating black people like crap. :(

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

the different issues and concerns that come to light after hurricane Katrina

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

loved this. heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. can i say how much i love mayor rocky and rabbi shmuley??

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ive seen alot of documentaries on Hurricane Katrina but this was the only 1 I found truly interesting

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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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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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

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