SAINTS RISING is a documentary presenting the voices of New Orleans years after Hurricane Katrina and the breech of the levees. From children to volunteers, they discuss the troubles that were left behind after the waters resided: the violent and militarized response, the housing crisis, homeless situation, difficulties in obtaining financial assistance/relief funds, what happened to the money, how the youth have been mentally affected, and the grassroots movement to rebuild the city and their lives.

This movie is not about the hurricane but the ethical treatment of human beings. The residents express the mistreatment and abandonment they experienced after the failed emergency relief efforts by FEMA and the Bush administration, which in the end, set the standard for making a change for future disasters. SAINTS RISING answers how organizations distributed the means and gives insight on how millions of dollars, supplies and contracts were offered in aid relief, yet years later, the city remains devastated. SAINTS RISING gives you a chance to see the children’s perspective about how the devastation lingers in their mind while the homeless share their angst on the obstacles to rebuild their lives.

This documentary does not exploit their pain or show the hurricane, it shows what has been left behind and the fight to make it right. This documentary reveals how people pull together in hard times through interviewing organizations members and volunteers and what they are doing to help the residents rebuild their lives.