Katrina Diary (2006)

While residents along the Southeastern United States boarded their homes and evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, one Mississippi resident saw an opportunity to use his recently purchased video production equipment. Unaware that Katrina would soon demolish his home, a historical art gallery operated by his family, Justin and a few friends filmed a sarcastic prediction of the destruction the storm would cause. Although Justin evacuated just before Katrina hit, he knew there were people trapped on the Coast, including his family. In efforts to find his grandmother, he learned the plight of many others. He quickly focused all his efforts on providing relief to residents in South Mississippi. Armed with nothing more than a trailer laden with donated supplies and names of people's loved ones to search for on the Coast, Justin and his father spearheaded a project that fed, clothed and provided relief to hundreds. Journey into the Katrina Diary of J. Justin Pearce, and see footage of Biloxi from just before Katrina, never before seen compiled storm footage, before and after montages of Biloxi's historical homes, and testimonies from Katrina victims interlaced with Justin's compelling first-hand account of the changes people must undergo when everything they've ever known is stripped away.