SXSW 2013 Preview: Getting Back To Abnormal

While most people may see New Orleans as a city bleeding culture, it’s also a city that is maybe even better known for being a hotbed of political issues and racial dynamics that still fester throughout the city. Toss in a series of natural disasters taking its toll on the city in ways seemingly inconceivable before hand, and it has become one of this nation’s most iconic and important cities, if not one of its most damaged.

And it is now the focus of a new documentary entitled Getting Back to Abnormal, and while it seems like it may take a while, it proves the city may be doing just that.

From a quartet of filmmakers including Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, Paul Stekler and Peter Odabashian, the film follows the story of Stacy Head, a woman seeking re-election in the city’s City Council. Along with her advisor Barbara Lacen-Keller, the film takes a deep look into the city’s troubling political landscape full of corruption, dysfunction and sometimes even racism, in what is a deeply moving portrait of a city on the edge.

Including interviews with everyone ranging from an attorney named Buddy Lemann all the way to Treme creator David Simon, the film goes off the rails a tad bit (it even touches on Brad Pitt and his publicized involvement in the re-building of the city), but when it hits its notes, it becomes as intriguing a political documentary as we’ve seen in a while. New Orleans is as important a city as this country has, so it’s about time we see just how complicated a city it truly is.

Here’s the trailer, and check below for SXSW screenings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SI-YYzWIy8

Monday, March 11 – 11:15am
Tuesday, March 12 – 11:15am
Wednesday, March 13 – 9:30pm