Film of Katrina through the eyes of those who were there

New Orleans CityBusiness

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gripping his trumpet, Irvin Mayfield talks about growing up on Music Street and how his father taught him to play. The jazz musician also discusses his decision to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina and his father's choice not to — and the months-long wait his family had to endure before learning Irvin Mayfield Sr. had drowned.

"This is something we're not going to be able to heal from, as a city, for a long time," Mayfield tells New Orleans filmmaker Stephen Rue, president of the Motion Picture and Television Association of Louisiana.

It's part of more than 135 hours of interviews Rue collected and plans to release as a 130-minute documentary. Rue wants the film to give a comprehensive view of Katrina's effects as told by the people who experienced it.