The IMAX film "Hurricane on the Bayou" premiered at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum Monday night to over 500 people, including 22 AU students.
The film was produced by MacGillivray-Freeman Films, of which Chris Palmer, a professor in the School of Communication and distinguished film-producer-in-residence, is president.
Palmer said the film was originally produced to show what happened if a category-five hurricane had hit New Orleans. The film's production was almost finished when Katrina struck.
"We were no longer filming what might happen - we were suddenly more like news reporters filming what did happen," Palmer said in a speech before the movie played.
All scenes had been filmed before Katrina destroyed New Orleans on August 29, 2005. The threat to the city and the destruction of the surrounding wetlands were seen through the viewpoints of four musicians. The most prominent character is Amanda Shaw, now 16, a fiddle prodigy.
The film has been received well by critics and earned four out of five stars from the Orlando Sentinel, a Florida newspaper.
The evening was a unique opportunity for students to see their professors practice what they teach, said Kristin Budzinski, a junior in SOC and president of the SOC Club Council.
"[Students] can realize the person who is front of their class does this for a living," Budzinski said.
Bill Gentile, an SOC professor and artist-in-residence who attended the screening, said the film allowed students to see what their professors do outside the classroom.
"People like Chris, and hopefully myself, serve as bridges between the classroom and the world of work," Gentile said. "The more we remain engaged in the field, the more students can benefit from our knowledge and our professional contacts."
Amy Falkow, a freshman in SOC, came to the film after attending a filmmaking course in Florida over spring break with Palmer.
"It's amazing how much he does with himself," Falkow said. "I don't know how he juggles it all ... yet finds time to keep in contact with students."
Palmer said being a professor at AU allows him to also produce films.
"The School of Communication is a wonderful home for people like me who want to teach, but also want to produce important films," Palmer said. "I'm very grateful that I can do both."
Gentile also said the SOC supports its faculty.
"The SOC has been supportive to an extraordinary degree of all my efforts to produce films and generally stay engaged with the craft of visual communication," Gentile said.
The students who attended the show received their tickets through the SOC Class Council. The council purchased 22 tickets for students and received an overwhelming response.
"We originally were going to order 15 [tickets], but response was so high, we got 22," Budzinski said. "Tickets were gone in two hours."
"Hurricane on the Bayou" is currently playing at the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport and numerous theaters nationwide. It will begin playing at the Natural History Museum on the National Mall this week.
