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AMANDA SHAW: A TEENAGED POP STAR TAKES A LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY INTO THE BAYOU
One of New Orleans most exciting
young musical talentsrising teen
prodigy Amanda Shawreveals
her own personal tale of surviving
Katrina and finding hope in the
restoration of Louisianas wetlands
in
H
URRICANE ON THE
B
AYOU
.
Amanda has been a fiddling virtuoso
since age seven, when she became the
youngest person ever to play with the
Baton Rouge Symphony as a soloist.
Making the transition from Classical
to Cajun, Amanda soon brought her
own innovative crossover sound to
the fore, gaining international fans.
She and her band, The Cute Guys, have
received raves on the festival circuit,
Rollingstone.com called her a fiddling
wizard and she recently opened for
Cher at the VH1 Divas/Cher Farewell
Tour. In January, Amanda was able to
return to her heavily damaged school
in New Orleans and will soon begin
recording her first major album.
Q
Q:: W
Wh
ha
att iin
ns
sp
piir
re
ed
d y
yo
ou
u tto
o g
ge
ett iin
nv
vo
ollv
ve
ed
d
w
wiitth
h tth
he
e ffiillm
miin
ng
g o
off H
H
U
UR
RR
RI
IC
CA
AN
NE
E O
ON
N
T
TH
HE
E
B
B
A
AY
YO
OU
U
?
?
A: I got involved in the very beginning,
before Katrina, mainly because the
filmmakers were looking for someone
from Louisiana who could connect
with the younger
IMAX
�
audience. The
story I was told is that the filmmakers
were eating breakfast in New Orleans,
talking about how they were going to
find a young musician to be in their
movie and suddenly they saw my
picture in the paper and said well, lets
call Amanda Shaw! When they asked
me, I was really excited. I didnt know
all that much about the wetlands back
thenand I really wanted to learn.
Q
Q:: W
Wh
ha
att d
diid
d y
yo
ou
u lle
ea
ar
rn
n a
ab
bo
ou
utt tth
he
e w
we
ett--
l
la
an
nd
ds
s?
?
A: I didnt realize how important they
are in keeping us safe from the power
of hurricanes. Now I understand that
by saving the wetlands we can also
save people. The bottom line is that no
matter where you live in Louisiana,
you cant ever be 100% safe from
storms, because they are always going
to happen, but a lot more of us could
be protected if we start rebuilding
the marshes.
Q
Q:: W
Wh
ha
att w
wa
as
s y
yo
ou
ur
r e
ex
xp
pe
er
riie
en
nc
ce
e d
du
ur
riin
ng
g
K
Ka
attr
riin
na
a lliik
ke
e?
?
A: We were very lucky because we
dont live in the worst flood zone.
We evacuated in time, but after the
storm we couldnt get back to
Louisiana, so I had to go to a gig in
AMANDA SHAW: A TEENAGED POP STAR TAKES
A LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY INTO THE BAYOU
Issue 4
I
May 19, 2006
I
FILM RELEASE
December 22, 2006
In
H
URRICANE ON THE
B
AYOU
s final scene 14-year-old fiddling prodigy Amanda Shaw joins celebrated New Orleans musicians Allen Toussaint,
Marva Wright, and a gospel choir for an inspired performance in St. Louis Cathedral. These musicians are determined to raise
awareness about the importance of restoring the region's endangered wetlands as protection against future storm surges.
HURRICANE ON THE BAYOU is produced and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films and executive produced by Audubon Nature Institute with major funding from the State of Louisiana.
MacGillivray Freeman Films
I
949 494-1055
I
www.macfreefilms.com
I
www.hurricaneonthebayou.com freezing Minnesota with suitcases full
of only tank tops and shorts! At the
same time, everyone was so incredibly
helpful and supportive. We even started
getting letters addressed to Amanda
Shaw and Family with offers of help
from people all over the country.
We didnt even hear anything about
how our house was doing until the
H
URRICANE ON THE
B
AYOU
crew drove
by itand then they called and asked
us if they could film the damage! That
was kind of worrying, but it turned
out to not be as bad as they thought. As
for how I feel now, I think we are all
still very much in the middle of it.
Itll be interesting to see how people
feel in five years, because right now, I
think were all just focused on getting
our lives back.
Q
Q:: F
Fo
or
r a
allm
mo
os
stt a
a y
ye
ea
ar
r,, y
yo
ou
ur
r s
sc
ch
ho
oo
oll w
wa
as
s
c
cllo
os
se
ed
d.. W
Wh
ha
att w
wa
as
s tth
ha
att lliik
ke
e?
?
A: It was really hard. My school is at
one of the lowest points in New Orleans
so it was severely flooded. At first they
thought they might have to knock it
down. I just couldnt imagine that
happening. It was such a beautiful day
when it re-opened in January. We were
all hugging and kissing and telling
our stories. The amazing thing is that
they only expected about 500 people
to come back but about 1100 students
out of 1200 showed up! It is kind of
eerie, though. The school is an area
where its one of the only places that
has electricity or water. So just driving
to school can be a scary experience
because everything looks abandoned
and you feel kind of like youre in a
lost world. But they pulled everything
together just the way it was before
Katrina. They wanted the students
to feel like they never skipped a beat,
so that was a good feeling.
Q
Q:: W
Wh
ha
att m
ma
ak
ke
es
s N
Ne
ew
w O
Or
rlle
ea
an
ns
s s
so
o s
sp
pe
ec
ciia
all
t
to
o y
yo
ou
u?
?
A: Sometimes people think New
Orleans is just about Jazz but theres
so much more to it. This city truly has
a bit of everything not just Jazz, but
also Rock, Pop, Blues, Country, Cajun,
Zydeco, you name it, its all here. And
then there are so many different kinds
of areas; theres the exciting French
Quarter but theres also the beautiful
wetlands. Were lucky to have all this
varietyits what gives New Orleans
its interesting taste!
Q
Q:: H
Ho
ow
w w
wa
as
s iitt b
be
eiin
ng
g ffo
ollllo
ow
we
ed
d a
ar
ro
ou
un
nd
d
b
by
y a
a ffiillm
m c
cr
re
ew
w d
du
ur
riin
ng
g s
su
uc
ch
h a
an
n iin
ntte
en
ns
se
e
t
tiim
me
e?
?
A: The filmmaking team really did a
lot to make it fun for me right from the
beginning and they were so nice to
us after Katrina. It was such a small,
tight crew that I got to know everyone
personally and made a lot of great
friends. There was a lot of laughing and
making jokes but I also was constantly
learning, so it was actually an amazing
experience.
Q
Q:: D
Diid
d y
yo
ou
u e
en
njjo
oy
y w
wo
or
rk
kiin
ng
g w
wiitth
h a
allll tth
he
e
o
otth
he
er
r ffa
am
mo
ou
us
s m
mu
us
siic
ciia
an
ns
s w
wh
ho
o a
ar
re
e p
pa
ar
rtt
o
off tth
he
e ffiillm
m?
?
A: Oh yeah, that was fantastic. I already
knew Chubby Carrier from way back
because he produced my first album
and I also had opened for Tab Benoit
and knew Marva Wright. But I had
never had the pleasure to meet Mr.
Allen Toussaint and that was so exciting
for me because he is truly a legend
and he turned out to be so cool and
inspiring.
Q
Q:: W
Wh
ha
att a
ar
re
e y
yo
ou
ur
r h
ho
op
pe
es
s a
an
nd
d ffe
ea
ar
rs
s ffo
or
r
N
Ne
ew
w O
Or
rlle
ea
an
ns
s n
no
ow
w?
?
A: Were almost to the next hurricane
season so thats kind of scary. Its def-
initely going to take awhile for things
to get fixed and for people to under-
stand more about what is happening.
But I think right now we just need to
spread the word that New Orleans is
an amazing place that deserves to be
saved. Its a place where theres still
so much love to go around.
Q
Q:: A
As
s a
a tte
ee
en
na
ag
ge
er
r,, h
ho
ow
w d
do
o y
yo
ou
u tth
hiin
nk
k k
kiid
ds
s
w
wiillll r
re
ea
ac
ctt tto
o H
H
U
UR
RR
RI
IC
CA
AN
NE
E O
ON
N T
TH
HE
E
B
B
A
AY
YO
OU
U
?
?
A: I really hope that seeing New
Orleans and the wetlands and the
music and the devastation of Katrina
in
IMAX
will make something click
with the audience. Kids are the
future. Were the ones who are going
to be running the country one day so
fixing a lot of these problems is going
to be up to us.
HURRICANE ON THE BAYOU is produced and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films and executive produced by Audubon Nature Institute with major funding from the State of Louisiana.
MacGillivray Freeman Films
I
949 494-1055
I
www.macfreefilms.com
I
www.hurricaneonthebayou.com
Amanda is reunited with her grandfather in front of his severely
damaged home. For days after Katrina, Amanda and her family
were unable to reach her grandparents.
Amanda discovers wildlife on the bayou! In
H
URRICANE ON THE
B
AYOU
, Amanda learns about how alligators now thrive in the
wetlands thanks to responsible management protection laws.
Producer/Director: Greg MacGillivray
Executive Producer: Audubon Nature Institute
Editors: Jim Foster and Neguine Sanini
Writer: Glen Pitre Music by: Steve Wood
Camera: Greg MacGillivray, Brad Ohlund,
Jack Tankard, Ron Goodman
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