The Great Flood

The Great Flood

2013. USA. Directed by Bill Morrison. Music by Bill Frisell. The Great Flood is based on actual footage of the powerfully destructive Mississippi river flood of 1927—levees broke in over 100 places, engulfing thousands of square miles—and the revitalization of African American music that evolved as black southerners migrated Northward to escape the devastation. Using previously unseen outtakes from newsreel footage, Morrison reveals a society in the midst of a massive cultural, political, and ecological upheaval. Guitarist Bill Frisell's score embodies the catastrophic events, and serves as the emotional narrator of the film. Composite film screening. 78 min.