Film festival at The Commons features talk by filmmaker, KU alumnus Carl Deal

LAWRENCE – Filmmaker Carl Deal will speak at The Commons on Jan. 29 as a part of the Urban Palimpsest Destruction and Renewal Film Festival, which features his 2008 documentary, "Trouble the Water."

An Academy Award nominee for best documentary, "Trouble the Water" follows the story of residents of the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the district. It includes hand-held film footage of the storm, images of the aftermath, and interviews with residents as they struggle to recover and rebuild. "Trouble the Water" draws attention to issues of race and class and the relationship of a government to its citizens in the weeks, months and years after Hurricane Katrina.

The film festival begins at 3 p.m. at The Commons and includes two other films: "Germany Year Zero" (1948) and "Dark City" (1998). Deal will speak at 6:15 p.m. before the 7 p.m. screening of "Trouble the Water."

Deal is a 1988 graduate of the University of Kansas, where he majored in history and Latin American studies. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, where he earned its Social Justice Prize. Before making "Trouble the Water," Deal worked as an international news producer and writer, reporting from natural disasters and conflict zones throughout the United States, Latin America and Iraq. He has written investigative reports for non-governmental organizations about civil and environmental justice. Deal is a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Find information on Deal and his work. 

The Commons is a partnership between the Biodiversity Institute, the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Spencer Museum of Art. Through its offerings, The Commons seeks to bring together scholars and students from the sciences, humanities, and arts to explore the reciprocal relationships between natural and cultural systems. 

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.