Spike Lee’s ‘If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise’ on DVD April 19th

Hailed by The Washington Post as “gripping, artful,” If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise is a worthy companion piece to Spike Lee’s Emmy® and Peabody-winning HBO® documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. The documentary revisits New Orleans five years after Katrina to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the city are playing out. The two-part, four-hour film, complete with in-depth audio commentaries from Lee as well as a bonus featurette, arrives on DVD on April 19, 2011!

Renowned director Spike Lee continues the story of the rebirth of the Big Easy, documenting both the successes and failures in the city’s ongoing efforts to restore housing, healthcare, education, economic growth and law and order, as well as delves into the current status of the levees. Finding hope, heartache and hardship still, Lee’s film is book-ended by two momentous events – the historic 2010 Super Bowl victory of the New Orleans Saints and the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – that changed the history of American’s most unique city once again. Amidst all the enduring uncertainties, the film also captures the community’s indomitable spirit and ability to celebrate life.

More than 300 people share their stories in If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, including former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, historian Douglas Brinkley, activist actors Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and community organizer Tanya Harris. In addition, longtime New Orleans residents, whose compelling testimonies were a key part of When the Levees Broke, provide updates on their lives.