Blog posting written by Kaley Belval, Documentary Studies and Production '15, FLEFF Intern, Woodbury, CT

Veins in the Gulf is a documentary that was originally set to follow the disappearing bayou culture of Louisiana, but over the ten year time period that it was shot, followed much more than that. 

Following the stories of their subjects, directors Elizabeth Coffman and Ted Hardin began by getting to know the people and culture of Louisiana. As shooting for the film continued, they encountered both Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill. 

The pair have worked together for the past ten years in "a dialectic relationship" through their production company, Long Distance Productions. They found their newest film somewhat similar to the last film they made, One More Mile: a Dialogue on Nation-Building. 

"We were just so amazed at how, just like in Bosnia, everywhere you looked there was a story. Someone had an interesting tale that involved race, it involved culture, it involved surviving hurricanes. You know, it's just fascinating," Hardin said.

While the two directors tried to truly understand and experience the culture of Louisiana, they wanted to represent it as accurately and objectively as possible.

"It's focused on a small geographic region on a community of people who, most of them, have known each other a lot of their lives," said Coffman. "We really made a concerted effort to tell the community story."

The film is very focused on environmental issues, something that they hope is translated into advocacy for their audience. 

"We're very much trying to do some of the political work around the film, trying to get politicians involved, funding for the environmental issues, trying to get support for the issues," Coffman said. 

Veins in the Gulf will be shown Sunday, April 1st at 2:10 pm at Cinemapolis. Have any questions for the directors? Come and meet them there.