New Orleans Film Festival 2009

A Village Called Versailles is a feature documentary about Versailles, an isolated community in eastern New Orleans originally settled by Vietnamese “boat people”. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Versailles residents impressively rise to the challenges by returning and rebuilding before any other flooded neighborhood in New Orleans, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill just two miles away. Formerly content to stay within their own “village” and below the public radar, the Vietnamese community rallies to oppose the landfill and become an effective force in local politics. A Village Called Versailles recounts the empowering story of how this group of people, who has already suffered so much in their lifetime, turns a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future. The screening of this film is sponsored by Patois: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival.