An American Opera
Encyclopedia
Tom McPhee's An American Opera: The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever! is a multi-award winning documentary film
chronicling the events following Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans, Louisiana
when pet owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. An American Opera follows the pets, vets, owners, officials, rescuers, and adopters of animals as they try to remedy the situation, revealing that not everyone had the same goal of saving animals. Tom McPhee directed, narrated, and produced the film with the production companies Man Smiling Moving Pictures and Cave Studio.
After about a month, the state put the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
in charge who told the volunteers to stop rescuing. Anyone not with the LA/SPCA was considered ‘rogue’ and operating outside the authority. Meanwhile, the police in St. Bernard Parish were shooting dogs in what they say was a form of mercy.
Months after Katrina, many owners are still not reunited with their pets because they do not know where they are and do not have the means to find them. Some people have found that their animals have been adopted out and cannot get them back.
The film ends with Barkus, a Louisiana pet parade, indicating New Orleans was not washed away with the hurricane.
with two video cameras and still cameras and drove to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana after hearing Mayor
Ray Nagin
pleading for help on September 1, 2005. They did not know how they were going to help until they heard barking behind the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. McPhee spent the next four days taking thousands of photographs of displaced animals. Then McPhee decided to pick up his video camera and film the chaos as volunteers worked to save the animals while federal and state agencies tried to tie them down with bureaucratic red tape.
of mostly alternative rock
, pop rock
, ambient
, grunge
, indie, folk
, and punk rock
styles of music
.
Arthur Yoria
Gene Loves Jezebel
Three Days Grace
Jami Sieber
Brad Sucks
Ingrid Michaelson
John Jackson
Scott Matthew
PeRPLeXa
Lismore
Katie Herzig
Beth Quist
Julia Marcell
Jet
Elva Snow
The Riverside Ramblers
gave it 3 stars out of 4.
Aaron Lafferty from WOOD-TV
calls it "powerful" and puts it on his Academy Award watch list.
An American Opera is also the "Dog People's Choice" on Woof Report.
s on four continents in 2007. It won the Gold Remi for Feature Documentary at the 40th Houston Worldfest, the Gold Camera for Public Issues and Concerns at the 40th U.S. International Film Festival, was the Jury's pick for Best Feature Documentary at the Sacramento Film and Music Festival
, the Bronze for Feature Documentary at the ReelHeART International Film Festival
in Toronto, and the Director's Choice Silver Medal in Best Impact of Music in a Documentary at the Park City Film and Music Festival.
, libraries
, and auditorium
s across the country. Each location on the tour will feature the film, animal charities from the community, and a Q and A with the filmmaker, Tom McPhee.
The Rescue Party Tour and Tom McPhee are also sponsoring a petition to ban the sale of pet animals for five years in order to help keep the pet overpopulation, and therefore, the high euthanasia rate low. They hope to implement the ban on August 30, 2010: the five year anniversary of animal rescue efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
chronicling the events following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
when pet owners were forced to evacuate without their pets. An American Opera follows the pets, vets, owners, officials, rescuers, and adopters of animals as they try to remedy the situation, revealing that not everyone had the same goal of saving animals. Tom McPhee directed, narrated, and produced the film with the production companies Man Smiling Moving Pictures and Cave Studio.
Synopsis
Interviewing leaders of animal organizations and volunteers who went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it is revealed that at the beginning, everyone had different ideas about how things should be done, but no one was willing to take charge because the problem was bigger than anyone could have imagined. The film champions the volunteers whose only concern was saving animals, unlike the animal organizations who were more concerned with the chain of command.After about a month, the state put the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...
in charge who told the volunteers to stop rescuing. Anyone not with the LA/SPCA was considered ‘rogue’ and operating outside the authority. Meanwhile, the police in St. Bernard Parish were shooting dogs in what they say was a form of mercy.
Months after Katrina, many owners are still not reunited with their pets because they do not know where they are and do not have the means to find them. Some people have found that their animals have been adopted out and cannot get them back.
The film ends with Barkus, a Louisiana pet parade, indicating New Orleans was not washed away with the hurricane.
History
McPhee and his girlfriend at the time left Bloomfield Hills, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
with two video cameras and still cameras and drove to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana after hearing Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Ray Nagin
Ray Nagin
Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is a former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area....
pleading for help on September 1, 2005. They did not know how they were going to help until they heard barking behind the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. McPhee spent the next four days taking thousands of photographs of displaced animals. Then McPhee decided to pick up his video camera and film the chaos as volunteers worked to save the animals while federal and state agencies tried to tie them down with bureaucratic red tape.
“A lot of local newscasters wanted to focus on rescues and reunions, but that’s not what I was really interested in doing,” McPhee said. “I wanted to tell a story of what was happening. ... I really wanted to see the human spirit.”
Interviewees
- Jane Garrison single-handedly saved over 1,300 animals during Katrina. Jane is a long time animal activist and she founded Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) as a response to Hurricane Katrina.
- Susan Benezeck and Lamonte Chenevert are residents of Louisiana who were forced to evacuate without their dog.
- Wayne PacelleWayne PacelleWayne A. Pacelle is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Humane Society of the United States , the nation's largest animal advocacy organization, with nearly 10 million members as of 2006. Pacelle took office June 1, 2004, after serving for nearly 10 years as the organization's chief...
, Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Humane Society of the United StatesHumane Society of the United StatesThe Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
, tried to balance the bureaucracy of the authorities with the animal activism of the rescuers.
- Dr. Maxwell A. Lea, Jr., the State Veterinarian of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, was a voice of authority during the crisis even though his expertise is eliminating livestock disease.
- Mark Steinway, co-founder and humane investigator of Pasado Safe Haven.
- Laura Maloney is the Executive DirectorExecutive directorExecutive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the LA/SPCA (Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). A controversial figure, she is hailed as a hero by some and a hindrance to rescue operations by others.
- Chris Acosta is a resident of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana who rescued many families during Katrina, including those left behind in St. Rita's Nursing Home.
- David LeesonDavid LeesonDavid Leeson is a staff photographer for The Dallas Morning News. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2004, together with Cheryl Diaz Meyer, for coverage of the Iraq War. He also received the RTNDA Edward R...
is a Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning staff photographer at the Dallas Morning News who got footage of the St. Bernard Parish sheriff deputies shooting dogs in the street.
- Mimi Hunley is the Louisiana Assistant Attorney General with the Criminal Division who investigated the animal abuseCruelty to animalsCruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...
that occurred during Katrina.
Music
An American Opera features a soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of mostly alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
, indie, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
styles of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
"The footage is set to a soundtrack of rock, punk and folk songs, often creating a seamless marriage between the lyrics, music and the events onscreen." Darren Schwindaman
Arthur Yoria
Arthur Yoria
Arthur Yoria is a musician based in Houston, Texas.Born in Chicago, Yoria started to play guitar very late while he was attending the University of Houston. After stints in the Houston based bands, The Jeepneys and Lavendula, Arthur decided to set out on his own and released a 4-song, self-titled...
- "Should Be"
- "Sevilla"
- "At Least You've Been Told"
- "Permanent"
Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel are a gothic rock band from the early 1980s, now two separate bands of the same name, founded by identical twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston .-Early years: 1980-1989:...
- "When Love No Longer Sets You Free"
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
- "Animal I Have BecomeAnimal I Have Become"Animal I Have Become" is the first single from Three Days Grace's second studio album, One-X. Unlike most singles, it was not released in stores, and only had one track. The song is featured on the video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, and song stayed on US mainstream rock for 7 weeks at #1 and...
"
Jami Sieber
- "Surrender"
- "Dancing At The Temple Gate"
- "Red Mood"
- "Hidden Sky"
- "All She Can Carry"
- "The Goat's Earth"
Brad Sucks
Brad Sucks
Brad Turcotte , not to be confused with Brad Turcotte performing under the name Brad Sucks, is a musician from Ottawa, Ontario. Turcotte released his albums under a copyleft license...
- "Making Me Nervous"
- "Bad Attraction"
- "Dirtbag"
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
- "Die Alone"
John Jackson
- "Fire"
- "Mission Creep"
Scott Matthew
Scott Matthew
Scott Matthew is a vocalist and lyricist born in Queensland, Australia. He currently resides and performs as an independent artist in New York City....
- "Amputee"
PeRPLeXa
- "Aberration"
Lismore
Lismore (band)
Lismore is a electronic music group formed by vocalist Penelope Trappes and composer/instrumentalist Stephen Hindman in 2004. The group uses both live instruments and programmed beats to achieve their sound.- History :...
- "It Comes To This"
Katie Herzig
Katie Herzig
Katie Herzig is a Grammy award nominated singer-songwriter from Fort Collins, Colorado.-Early life:Katie Herzig was born in California to a musical family. When she was a year old her family moved to Fort Collins, Colorado where she attended Rocky Mountain High School...
- "Sweeter Than This"
Beth Quist
Beth Quist
Beth Quist, a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer, began playing piano at age 2. She has a 4-octave soprano voice, and plays piano, keyboards, santour , dumbek, guitar, flute, and various other instruments....
- "Beauty"
- "Evil Grid"
- "Fives"
- "Ritual"
Julia Marcell
- "Twin Heart"
Jet
- "Untitled (Crystal's Lullaby)"
Elva Snow
- "Hold Me"
The Riverside Ramblers
- "Joe Avery's Second Line"
Critical reception
The film has received many positive reviews. The Detroit Free PressDetroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
gave it 3 stars out of 4.
" This film is both heartbreaking and inspiring... Perhaps the biggest legacy this film will leave is the need to make a difference it imparts to those who view it." FilmGuru.net
"An American Opera is a moving, effective documentary which deserves some more attention." Choking on Popcorn
Aaron Lafferty from WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Middleville near the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter channel...
calls it "powerful" and puts it on his Academy Award watch list.
An American Opera is also the "Dog People's Choice" on Woof Report.
Awards
An American Opera: The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever! has been the official film selection of 24 film festivalFilm festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s on four continents in 2007. It won the Gold Remi for Feature Documentary at the 40th Houston Worldfest, the Gold Camera for Public Issues and Concerns at the 40th U.S. International Film Festival, was the Jury's pick for Best Feature Documentary at the Sacramento Film and Music Festival
Sacramento Film and Music Festival
The Sacramento Film and Music Festival is a large, multi-day, all-genre international film festival held in Sacramento, California in the United States. It has been in operation under consistent direction and ownership since 2000...
, the Bronze for Feature Documentary at the ReelHeART International Film Festival
ReelHeArt International Film Festival
The ' known as The Filmmakers Film Festival is an annual independent film festival that screens over 100 films from 30 or more countries during six days around the 3rd week of June in Toronto, Canada....
in Toronto, and the Director's Choice Silver Medal in Best Impact of Music in a Documentary at the Park City Film and Music Festival.
Rescue Party Tour
Starting summer 2009, The Rescue Party Tour will showcase An American Opera. They will tour in independent theatersMovie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, and auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
s across the country. Each location on the tour will feature the film, animal charities from the community, and a Q and A with the filmmaker, Tom McPhee.
The Rescue Party Tour and Tom McPhee are also sponsoring a petition to ban the sale of pet animals for five years in order to help keep the pet overpopulation, and therefore, the high euthanasia rate low. They hope to implement the ban on August 30, 2010: the five year anniversary of animal rescue efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
External links
- An American Opera - official site
- "An American Opera" on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- "An American Opera Rescue Party Tour" on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- "Rescue Party Tour"
- "Man Smiling Moving Pictures"