A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

Dear Friends,

With the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina fast approaching and political leaders in Washington embroiled in an increasingly bitter debate about the role government should play in our lives, now is a good time to reflect on what each of can us can do for the good of the country.

When it comes to the nation’s costliest disaster that occurred on Aug. 29, 2005 when Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, as “A Bridge Life” chronicles, individuals stepped up to do what governments–both federal, state and local–often could not. Strangers aided strangers, whether rescuing people from floodwaters, providing food and water, or just a roof over their head.

wo Cousins Entertainment is pleased to announce that this very special, award-winning film is now available for download via iTunes for only $5.99! Just click on the following link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/a-bridge-life/id423421120

If you haven’t watched it, as we look back at how the Gulf Coast is still coming back from oblivion and remember other terrible catastrophes that have occurred around the country and world (the Joplin, Missouri tornadoes, flooding in Australia, the Japan earthquake/tsunami/Fukushima), now would be a good time to do so. $5.99 is a good deal. Of course, you can also purchase the DVD for as low as $19.99. It includes a slew of bonus features including “Scenes From the Astrodome” and an interview with former FEMA director Michael “heckuva job Brownie” Brown and also makes a great gift for the family!

http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Life-Finding-Our-Home/dp/B003VE9WZG

We need your continued support to help get “A Bridge Life” out to the masses. That includes persuading Netflix to carry more independent films including this one (right now, Netflix execs are concentrating on streaming deals with the big Hollywood studios). So if you have a Netflix account, make your voice heard by saving “A Bridge Life” to your queue. It only takes a second!

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A-Bridge-Life-Finding-Our-Way-Home/70144636

Please forward this message to all your friends. And remember, fate is what you make it.

Warmly,

Josh Grossberg
Director-Producer
A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

My team and I are very excited to announce A Bridge Life will be making its World Television premiere on the Documentary Channel on Monday, August 30th at 8 p.m. ET with an encore presentation at 11 p.m. !

The date  coincides with the 5th anniversary of the disaster so it’s shaping up to be a memorable and poignant night not only as we’ll be bringing you a riveting never-before-heard story about Katrina’s aftermath, but also as we look ahead at what lies in store for the Gulf Coast in the wake of the BP oil catastrophe.

The Documentary Channel is on Channel 197 on the Dish Network and Channel 267 on DirecTV.

http://www.documentarychannel.com/providers.php

I know many of you have Time Warner Cable or Comcast.  Please call your local cable provider and ask them to add the Doc Channel, which is currently in 25 million households nationwide.  The channel is currently in talks with Time Warner so if we’re lucky, they may add the channel to its roster later this month before A Bridge Life‘s premiere.

If not, I’ll be hosting a viewing party here in New York on that night: Details TBA.  And a special edition DVD including lots of extras, such as an interview with former FEMA head Mike “heckuvajob Brownie” Brown will be available for pre-order beginning Aug. 29 via the Channel’s Doc Store and A Bridge Life’s site.  The DVD ships Oct. 12.

http://documentarychannel.com/store/index.php?main_page=index

www.abridgelife.com

On a side note, speaking of this Website, we’re currently working on a major redesign that will go live on Aug. 29 so be on the look out for that as well.

Thank you as always for your continued support!

Josh Grossberg
Director-Producer
A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home

Hi Everyone,

We’ve got some thrilling news!  A Bridge Life has been accepted to the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival running Oct. 23 through Nov. 8.

This will be our Florida premiere and a very special occasion as a good chunk of the story is set in South Florida and much of Dan and the group’s activities relied on the goodwill of the Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County community.  No word yet on exact screening dates.  But as soon as we know, we’ll let YOU know.

Thanks for sticking with us and, just as a reminder, you can help Josh and his team immensely in getting the film and its important, inspiring message out to the world by donating via the “See Your Name” campaign on this Website.

Hi everyone,

Last week’s world premiere of “A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home” was a big success.  We had a sizeable crowd despite our Wednesday afternoon time slot and I’m pleased to report hankies were needed at several points during the screening.  We held a Q&A afterward and nearly everyone stayed and asked in-depth questions about the evacuees, dan’s journey and my own experience in the Astrodome.  I’m excited because the premiere reaffirmed that we need to just continue to get this movie out there to as wide an audience as possible and once we do, people will definitely respond and be affected by it.  Everybody was at Newport last Wednesday.

Aside from working on getting into other festivals (SilverDocs that means you), I’m looking into hold a private screening for friends and family in New York in June and one in Florida so Dan and his crew can finally see it.  Details to follow in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, my team and I are going to savor our Newport debut.

Best,

Josh

I have some great news to share. The feature-length Katrina documentary that I produced, wrote and directed and finished recently after nearly four years, A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home, is going to have its world premiere at the Newport Beach International Film Festival on Wednesday, April 29th at 2:15 p.m.

I would love to invite each and every one of you to attend the premiere if you’re in the area and get the buzz going.  Help keep the spotlight on the rebuilding process which is trudging along at a slow pace in the Gulf and New Orleans.  Help us to remind government officials and the public about the need for continued support for the thousands of evacuees spread all around the country in a forced exodus who want to return home. Help us spread the word!

-Josh

Click on this link for more information and to buy tickets for A Bridge Life.

Newport Beach Film Festival

Good News Everybody!

After several long months of composing, arranging and recording, our composer, Steven Glaser, completed the original score for “A Bridge Life” and it has now been added to the picture.  And let me be the first to congratulate him on a job well done.  The documentary is now complimented by some wonderfully inventive music that I think raises the film to a whole ‘nother level.  When you see it, I know you’ll agree.

So all that remains essentially is a final color correct and audio mix.  To do that however, I still need to license archival footage featuring watermarks from various archival houses (Getty and Corbis for example) and replace those shots with high-res versions so we can color correct the film.  We’re so close to the finish line that I barely can contain my excitement.  I’m hoping in the next month or so to have some very big news regarding screenings.  Thanks for your patience and please stay tuned!

Josh

The third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina arrived last Friday and with it a new hurricane to threaten the Gulf Coast’s shores.  Gustav rumbled across the Louisiana coastline on Monday, bringing the Republican National Convention to a near halt and offering up a stark reminder of what Katrina had wrought there three short years ago.

The good news is that both local, state and federal agencies had learned their lesson and coordinated a successful evacuation of New Orleans and surrounding coastal areas from what Mayor Ray Nagin pronounced hyperbolically, the “storm of the century.”  However exaggerated his words may have been, people heeded the warnings and made their way inland.  Luckily, Gustav turned out not to be the cat 4 killer that some had feared but still an intense category three storm that dealt the Crescent City a glancing blow.  This time around, there were not victims on rooftops, survivors holed up in dome stadiums hoping for authorities to come to the rescue.

But by no means does the lesser magnitude of the storm mean Gulf Coast residents weren’t in need of help.  This time around, Dan Sheffer stayed in Florida.  And for good reason.  Hurricane Hannah and Ike are eyeing the Sunshine State coastline as I write this and he’s got to take care of his own family and home.  After spending the last year or so helping people affordably hurricane proof their houses, our documentary subject may face his own potential Katrina if forecasts for Ike hold over the next few days.

While Dan couldn’t go to help Gulf Coast evacuees this time around, he hopes you’ll take the time to consider the importance of volunteering your time and money to help those devastated by Gustav or any other disaster.  That’s what A Bridge Life is about: people helping people.  I also would like to implore you to help us finish the film and tell Dan’s story by making a donation.  In return, we’ll list your name in the credits. Just check out our See Your Name Campaign section for more details.

Thanks for your support.

Josh