The Church on Dauphine Street The Story On August 29, 2005, Father Joe Benson watched Hurricane Katrina tear the roof off his church's historic parish building, just two years after a fire nearly destroyed the church itself. But Blessed Seelos Catholic Church sits on precious high ground in New Orleans' upper 9th Ward, which is why it was singled out for rebuilding by a Seattle-based band of volunteers—-who recruited volunteer union craftsmen in New Orleans and hammered, wired and painted their way right through another hurricane season. The rebuilding of Blessed Seelos church gives this feature-length documentary its physical frame. But The Church on Dauphine Street is about much more. It is about Father Joseph Benson, a Northern Irishman, and Arthine Vicks, an ex-Marine fluent in American Sign Language: two unlikely kindred spirits who are working to reunite one of New Orleans’ most unusual, most independent congregations. Blessed Seelos is home to the city's deaf Catholics and to many Spanish-speaking immigrants, making it trilingual and not like any other church in New Orleans. The Church on Dauphine Street is also about the volunteers and why they showed up. Jack vanHartesvelt, a post-Katrina “commuter” from Seattle charged with repairing and reopening one of his company’s New Orleans properties, also happened to have a history of leading volunteer rebuilding projects in challenging locations. Dana Colombo, a plumber whose own home in St. Bernard’s Parish was destroyed by Katrina, recruited a dozen union members, including his father Angelo, to volunteer for the Blessed Seelos rebuild. One of our objectives in making The Church on Dauphine Street was to capture the subtle rhythms of a neighborhood and its people still emerging from tragedy. Read more about why we made this film by clicking here. The Church on Dauphine Street Directed by Ann Hedreen and Rustin Thompson Written and Produced by Ann Hedreen Photographed and edited by Rustin Thompson Songs by Kelle J. Nelson- Brown Courville-McGee Waltz performed by Karen England and Al Berard Original music by Nick Thompson Additional music arranged by Rustin Thompson “Requiem” written and performed by Eliza Gilkyson Courtesy of Red House Records Running time: 83 minutes Directorsstatement.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
 
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