Report: ‘Selma’ Cast Teaming Up to Dramatize Hurricane Katrina

It’s been almost ten years since Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast of the United States and to commemorate the event, Selma director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo are reportedly teaming up to dramatize the historic storm.

DuVernay, who was essentially snubbed from Academy Awards consideration, will reportedly write, produce, and direct the Hurricane Katrina project.

“I’m thrilled to reunite with my Participant family on this project and fortunate to work again with the always exquisite David Oyelowo,” Duvernay said. “The story we’re interested in will explore the complexities of intimate relationships within times of chaos, while also examining the chaos itself. I’m looking forward to the journey.”

Participant Media is also onboard with the project, and will help to develop a narrative film, which will follow a love story and complex murder mystery set against the events of the devastating 2005 hurricane, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Participant Media’s Jonathan King, who will oversee production, spoke of reuniting with Duvernay and Oyelowo:

Hurricane Katrina is one of the most important social and environmental stories of our time. Ava DuVernay has shown herself to be highly skilled at bringing intimacy and contemporary urgency to epic events.

We have been looking for the right way to get back in business with Ava, and with David Oyelowo, and are proud to reteam with them on her original idea, which we believe will be a powerful film.

Duvernay previously responded to claims of historical inaccuracies in Selma, stating, “I think everyone sees history through their own lens, and I don’t begrudge anyone from wanting to see what they want to see. This is what I see. This is what we see. And that should be valid. I’m not gonna argue history; I could, but I won’t.”

Participant Media was also behind the 2006 Al Gore climate change film An Inconvenient Truth.