“If It Keeps Rainin'” – Backwater Flood documentary film in the works

Newlyweds William and Cara Bristow, along with brother Carson Bristow, have become a common site in the South Delta.

Carson’s long hair, his fancy Hollywood-looking sound equipment and his tall thin stance are usually accented by a large-brimmed summer straw hat. He, William and Cara stand out among the conservative farmers and senior citizens that make up the bulk of those affected by the Great Backwater Flood of 2019. Since March, the Bristows have been filming the flood and its impact on the citizens of the South Delta.

William, behind the camera, and Carson Bristow (photo by Cara Bristow)

“It was unbelievable​.” As William made his way up the historic Highway 61, he was having trouble taking everything in. The troubling part was the fact that he had not heard one thing about the current condition of the state he called home. Mile after mile, field after field, it all looked the same: a never ending lake. Just when the water seemed normal, an abandoned farm house sitting in the middle of a field brought things back to reality.  This is not how this is supposed to be. 

​After meeting up with a local farmer in Rolling Fork, Miss., the two went on a tour of the area, and William was given first hand information as to how urgent the situation was for the farmers of the lower Mississippi Delta. Fortunately, he had his camera with him, and he was able to film some of the catastrophe. After seeing the reaction of others when he showed them the flood footage, he decided he was going to tell this story. He immediately recruited the help of one of his greatest creative partners: his brother, Carson. It was in this context that “If It Keeps Rainin’ ” was born. The film name is inspired by the Kansas Joe McCoy song, “When the Levee Breaks.” – from the website of the film producers.

“The forgotten backwater—you can’t say it any better than that. That is what it is,” said Cara Bristow. “This is not OK. It’s not right. and we thought, you know, what can we do?”

What they did was start filming a documentary to show the world. They wanted to do it from the viewpoint of those affected by the flood. “As they navigate this crisis, we see their lives and link everything to it” said Producer William Bristow.

The lives of the flood victims have touched the film makers, as well. They spoke affectionately of Miss Peggy.

“Miss Peggy’s house is a total loss. She’s living in a camper. They’ve just found out that they are getting all the assistance they can get, ” said William Bristow.

“She remains so upbeat, so strong. Her faith carries her,” added Cara Bristow. But “we thought right now this … would be prime time for volunteers to be here and helping, and it’s like, where is everybody?”

The harsh reality of this flooding is that everyone showed up to help with sandbags. Now that the flood is over, there are some groups here to help, but not many. Team Rubicon was featured in the Vicksburg Daily News a couple of weeks ago along with the AmeriCorp kids. Local organizers are tying to find enough people to help to get Team Rubicon and their heavy equipment back to the South Delta, but at this time, there are not enough disaster reports turned in for Team Rubicon to return.

Regardless, “This community takes care of one another,” said Cara, to which Carson added, “My favorite part about this is when we’re filming on the side of the road and someone stops and says hey, my house is right here.” William completed the thought and said, “When you get done, come in and sit down for a second, grab a coke. That’s how we’ve met most of our characters. They’ll say, ‘have you met so and so?’ It’s just been a big snowball event.”

William Bristow and his camera in the hot and muggy Mississippi flood waters (photo by Cara Bristow).

The Bristow family is still filming and talking to folks affected by the flood, but they plan to wrap that up soon. By mid October they will be in post production and have their documentary film “If It Keeps Rainin'” out in January.

They want to do one of their first screenings at the Strand Theatre in Vicksburg. “The Strand has been very open about us coming to do that. That is very important to us. To have a communal feeling to it,” said Cara. “The goal would be to inform people. We want this to go national so people learn about this flood and that, maybe, gain support to stop this from happening again.”

A house in the South Delta surrounded by flood waters, dead animals with no place to go and a plea to finish the pumps.

@msfloodfilm

The title for the documentary was inspired by a recording from the Great Flood of 1927 by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, “When the Levee Breaks.“

When the Levee Breaks

Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie

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