SYNOPSIS:
The Leone family has recently suffered the cruelest and most senseless of losses in that of their youngest child. Trapped in the floodwaters of a horrific storm, 6-year-old Billy Leone has drowned. The family is struggling to stay together, and yet all the while they are cracking apart at the seams. Amid the staggering chaos reaped by Hurricane Katrina, we witness the redemptive power of their love and devotion to one another. In a ruined city of drowned hopes and lost dreams, they’ll have to rebuild their home, face down their demons, and take back their lives. But in a neighborhood without walls, where a family’s problems can be put on display, these tasks become ever more complex. An incident of misplaced rage spurs a crisis that could tear them apart forever.

Even the strongest families - under great pressure and devastating loss - can rip apart. In The Lower 9th is the emotionally charged story of one such family. Yet even from the depths of despair, a second chance can always arise.

THE STORY:
For one troubled family, from the depths of despair, a second chance will arise. Even the strongest families - under great pressure and devastating loss - can rip apart. In The Lower 9th is the emotionally charged story of one such family. The Leone family has just suffered the cruelest and most senseless of losses in that of their youngest child. Trapped in the floodwaters of a horrific storm, 6-year-old Billy Leone has drowned. The family is struggling to stay together, and yet all the while they are cracking apart at the seams. Amid the staggering chaos reaped by Hurricane Katrina, we witness the redemptive power of their love and devotion to one another. In a ruined city of drowned hopes and lost dreams, they’ll have to rebuild their home, face down their demons, and take back their lives. But in a neighborhood without walls, where a family’s problems can be put on display, these tasks become ever more complex.

Seen through the eyes of father Stan, mother Elaine, teenage Rhonda, and 10-year-old Jimmy Leone; there are four sides to this family’s story.

For Stan Leone, the first step toward normalizing their lives lay in rebuilding the home they once happily shared. But the fever pitch of his obsessive construction will paradoxically destroy the family’s emotional foundation. Young Jimmy becomes an unfortunate target for Stan’s misplaced rage. One terrible mistake will set off a string of events that will threaten to tear them apart forever.

Elaine Leone will be forced out of her psychological black hole and into a struggle for personal betterment. Once empowered, she’ll take drastic measures to keep her family together.

The streetwise, tough talking teenage Rhonda Leone will have to grow up fast in order to pick up much of the family’s slack. Yet in doing so, she’ll run the risk of losing whatever last shreds of innocence may still remain in her.

It’s young Jimmy Leone who will bear the brunt of their struggles. He also will become the brightest beacon thru which the family’s love and hope will shine. But to lead his family out of their darkness, he’ll first have to journey through a system of broken homes in a dangerously ravaged city.

This gripping, fast paced, and timely story about overcoming unimaginable hardships, pays homage to the plight of present day New Orleans. As the city of New Orleans and the families living there get back up after being knocked down, so too will the Leone’s journey from darkness to light.