intriguing

Jonathan Demme has picked up Dave Eggers’ “Zeitoun” with plans to make it into an animated feature.

“I was staring at the book,” Mr. Demme said in a telephone interview, “and there’s this wonderful line drawing on the cover, the character of Zeitoun in his canoe, paddling through a submerged neighborhood. And I suddenly imagined, What if we could do an animated film and visualize the experiences of the Zeitoun family and all of New Orleans?”

“Zeitoun” is bittersweet story of a family’s struggle during Hurricane Katrina, Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun.  while Kathy Zeitoun and their children fled the city before the storm, Abdulrahman Zeitoun stayed behind to care for their home, business, and rental properties.  Using a secondhand canoe to navigate the flooded New Orleans streets, Zeitoun checked in on neighbors, rescued strangers, delivered supplies, and cared for dogs left behind.  On September 6, 2005, Kathy lost contact with her husband when he was picked up on false charges of being an al Qaeda terrorist.

i finished the audio book of “Zeitoun” last month and was enthralled with the story.  Eggers successfully personalized a national tragedy with Zeitoun’s tale.  i am curious to see this book translated into a movie, especially an animated one.

posting by marin