Southern Miss Graduate Makes Huge Splash with First Feature Film (with photo)

[Newsguy]

Hattiesburg — During a sit-down interview with CNN, University of Southern Mississippi Mass Communication graduate and Air Force Reserve Sgt. Justin Pearce said sarcasm and a chance to test newly-purchased camera equipment sparked his highly-publicized film, “Katrina Diary.” The documentary captured the impending danger of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Pearce’s last-minute attempt to evade the storm and the aftermath of the biggest natural disaster to strike the United States in modern history.“Instead of boarding up the house and buying emergency supplies, my friends and I used the production equipment to film a sarcastic prediction of the storm's approach,” recalled Pearce, founder of the RedWireFilms production company.“We hopped in my truck and drove up and down the beach making ridiculous, exaggerated predictions of what a storm might do. Hurricane Camille in 1969 was the only brutal storm we had heard of, which was before our time, so the possibility of the devastation by Katrina was truly unimaginable to us,” said the 24-year old.However, after watching a few weather snippets, Pearce said the decision to evacuate hit him like a bolt of lightning. “Anyone who knows me could never imagine me missing an opportunity to get some footage, especially that of a huge hurricane, but I left town and never looked back,” said Pearce who fled to Alabama with his equipment in tow.“I'm thankful I did because Katrina demolished my house. Nothing was left but the steps leading up to the door.” Pearce lived at Moran's Art Studio, a historically registered art gallery owned and operated by his family just north of the Biloxi Lighthouse. His grandfather was named one of America's top 10 artists in 1960. Despite losing priceless artwork and generations of hard work to Katrina, Pearce refused to relish in self pity and instead focused on relief efforts creating the Biloxi Rescue and Recovery Fund. Thousands of dollars worth of gas, water and supplies were raised and delivered to random people in need throughout the Gulf Coast.Captivated by the resiliency of Katrina’s victims, Pearce picked up his camera and again began filming. He said making the documentary proved to be therapeutic for the community and him.“I made a film that tells my story, from ignorance to pain to eventual acceptance, in hopes of inspiring others to appreciate life and the little things taken for granted, and to put closure on this chapter of my life,” said Pearce. The film has received glowing reviews and continues to garner an onslaught of media attention nationwide. It was screened at the University of Tennessee as part of their retrospective on hurricanes during Katrina's one-year anniversary. It also placed honorable mention at an international film festival, Twin Rivers Media Festival. And Pearce’s eye for photography produced two Katrina-inspired posters, one of the Biloxi Lighthouse and another of the Ocean Springs bridge which the hurricane destroyed. Representatives for the city of Biloxi presented his lighthouse poster to President George W. Bush during his trip to the area on Katrina's anniversary. Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour possesses Pearce’s Ocean Springs bridge poster. While the man who was named the Air Force Reserve’s Best Photojournalist in 2004 and 2005, and Best Sportswriter in 2005 seems to be well on his way to stardom, he has vowed never to lose sight of where it all began—his alma mater.“I wanted to be an actor ever since I watched ‘Home Alone’ in the movie theaters with my mom,” said Pearce, who at 14, landed a lead role in a Screen Actors’ Guild Independent Film, “Bayou Ghost.” “However, after Southern Miss exposed me to the possibilities of independent film production, everything changed.”“The tuition at Southern Miss was more than worth every penny as the university played a crucial role in my success in creating my production company and is ultimately responsible for the creation of my first film,” acknowledged Pearce. “Throughout the creation of my film and business, I thanked Southern Miss for the organizational communication skills taught by the speech communications department, which helped me analyze situations from multiple angles and successfully manage a project of this magnitude. Also, with publicity that has come with this project, I'm very thankful for the public speaking classes,” said Pearce. “When it came time for me and my colleague (James Pritchett) to put together “Katrina Diary's” DVD cover, I was thankful to the journalism department for the skills I learned which allowed me to write a synopsis that would grab a reader's attention. I was also able to put together press packets for distributors, as well as letters to DVD distributors, civic leaders, customers and more,” he added. Southern Miss Mass Communication Adjunct Professor David Bennett echoed Pearce’s sentiments calling him “one of the brightest students we’ve ever had.”Pearce’s production company is currently working on a reality television show pilot. Reviews of “Katrina Diary” can be found on Amazon.com. To learn more about the making of the film, please visit www.redwirefilms.com (http://www.redwirefilms.com/), or JustinPearce@redwirefilms.com (mailto:JustinPearce@redwirefilms.com). For more on information on Southern Miss’ School of Mass Communication and Journalism, please call 601.266.4258 or visit www.usm.edu/mcj/ (http://www.usm.edu/mcj/). Justin Pearce

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