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It was five years ago today that I got the terrible news that Helen Hill had been murdered in her home. She will not be forgotten. A few months ago I had the decidedly bittersweet pleasure of viewing Helen’s final film, The Florestine Collection, which was completed by her husband Paul Gailiunas. A true labor [...]

Once again we interrupt our regularly scheduled investigations to draw your attention to a notable screening. The Florestine Collection Experimental animator Helen Hill found more than 100 handmade dresses in a trash pile on one Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans. She set out to make a film about the dressmaker, an elderly seamstress who [...]

So I went down to Michael’s house last night to watch Treme. I fully expected to see a commemoration of Dinerral Shavers, and that is how the show began. The funeral scene was moving. Nakita Shavers, playing herself, gave a heartbreaking eulogy for her brother. I read that she had to do that scene four [...]

Of course I will be hiking Saturday morning, and I encourage all to come with us, but there’s another event that deserves your attention. The aim is to raise the funds necessary to finish Helen Hill’s final film. The hike may preclude my attendance, but I’ll be showing a video there featuring Helen — the [...]

I recently got word that Helen Hill’s film Scratch and Crow has been named to the National Film Registry. Each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films to the registry that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant to be preserved for all time. These films are selected as works of enduring importance to American [...]

It was two years ago today that Helen‘s life came to an end, in circumstances too terrible to contemplate calmly. So we are spending a little time this morning remembering her life, and the light she brought to the lives of others. People often ask me if her killer was ever found. As far as [...]

I’m nearing the end of my project of excavating old images from the depths of my hard drive. There have been some interesting discoveries along the way. A few days ago, I found a set of photos I thought had been lost, from March 23rd, 2002. That’s when I made a road trip to Shreveport [...]

Today it’s been a year since Helen was killed, and like Cristin, I don’t know quite what to say. The superintendent of police was on TV last night saying that they had a suspect, but he couldn’t reveal anything more about the case. To be honest, my first thought was: He’s lying. It’s been a [...]

Please take a moment to contact your local PBS affiliate and ask them to air the film Helen Hill: Celebrating a Life in Film. You can get further information about how to do this here.

48 Hours Mystery will be running a show this weekend about Helen Hill and Dinerral Shavers and the general topic of violence in New Orleans. I spoke to the producers a couple of times. One producer told me he was disappointed by the seeming resignation of most of the people they’d interviewed. He was hoping [...]

There will be a segment about Helen Hill‘s unsolved murder case on America’s Most Wanted tomorrow night. I believe they’ll be using some video I shot of her jazz funeral. Also, Helen’s brother, Jake Hill, is in New Orleans to hold a meeting and press conference at the Sound Café (2700 Chartres) this afternoon (Sept. [...]

Francis Pop’s third birthday is approaching. My friend Andrea Christie is putting together a special gift called the Francis Pop Story Box. So, if you have any special memories of Helen Hill you’d like to share with her son, please check it out.

This morning on the way to work I stopped by Paul & Helen’s house in Mid-City. I didn’t plan it that way, it just happened because I was on a different route running an errand. I took a few moments to take a few pictures and shed a few tears. click photo for set We [...]

I believe the story in today’s paper is the 17th installment that Stephanie Bruno has written about our renovation: DESPITE SETBACKS, MID-CITY RESIDENTS HAMMERING AWAY Saturday, March 10, 2007 By Stephanie Bruno Contributing writer NOTE: When we last visited Bart Everson and Christy Paxson, work on their Mid-City home was progressing sporadically, and the recent [...]

Yesterday some friends were discussing their dreams of departed relatives. I reflected that I haven’t remembered any of my dreams for a long time. Then, last night, I dreamed that I was at a gathering of some sort. I was talking to a woman about all the songs that had been written about Helen Hill: [...]

This is New Orleans. This is how we live. This is how we die. Not everyone gets a jazz funeral. You have to be special. Yesterday’s mournful and joyous procession through the streets of the city was a testimony to an extraordinary woman, an extraordinary life. We will never forget Helen Hill. Helen’s funeral had [...]

Helen Hill had lots of friends here, and most of us couldn’t make it to her funeral in South Carolina. So I think tomorrow’s event is gonna be huge. There will be brass bands. There will be pig costumes. There will be vegan cupcakes. Ernie K-Doe’s hearse will be there. And check the cool poster. [...]

I was heartened to read a positive story on the front of today’s paper about Dr. Jeff Wiese, who drove around the country for months after Katrina and pretty much saved the residency program at the Tulane School of Medicine. Now the residents are trying to fill in the gap left by the closure of [...]

This just in from Kittee: Hey, ya’ll! We’re gonna do Helen up right with a big old jazz funeral in New Orleans. Can you believe it? The procession starts at Paul and Helen’s old place at 3438 Cleveland St. on Saturday, February 24. The procession forms at 12:30 p.m. and rolls at 1:00 p.m. sharp. [...]

I haven’t talked to Paul since he left New Orleans. I saw him only briefly in the lobby of the hotel by the airport, the night after Helen was killed. For the first time in my life I was literally at a loss for words. I just couldn’t think of a thing to say. So, [...]