MURDA CAPITAL documents the harsh reality of the ghettos of post-Katrina New Orleans. The murder rate continues to rise without any sign of slowing down. Artist , entrepreneur, designer, Financial Freedom Fighter and New Orleans native Zül-Qarnaįn, armed with only a camera sets out into New Orleans’ most treacherous projects to try to find out why the crescent city is so violent. Real people from the hood share their stories of how murder has affected their lives and shed insight on the root of the problem. A convicted murder, fresh from an eleven year prison sentence urges young people not to make the same mistakes he made. A mother mourns the losses of all four of her sons to gun violence. Zül-Qarnaįn travels from ward to ward, asking people from all parts of the city to come forward and speak out against violence. He visits an ex-killer who lies in a hospital bed after a man seeking revenge shot him with an AK-47. Zül-Qarnaįn gives us access to the part of New Orleans they don’t tell tourists about coming down for mardi gras. People tote their guns on camera, saying that they need them just to survive the day. Teenagers all wanting to be the number one head buster brag about the gangsta lifestyle. However, it soon becomes clear that these are not crazed lunatics, but real human beings, raised in the most volatile environments. How do you tell a man who witnessed his first murder at eight years old to live a normal life? As one valence and magnolia resident puts it, you need to understand a person’s situation to understand why he does what he does. Just because he sells drugs, does not be he is a bad person. Some people in this city are responsible for their whole family and they are only fifteen years old. Still, hope is not lost. Rappers who have made it out of the struggle come back to show that there is a better life out there. No matter what life situation one is in, everyone in MURDA CAPITAL is united through one common thread: they are New Orleanians. Directors: Zül-Qarnaįn, Michael Goetz Cinematography: Kwame Nantambu Executive producer: Kwame Nantambu Editor: Michael Goetz