Our first An n’ Pale | Café Conversation in Haiti was held on Febraury 27th, 2014 to a crowded theater of eager fans. Gessica Généus sat with Executive Director Régine M. Roumain to talk about her life in the film industry. The event held at FOKAL, allowed the audience to take a look at the young actor’s career. Gessica discussed her experience working in Haiti and the struggles and triumphs of a country with a powerful body of creatives that lacks the appropriate resources and support. She described working on Les Amours d’un Zombi by Arnold Antonin and how his process was so different because of the social and political implications of the film to Haitians and how the crew dynamic was so much more intimate than on her other film shoots abroad.
Click here to listen to our An n’ Pale | Café Conversation with actor Gessica Généus provided by Chokarella. (In Kreyol)
Gessica explained her appreciation for film as a medium because she felt it has the power to capture human nuance. Unlike stage, where one must be expressive enough for the audience to see and thus feel what’s going on all the way from the back of a theater, the camera offers a closeness that captures even the slightest emotion.
This closeness is something you can sense inside of Gessica, from her genial attitude towards the audience to her deep love of her country. As an actor that has been featured on screens abroad and holds undoubted talent that is well suited for cross-over, Gessica leans heavily on her Haitian heritage and seeks to continue to work in her country to promote cultural pride and the arts.
Her latest project, which puts her behind the camera rather than in front of it, is a mini-documentary series called Vizaj Nou. Through four vignettes, Généus reaches into these well-known artists’ backstory – an opportunity for them to share memories and instances that helped shape them.
Gessica previewed the first short documentary which featured playwright, poet, and visual artist Frankétienne. Shot on a rainy day in his home in Bel Air, Gessica tells the story of his spite-fueled transition from last to first in his class and how it triggered in him the need to stay that way — to fight and evolve for who he knew himself to be.
When asked why she selected artists from an older generation for the series, she replied that she feels the element of age plays a factor, these artists have a sense of urgency in their words, that there is something they want to say, that they must pass on.
For young artists seeking to stay inspired and creating, especially when it seems like too tough a road to traverse, Gessica says to seek out others — share your frustrations, creativity, and aspirations to keep motivated and inspired.
A special thank you to FOKAL for collaborating on our first ever HCX program in Haiti and to Chokarella and Carel Pedre for broadcasting our An n’ Pale | Café Conversation live during the program.
We look forward to screening the Vizaj Nou series as part of Selebrasyon! NYC’s festival of Haitian Arts & Culture, May 18- June 30th.
This An n’ Pale | Café Conversation took place on February 27, 2014 at FOKAL in Port-au-Prince.
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