Haiti Film Fest 2017
By Destiny Jackson – Communications & Outreach Coordinator
Through over 25 shorts, documentaries and narrative features in just four days, Haiti Film Fest 2017 was an epic cinematic adventure! It was wonderful to see so many members of the HCX community, and new faces as well, at the festival’s screenings, panels and networking receptions. A special thank you the filmmakers as well as our funders, Advisory Committee Members, Opening Night Host Committee and Media partners, panel moderators, and volunteers. This biennial festival would not be possible without your generous support. Take a look below for a full recap of the 2017 festival and click here to view the full film fest schedule.
Opening Night Fundraiser
We kicked off the festival on Thursday, May 11th with our Opening Night Fundraiser at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The event was hosted by Midwin Charles, founder of the law firm Midwin Charles & Associates LLC and a Contributor at Essence Magazine. Doors opened at 7PM and as guests entered the venue they posed for our photographers Claire J. Saintil and Liz Gauthier, and were treated to a Haiti Film Fest tote bag, complimentary cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres.
The event started off with The Last Haiti: The Moving Portraits by Steven Baboun and a sneak peek of Tezen by Shirley Bruno. Both films are phenomenal representations of Haitian cinema and set the stage for the many screenings that would follow in the days to come. Next, we awarded the honorees of the night: Rachelle Salnave, Jimmy Jean-Louis, and Arnold Antonin. While accepting their awards, Salnave spoke passionately about the importance of creating content that exposes the beauty of Haiti and Antonin expressed the difficulties of creating films in the Haitian context and thanked HCX for its support in the dissemination of Haitian films. Unfortunately, Jean-Louis was unable to be in attendance due to an unforseen contractual obligation, but photographer Marc Baptiste accepted the honor on his behalf, and thanks to technology Jean-Louis was able to share a few words via video chat. During his speech, he emphasized the importance of finding ways to support young Haitian artists and their dreams because he would not be where he is today without the support of others.
The event ended with a few words from Paul Beaubrun, a Haitian musician who emphasized the importance of organizations such as HCX whose support of artists allows opportunities such as his touring with Ms. Lauryn Hill. He stated that the local support he received from HCX is what has allowed him to take his musical career to a global level – and encouraged attendees to donate to HCX in order to support organizations artists of Haiti and the Diaspora. Following the event, the afterparty took place at the Alamo’s House of Wax where guests mingled and celebrated the kickoff to Haiti Film Fest 2017 until the wee hours of the morning!
Evening of Shorts
Five Myles Gallery was packed for our Friday night Evening of Shorts, a night dedicated to supporting young and emerging filmmakers. The event was filled with enchanting short films that delivered big messages. From the excitement of young love to the pain of family separation – each film showcased universal human themes that were infused with the unique spirit of Haitian culture.
The night started off with Christie Koralane Augustin’s Carpe Diem, a lighthearted romantic comedy about a young man named Andre who has a crush on a lovely librarian named Sasha. The film scored many laughs with the audience and stirred up nostalgic feelings of being young and in love. Next, was the art film, The Last Haiti: The Moving Portraits by Steven Baboun, the film showcased beautiful and emotion filled “moving portraits” of Haitians and Haiti. Following that were the docu-shorts, Toussaint Louverture: Miroie d’une Societe by Pierre Lucson Bellegarde and Haiti is A Nation of Artists by Jacquil Constant, the first provided the audience with a quick, in-depth glimpse into the world of the famous Haitian leader and the latter exposed the beauty and culture of Haiti through the eyes of artists. After that was, Elegy for Stivenson Magloire by Edouard Eloi & Shalom Gorewitz, this short focused on the paintings and life contours of the Haitian artist, Stivenson Magloire. Up next was Rosario Lacroix’s Valiz La, a lighthearted modern silent short that takes us on fun adventure through the streets of Haiti, as we follow the travels of a magical bag. Trailing that was, Taking Chance by Jerry Lamothe and Haitian Son by Marc-Eddy Loriston, both films explored themes related to the difficulty of living in an urban area and having to make life altering decisions for survival. And then there was the film, Baldwin’s Prophecy by Richard Louissaint, narrated by James Baldwin this short gave the audience a dance interpretation of the mental impressions that happen when interacting with police enforcement. After that, the audience was taken on an emotional rollercoaster with the short, Les Pleureurs by Michelle Marrion; the short focuses on a hired crier who has trouble emoting due to her traumatic past. And rounding out the evening was Minutes to Say Hi by Easmanie Michel and See(ah) by André M. Zachary – Michel’s film showed the point-of-view of a child having to adjust to a new life in Brooklyn after leaving Haiti and Zachary’s film captures the beauty of the Crown Heights and conflicted feelings around so-called progress in the community through the lens of a seer woman.
We ended the evening with a networking reception at Franklin Park, where guests were able to network with the creators of the films.
Documentary Filmmaking in Haiti
Saturday, May 13th was dedicated to Documentary Filmmaking in Haiti! Although there was a rainstorm, that did not stop many from coming to enjoy the diverse documentaries we had lined up that day at St. Francis College. The first half of the day was filled with the following four New York premieres whose film topics ranged from the importance of taking care of the environment to the power of music to transform lives:
La Déchirure by Feguenson Hermogène
El Violinista by Richard Sénéchal
De Kiskeya a Haiti : Mais Où Sont Passés Nos Arbres by Mario L. Delatour
La Dérive Douce D’un Enfant de Petit Goave by Pedro Ruiz
Following that, we had a keynote discussion featuring Arnold Antonin, a prolific Haitian film director, who is known for his social, political and cultural commitment to Haiti. The panel was hosted by digital content creator, Frtiz Archer and also included filmmakers Rachèle Magloire and Jacquil Constant. After the panel discussion held a special tribute to Arnold Anotonin’s films, including Faiseur de Fanaux, Courage de Femme; Benita et Merina, Herby, le Jazz et la Musique Haïtienne and the New York premiere of Rene Depestre On Ne Rate Pas Une Vie Eternelle.
Haiti Film Fest Closing Day
We ended the Haiti Film Fest 2017 with a bang! For the Closing Day, we screened six films and had two filmmaker panel discussions. The first filmmaker panel discussion was moderated by multimedia journalist, Manolia Charlotin and included three powerhouse women in cinema: Guetty Felin, Shirley Bruno and Christy McGill. The second filmmaker panel discussion focused on the experiences of immigration across the Haitian diaspora and its portrayal in cinema, the panel was moderated by Alice Backer and included Jean Jean, Rachèle Magloire, Tyler Johnson and Papa Jah. Below is a list of the films that screened for the festival’s Closing Day:
Serenade for Haiti by Owsley Brown
Tezin by Shirley Bruno
Ayiti Mon Amour by Guetty Felin
My Father’s Land by Miquel Galofre & Tyler Johnson
Si Bondye Vle, Yuli by Jean Jean
The Empty Box by Claudia Santa-Luce
Thank you to everyone who came out and showed support – none of this would be possible without you.
Click here to take a look through the Haiti Film Fest 2017 photos.
The 4th Biennial Haiti Film Fest took place May 11-14, 2017.
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