Arnold Antonin in NYC

Fresh off being honored at the Haiti Film fest, prolific Haitian filmmaker Arnold Antonin will screen a couple more of his projects in New York city. On Tuesday May 16th and Wednesday May 17th, he will be at Brooklyn College first with "6 Femmes d'Exception" and then with "René Depestre: On ne Rate Pas Une Vie Eternelle". 

"Six Femmes d'Exception" centers 6 Haitian women, different in background, careers and experiences. 6 phenomenal women, exceptional in their own right: singer Emerante de Pradines, author and comedian Paulette Poujol Oriol, dancer Vivianne Gauthier, mid-wife Madeleine Desrosiers, writer Odette Roy Fombrun and concert pianist Micheline Laudun Denis. 

"René Depestre: On ne rate pas une vie eternelle" delves into the life and career of prominent Haitian poet and relentless activist Rene Depestre. Depestre has been exiled several times, was expelled from France, Prague, Cuba, just to name a few and was an arch nemesis of the Duvalier regime. Depestre is one of Haiti's pre-eminent poets and a long time communist and proponent of pan-africanism.

Catch both films and post screening Q & A sessions with the filmmaker this week in NYC!

 

'Serenade for Haiti'

"Serenade for Haiti" is one of the many gems at the Haiti Film Festival in NYC this weekend. The film has done well on the festival circuit, having screened at the Miami Film Festival, the River Run International Film Festival and DOC NYC.

The film elevates the efforts of a music school, its students and faculty's efforts to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake. From the film's website:

"When a catastrophic earthquake completely destroys the school in 2010, a stunned and devastated faculty and student body must pick up the pieces and find a way to adapt.  Devotion to each other and to the possibilities that the future still holds for them are expressed in the footage of children rehearsing in the rubble and in the rich musical heritage they have inherited.

Journeying into Haiti’s beautiful and diverse rural regions and venturing deep into the streets of Port-au-Prince before and after the 2010 earthquake, Serenade for Haiti brings to the screen an unforgettable and vivid tableau of this widely misunderstood country.  The soundtrack features the stunning music of Haiti's great composers who until this time have been largely unknown to international audiences."

"Serenad pou Ayiti" ap nan fim festival Ayiti nan Nou Yok Dimanch katoz Me a 12:30pm. Check out the trailer for the film below. Then mosey on to the HAITI CULTURAL XCHANGE's website for details.

Dudley Alexis' "Liberty in a Soup" returns to California!

Fresh off its screenings as an official selection of the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the Miami International Film Festival, "Liberty in a Soup" returns to Santa Barbara for a screening and Q & A with filmmaker Dudley Alexis at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Center for Black Studies Research. The screening is co-sponsored by the Multicultural Center and the Department of Global Studies. Watch the trailer below and be sure to catch the film in Santa Barbara on May 16th at 12:30pm. As an added treat, the Q & A will happen while the audience sips on delicious soup joumou!

4th biennial Haiti Film Festival is upon us!

The 4th biennial Haiti Film Festival is upon us! Some of the highlights of this year's lineup include Shirley Bruno's "Tezen, a tale of a young girl who falls in love with a fish; Jacquil Constant's "Haiti is a Nation of Artists", a documentary about the breadth of talent in Haiti; Jerry Lamothe's "Taking Chance", "Toussaint Louverture: Mirroir d'une societe by Cine Institute alumn Pierre Lucson Bellegarde; panel discussions with several filmmakers; an opening night fundraiser where actor/philanthropist Jimmy Jean-Louis, veteran filmmaker Arnold Antonin and Emmy winning "La Belle Vie" filmmaker Rachelle Salnave will all be honored. The festival kicks on only May 11th in NYC!

More info HERE

Haiti on "American Crime"

"American Crime" season 3 just wrapped! As usual, the show was riveting and quite timely. As the U.S. navigates one immigration executive order after another, ICE raids and detentions and mass protests, the series dove right in to tackle the subject of immigration. Season 3 addresses the plight of migrant workers and undocumented immigrants head on. It asks at what cost does this country get its "cheap" produce and other first world luxuries. And while the season opener focused on latinx undocumented immigrants, by episode 4 we are introduced to Gabrielle Durand, a Haitian nanny/au pair played brilliantly by French Martiniquan actress Mickaelle X. Bizet ("Florida Water"). The reality of Gabrielle, of so many Haitian immigrants and indeed immigrants in general, is caring for others' children while leaving their own behind, suffering abuse and having little to no recourse. That child, Yves is his name, played by talented and promising Haitian-American actor Jean Elie ("Rider", "Alvinnn and the Chipmunks") shows up in Episode 8 holding the letter he'd received from his mother where she detailed all the abuse she was enduring.

Gabrielle and Yves were not the main storylines of Season 3 but we're left wanting to see more of them. How and why did Gabrielle make the decision to leave her family? What becomes now of the Durand duo? How does Gabrielle heal from her scars both physical and emotional? It takes incredible acting ability to make an audience yearn for more when actors only have a couple of scenes per episode. Mickaelle X. Bizet and Jean Elie managed to do just that. Be sure to catch season 3 on ABC's website.
http://abc.go.com/shows/american-crime