In the absence of cinemas in Haiti, the organizers of the “Rencontres du documentary” festival had to improvise

In Haiti, “Documentary Meetings” takes place from December 15 to 21, 2024. The theme of this 6^e edition, Lost Territories, refers to the chaotic state of the country where gangs control more and more neighborhoods in the capital.

To be able to maintain this annual meeting, the organizers had to show imagination.

The festival began with a poetic performance by Ricardo Boucher in one of the displaced persons camps.

In Port-au-Prince, access to cinemas is impossible. The documentary screenings take place in improvised conditions in people’s homes, in camps for displaced people and in schools.

The organizers are offering 11 documentary films, the majority of which are the work of Haitian directors with themes that affect the country’s society.

There is “The Son” by Jérôme Clément-Wilz about the life of Raphaël, a Haitian child abandoned at birth who is adopted by a white sixty-year-old from Canada.

In his film, “Douvan day may arise“, director Gessica Généus seeks to understand”this disease of the soul” which is eating away at the Haitian people.

Deported, directed by Rachèle Magloire and Chantal Regnault, focuses on the fate of Haitians expelled from the United States after committing a crime to be sent back to their country of origin.

“The Violinist” by Richard Sénécal evokes the life of Stravensky who left Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to study in the Dominican Republic. There he remembers his passion for the violin and decides to learn to play.

“God willing” by Jean Jean recounts the life of Yuli, a Haitian who lived in the Dominican Republic for more than 35 years and who struggles to raise her children with dignity, despite her precarious immigration status.

This threat of dismissal and expulsion of people of Haitian origin who live in the Dominican Republic is still mentioned in the film.Massacre River” and in the documentary “Stateless persons” by Michele Stephenson.

Samuel Suffren’s short film, “Love, Sky, Ashes” will be broadcast as well as “The man on the docks” by Raoul Peck about Sarah’s childhood memories in Duvalier’s Haiti, a dark period of arbitrary violence and fear.

Joseph Odelyn, a Haitian photographer and member of CollectifKIT who provides images to international press agencies such as the Associated Press, organizes several photography workshops for women.

He also participates in talks organized online around the theme of Lost Territories, of this 6^e edition of “Documentary Meetings”.
The event was produced in partnership with KitMédias, the French Institute in Haiti, AyiboPost and the American/Jewish World Service.