|
 
Haiti: Moving Images
presented by
Skidmore College
&
The Saratoga Film Forum
Schedule of Events
Thursday,
September 30
The Saratoga Film Forum:
Special Opening Night Gala!
7 p.m. Opening Reception
Join us as we kick
off the second Saratoga Film Festival- Haiti: Moving Images.
Wine and cheese will be served. The event will include greetings
from festival sponsors, and an introduction to the opening
film, Jonathan Demme’s The Agronomist.
8 p.m. The Agronomist
From Academy-Award winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme (The Silence
of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Beloved), The Agronomist is a
compelling documentary that tells the story of Jean Dominique,
a journalist, freedom fighter, and Haitian national hero.
As owner and operator of his nation’s oldest and only
free radio station, Dominique was frequently at odds with
Haiti’s various repressive governments and spent much
of the 80’s and early 90’s in exile in New York.
Dominique fought tirelessly against his country’s overwhelming
injustice, oppression, and poverty—until his shocking
and still-unsolved assassination in April, 2000. The Agronomist
compiles more than a decade’s worth of material—including
extensive original interview footage conducted by Demme over
the years—to celebrate this dynamic man and his legacy.†“A
thoroughly absorbing and deeply affecting portrait of an extraordinary
leader” (Ann Hornaday, Washington Post). In Creole, French
and English with English subtitles. (Rated PG-13 for some
violent images and brief nudity.)
PG-13, 120 min., USA, Dir. by Jonathan Demme, 2003
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID). There will be an encore screening
of The Agronomist on October 2 at 5 p.m.
Friday, October 1
Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery:
4:30 p.m. E Pluribus Unum
An energetic documentary that celebrates two contemporary
Haitian sculptors, EugÈne AndrÈ and Celeur Jean
Herard. Inspired by their native Voudou culture and Haitian
history, they use recycled materials to transform an area
of Port-au-Prince into an informal museum and vibrant workshop
(which they have named “E Plurinbis Uinum”—“out
of many, one”). The soundtrack is composed of snippets
of traditional Voudou songs mixed with ambient sounds.
In Creole with English subtitles.
Not Rated, 25 min., Haiti/France, Dir. By Maxence Denis, 2001
Free Admission.
5 p.m. Dreamers (Dr¯mmere)
Jurgen Leth is one of the leading figures in Danish cinema,
and in Dreamers, he turns his eye to Haitian art and artists.
Shot over a 20-year period, Leth’s documentary profiles
a wide variety of artists, who are portrayed as storytellers,
mystics and, yes, dreamers, whose attitudes and works are
characterized by not only talent, creativity, and, imagination,
but also optimism, a quality that has bestowed on them the
title “masters of the naÔf.” Among the artists
profiles are Andre Pierre, Philome Obin, Prospere Pierre Louis,
Louisiane Saint-Fleurant and Salnave Philippe-Auguste.
Not Rated, 45 min., Denmark, Dir. J¯rgen Leth, 2002
Free Admission.
5:45 Open Forum on Haitian Art
The screening of Dreamers is followed by an Open Forum with
Jerry Philogene at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery.
Jerry Philogene, Visiting Lecturer in the American Studies
Department at Skidmore College, will give a brief presentation
on the film and the history of Haiti’s art scene. Ms.
Philogene is completing a dissertation titled National Narratives
and Caribbean Identities: Haitian and Jamaican Modern Art
1930-1960
Free Admission.
Friday,
October 1
The Saratoga Film Forum:
8 p.m. Man By The Shore (L’homme sur les quais)
A political drama set in Haiti in the 1960s during the reign
of FranÁois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, The Man
On the Shore is told through the eyes of an eight-year-old
girl (and narrated by her older self looking back some 30
years later). Through Sarah, the horrors of political oppression
and tyranny are depicted not as dispassionate archival documentary
footage, but by their impact on one particular family. As
the story unfolds, we learn that Sarah (Jennifer Zubar) and
her two sisters have been sent to live with their grandmother
after their father—a military officer too weak to
fight Duvalier's henchmen (the Tontons Macoutes)—is forced
to flee the country with his wife. The girls seek shelter
in a local convent, but even that holy place is no sanctuary
from Janvier (Jean-Michel Martial), the vicious and corrupt
leader of the local Tonton militia.
Not rated, 105 min., France/Canada, Dir. Raoul Peck, 1993
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID).
Saturday, October 2
Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery:
NEW
JUST ADDED
 Writer-director
Raymond Cajuste comes to the Film Forum to screen and
discuss his film Voyage of Dreams.
12 noon Voyage of Dreams
A documentary on the plight of Haitian refugees
coming to US shores. Narrated by Ossie Davis and director
Raymond Cajuste, "Voyage of Dreams" tells the tragic
story of the Haitian refugees, the so-called boat people.
The film starkly documents why they left their homeland, their
perilous voyage at sea and their experience with American
justice. In 1984, "Voyage of Dreams" won the CEBA
Award (Communication Excellence to Black Audiences) in the
category of Independent Productions. Not rated, 30 min.,
USA/Haiti, Dir. Raymond Cajuste, 1984 Free Admission.
1 p.m. Hati: La Fin des ChimËres
Shot during the celebration of the Haitian Bicentennial in
early 2004, this documentary (whose title translates to “the
end of the chimeras” or “end of the idle fancies”)
encapsulates 200 years of Haitian history and the problems
that have plagued the nation since it won its independence
from France. The lessons of Haiti’s history are presented
as a backdrop against which to view recent events, in particular
the year in power and subsequent exile of Haitian president
Jean Bertrand Aristide.
Not rated, 70 min., France/Haiti, Dir. Charles Najman,
2004
Free Admission.
2:30 p.m. Bonjour La Rezone
Documentary that uses the rituals of preparing the traditional
Haitian New Year’s Day “soupe giraumou” (squash
soup) to chronicle the experiences of a group of expatriate
Haitians living in Paris.
Not Rated, 56 min., Haiti/France, Dir. Elsie Haas and
Nixon Amilcar, 2004
Free Admission.
3:30 Children Of Shadows
In Haiti, dire economic circumstances often require parents
to give away their children—sometimes as young as four
years old—to other families to work as unpaid domestic
servants, or slaves. The affecting documentary Children of
Shadows follows these children (called restavek children)
as they go through the endless daily cycle of cooking, washing,
sweeping, mopping, shopping, and running errands. In a series
of heartbreaking interviews, the children speak openly about
the lives they are forced to lead, while their “aunts”
(their adoptive caretakers) speak openly and proudly of the
backbreaking labor their restaveks d for them. Interviews
with peasant families shed light on the appalling conditions
that force these parents to give away their children. Children
of Shadows is narrated entirely by the people themselves in
their native Creole (with English subtitles).
Not Rated, 54 min., Haiti, Dir. Karin Kramer, XXXX
Free Admission.
Saturday,
October 2
The Saratoga Film Forum:
5 p.m. The Agronomist—Encore Screening
From Academy-Award winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme (The Silence
of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Beloved), The Agronomist is a
compelling documentary that tells the story of Jean Dominique,
a journalist, freedom fighter, and Haitian national hero.
As owner and operator of his nation’s oldest and only
free radio station, Dominique was frequently at odds with
Haiti’s various repressive governments and spent much
of the 80’s and early 90’s in exile in New York.
Dominique fought tirelessly against his country’s overwhelming
injustice, oppression, and poverty—until his shocking
and still-unsolved assassination in April, 2000. The Agronomist
compiles more than a decade’s worth of material—including
extensive original interview footage conducted by Demme over
the years—to celebrate this dynamic man and his legacy.†“A
thoroughly absorbing and deeply affecting portrait of an extraordinary
leader” (Ann Hornaday, Washington Post).
In Creole, French and English with English subtitles. (Rated
PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity.)
PG-13, 120 min., USA, Dir. by Jonathan Demme, 2003
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID).
Writer-director
Joe Brewster comes to the Film Forum to screen and discuss
his film The Keeper.
8 p.m. The Keeper
The Keeper is writer-director Joe Brewster’s debut film,
tackling issues of racial identity and moral responsibility.
Giancarlo Esposito (Do The Right Thing) stars as Paul Lamont,
a corrections and law student officer disillusioned by the
conditions at the grim Brooklyn House of Detention. Convinced
of the innocence of Jean Baptiste (Isaach de Bankole), a Haitian
immigrant accused of rape, Lamont posts his bail and gives
him a place to stay—despite the objections of his wife
(Regina Taylor). As Baptiste insinuates himself into their
lives, the Lamonts discover that no good deed goes unpunished.
Brewster himself is a psychiatrist-turned filmmaker, who worked
for a time in a Brooklyn prison.
Not Rated, 92 min., USA, Dir. Joe Brewster, 1995
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID).
Sunday, October 3
Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery:
12 p.m. Black Soul (¬me noir)
Encapsulating several hundred years of black history in 10
minutes, the animated short film Black Soul provides a fragmented,
impressionistic, and yet often hauntingly beautiful, view
of the African-American and African-Canadian experience. Black
Soul incorporates images of African ancestry, as well as the
iniquities of slavery and discrimination, and, ultimately,
a celebration of creativity. Black Soul was the winner of
the Golden Bear Award for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film
Festival and Best Animation Film at the Santa Barbara Film
Festival.
Not Rated, 10 min., Canada, Dir. Martine Chartrand, 2000
Free Admission.
12:10 p.m. Roussan Camille
This biographical documentary provides both a profile of the
life of famed Haitian poet Roussan Camille as well as a portrait
of—and homage to—Haitian capital Port-au-Prince
in its 1930s heyday. Mario Delatour’s 52-minute documentary
had its World Premiere at Montreal’s “Vues d’Afrique”
in April 2003.
In Creole and French with English subtitles.
Not Rated, 52 min., Haiti, Dir. Mario Delatour, 2003
Free Admission.
1:00 Panel Discussion
Discovering Haitian Film
Following the screening of Roussan Camille, Skidmore College
will present a panel discussion at the Tang Teaching Museum
and Art Gallery. The panel will explore cross-cultural dialogues
as they are represented in Haitian films, taking into account
representations of race and multiculturalism. Panelists will
include Eloise Briere from SUNY Albany, who organized the
Haitian Film Festival at Paige Hall last Spring. She is the
Undergraduate Program Director for French Studies and the
Chair of the Department of Literatures Languages and Cultures.
Other panelists include MichËle Stephenson, film director
and curator of the NYU Haitian Film Festival.
Free Admission.
2:00 p.m. Of Men and Gods (Des hommes et dieux)
Of Men and Gods is a compelling documentary that explores
the lifestyles of homosexuals and transvestites living in
Haiti, and especially their relationship with the Voudou religion,
which has no prohibitions on the practice of homosexuality.
Many gay Haitians find in Voudou an explanation of their sexuality,
and regard themselves as “children” of the gods
(especially Erzulie, the Goddess of Love) and are therefore
protected by them.
In Creole with English subtitles.
Not Rated, 52 min., Haiti/France, Dir. by Anne Lescot and
Laurence Magloire, 2002
Free Admission.
Sunday,
October 3
The Saratoga Film Forum:
3:30pm Port-au-Prince Is Mine
This documentary about Port-au-Prince, the capital city of
the Republic
of Haiti, depicts a portrait of a beleaguered city which has
been the victimof overpopulation, environmental degradation,
and lack of urban
infrastructure.
57 mins., Dir. Rigoberto López, 2000
Free Admission. .
4:30pm-MEET THE PRODUCER:Frantz
Voltaire
Frantz Voltaire, a distinguished political scientist, publisher,
producer, filmmaker and Director of CIDIHCA
(Centre International de Documentation et d'Information Haïtienne,
Caraïbéenne et Afro-Canadienne) will discuss the
film Port-au-Prince Is
Mine and answer questions following the film.
Free Admission.
5:30 p.m. The Comedians
With a screenplay adapted by Graham Greene (from his own novel),
and set in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, during the reign of “Papa
Doc” Duvalier, The Comedians stars Richard Burton as
Brown, a hotel owner trying to find a buyer for his hotel.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Paul Ford and Lillian Gish) are a pair
of hotel guests who want to open a vegetarian center in Haiti.
Major Jones (Alec Guinness) is an arms dealer claiming a military
background who is put in jail almost immediately upon entering
the country. Temporarily freed, Jones seeks asylum in the
embassy of South African ambassador Pineda and his wife (Peter
Ustinov and Elizabeth Taylor). When Jones threatens to interfere
in an affair that Brown is having with the ambassador’s
wife, Brown taunts Jones into boasting that he could overthrow
the government—which he then sets out to do. Not unexpectedly,
he is killed and, feeling contrite, Brown assembles a ragtag
band of rebels who hope to overthrow the Tontons Macoutes.
James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Raymond St. Jacques, and Roscoe
Lee Browne round out the cast.
Not Rated, 150 min., USA/France, Dir. Peter Glenville,
1967
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID).
8 p.m. Man By The Shore —Encore Screening
A political drama set in Haiti in the 1960s during the reign
of FranÁois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, The Man
On the Shore is told through the eyes of an eight-year-old
girl (and narrated by her older self looking back some 30
years later). Through Sarah, the horrors of political oppression
and tyranny are depicted not as dispassionate archival documentary
footage, but by their impact on one particular family. As
the story unfolds, we learn that Sarah (Jennifer Zubar) and
her two sisters have been sent to live with their grandmother
after their father—a military officer too weak to
fight Duvalier's henchmen (the Tontons Macoutes)—is forced
to flee the country with his wife. The girls seek shelter
in a local convent, but even that holy place is no sanctuary
from Janvier (Jean-Michel Martial), the vicious and corrupt
leader of the local Tonton militia.
Not rated, 105 min., France/Canada, Dir. Raoul Peck, 1993
$6 general admission/$4 Film Forum members. Free to Skidmore
students (with ID).
|
