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The Saratoga Film Forum has long held the belief that Saratoga Springs is a prime location for a top notch Film Festival. When we first applied for a challenge grant in 1997 for the then--titled Saratoga Film and Video Festival, we envisioned a community-driven event which celebrates the art, craft, and technique of film-making. We didn’t get that grant but the experience broadened our commitment to pursue the vision.

We have taken a page from our sister festival, The Lake Placid Film Festival, which began, like us, as a small film forum. They regularly screened quality work and began slowly developing an intimate, high quality film festival. The Saratoga Film Forum, with that same intent is building its own cinematic niche, using themed festivals to establish our credentials as Saratoga’s doorway to the world of cinema. This year, we are pleased to present the second Saratoga Film Festival, and we are again working with local organizations to bring the community an exciting and probing look at Haiti through the eyes of a diverse group of filmmakers.

Our intent is to keep building towards making this an internationally regarded Film Festival. By focusing on the craft - not the celebrity - of filmmaking, and by keeping in mind that the Saratoga arts and business community together provides the fertile ground in which we grow. We invite you to become part of the Film Forum’s exciting and expanding new film experience.

The 2004 Saratoga Film Festival- Haiti:Moving Images
presented by the Skidmore College and Saratoga Film Forum

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

In 1804, Haiti won its independence from France, making it the second country in the Americas—after the U.S.—to free itself from colonial rule. In 2004, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Haiti’s independence, the Latin American Studies Program at Skidmore College and the Saratoga Film Forum use the venue of the Saratoga Film Festival to present a weekend of films set in, filmed in, or about Haiti.

Perhaps we have heard more of Haiti this year because of this anniversary or because of the events that triggered Aristide’s resignation and exile, but there is much more to Haiti. Haiti has been the invisible among the invisible: a small part of an island in the Caribbean, with a black population facing discrimination by its neighbor, the Dominican Republic. It has a national identity that rests on African roots but a geographical location nestled in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The program we have planned will address the complexities of Haiti’s identity, and politics and its relation to the hemispheric forces that have shaped the nation over the past 200 years. With strong representation from both Haitian filmmakers and Haitian-themed films, this festival will engage in a dialogue about Haiti, its past, its present, and its future. We would like to help dispel the misconceptions and/or lack of knowledge about Haiti, and highlight a variety of aspects that might help us better understand and appreciate Haiti and its peoples.

Documentaries and dramatic features both play a role in this three-day event, the second film festival presented in Saratoga Springs. Showings are divided between two different Saratoga Springs venues:

• The Saratoga Film Forum at 320 Broadway
• The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College

Selected programs will include discussions; all speakers were not confirmed at presstime. Ticket information for each event is provided in the Schedule of Events.

The 2004 Saratoga Film Festival

Haiti: Moving Images is sponsored by