Cinema
Haiti: The Way to Freedom
Ayiti, men chimen libète
Arnold Antonin · 1974
Synopsis
A documentary that traces the history of the Haitian people and their struggles for freedom, from the landing of Christopher Columbus to the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier. Opponents, among them Rodolphe Moïse, Ulrick Jolly and Justin Castera, speak out in it and call for unity and for the reconstruction of the country; the film sees itself as a political instrument, recalling past struggles in order to support those of the present.
Context
The film was shot in sixteen millimetre and in black and white, during its author's exile. Shown around the world as part of the mobilisation against the dictatorship, it was screened clandestinely, according to the CNC, and was aimed first of all at exiles. The CNC and the Barbican regard it as the first Haitian feature film. The sources give it a running time of ninety, ninety-two or one hundred and twenty minutes.
Who it is for
A feature-length black-and-white documentary, narrated in French with passages in Creole, which film archives still show with subtitles.
Prizes and reception
Prize of the Arab critics in Geneva in 1975 and special mention of the jury in Havana in 1983.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.