Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean : Haiti - Art, Film, and Vodou

In the tobacco province of Pinar del Rio he lends a hand to the guajieros, visits a cigar factory, and stays in the holiday resort built by Fidel Castro’s lover. Ian visits the site of the Bay of Pigs invasion and Che Guevara University before swimming with dolphins in Holguin, touring Santiago de Cuba, the country’s music capital, taking a trip to Dinosaur Land, a bizarre theme park built by criminals on community service, and climbing the Gran Piedra. He continues to Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti and oldest black republic in the world. After a quick visit to Jacmel to witness a cockfight, Ian gets involved in a peasant festival, is invited to a voodoo ceremony, and ends up at a spectacular citadel in Cap Haitian.

Each woman’s personal story explains neoliberal globalization, how it is gendered, and how it impacts Haiti. And while POTO MITAN offers an in-depth understanding of Haiti, its focus on women’s subjugation, worker exploitation, poverty, and resistance demonstrates that these are global struggles"

Children of Shadows follows the children as they go through their daily chores - the endless cycle of cooking, washing, sweeping, mopping, going to the market, or going to run errands. In heartbreaking interviews, the children speak openly and shyly about the lives they are forced to lead. Their "aunts" (adoptive caretakers) speak openly and proudly of the vast mountain of work that "their" restavek does for them. The camera goes deep into the countryside to interview the peasant families as to what kind of situation would force them to give away one or more of their children. Narrated entirely by the people themselves in their native Creole and with original Haitian music laced throughout the film, this affecting documentary is the first film to be made on a subject which, until recently, has never been talked about.

"Haiti is a poor country, but rich Haitian art came as a miracle out of nowhere. Stories, fantasies, voodoo the great inspiration, all the so-called naive painters of the first and second generation were self-taught, but not all of them were voodoo painters, some were doing everyday scenes or historical tableaux."

A slave revolt in 1791 and a second war against colonial France led to Haiti becoming the first independent black republic in 1804. After suffering under tyrants for decades, most recently the infamous Duvalier (Papa Doc) and his son, the Haitians finally elected Jean Bertrand Aristide, a reformer. Haiti's troubles continued when the military overthrew Aristide, although he later returned. The film focuses on some of the victims of the more than 40,000 human rights violations that have taken place in this troubled country. Death and injuries occur after clashes between Aristide supporters and the military, between the "new" police, the old police, and criminals .

Features exclusive interviews with Aristide, commentary from a wide range of supporters and critics, and glimpses inside strife-torn Haiti. Explores the tangled web of hope, deceit, and political violence that brought the world’s first black republic to its knees.

Includes presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the coup that removed him from power, and a discussion of the situation of Haitian refugees.

There is poverty, corruption and drug-trafficking in Haiti, while an economic boom linked to tourism has occurred in the Dominican Republic. The border is plagued by daily violence and tension. Formerly a thriving, prosperous French possession inhabited by descendants of African slaves, Haiti is now one of the poorest countries in the world. The film looks at the inhabitants of one Haitian town close to the border, Ouanaminthe, which is suffering severe economic, social, political and health crises.
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World History in Video - Alexander Street. Film Highlights, Search title: "Calls in the Caribbean: Introduction to Haiti"

Aristide served in 1991, from ’94 to ’96, and from 2001 to ’04, and in two out of three cases, he was unseated by coup. In 2000, Aristide won reelection by a staggering 91.8 percent of the vote. The Clinton administration denounced the elections and worked with the European Union to block a $440 million loan, as a result, conditions in Haiti quickly worsened. Aristide--whose demands for debt relief and other compensations rankled leaders from Washington to Paris--was deposed. United States officials claim that Aristide resigned; he claims that he was forcefully abducted by U.S. and French soldiers. This film gives a sober account of governmental misadventures largely ignored by the mainstream media, and of how Jean-Bertrand Aristide watches from exile as the world allows the country he loves so much to rot.