JACMEL, Haiti, Jan 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – In the Haitian port city of Jacmel,
watching a film is something of a labor of love.
At one recent seaside showing, the shadow of a palm tree fluttered in the
corner of the screen and the crashing waves could be heard during the quieter
parts of the movie.
But with no theaters to speak of in town, it was the best-case scenario —
and better than nothing.
Jacmel is hardly alone in its struggle to keep movies alive: due to the
widespread availability of pirated films, Haiti has been crossed off the list
for film distribution for more than a decade.
“Copies of major Hollywood studio films used to take three months to get
here,” explains Haitian director Richard Senecal.
“By then, television networks had time to pirate the films, broadcast them
and even show re-runs. The film was dead on arrival in cinemas.”
After that, Senecal recounts, “piracy reached the masses: Haitian films
were available on DVDs in the streets before their official premieres.”
Then came the devastating earthquake of January 2010.
Most of the remaining theaters in the impoverished Caribbean country,
concentrated in the capital Port-au-Prince, were destroyed.
Access to the basics — clean water and power — were not guaranteed, and
films were an afterthought.
It was the death knell for any talk of revival of Haiti’s movie houses.
In 2015 there was a glimmer of hope when the storied Triomphe theater-
cinema, which had closed in 1987, reopened thanks to $7 million in aid from
the state.
But that hope was quickly dashed when the country’s directors found
themselves refused when they asked to use the venue. Instead, only the
occasional government conference has taken place at the Triomphe.
– Standards –
Logistical difficulties have not discouraged those in the homegrown film
industry, who wrack their brains to come up with creative places for
screenings of both their work and foreign films.
One of those sites was the mega seaside screen in Jacmel, where director
Guetty Felin staged the opening events for the “Southern Lights” festival,
which this year was dedicated to African film.
“The lack of theaters is not the problem: the industry needs to have
standards. We don’t have a lot of money but why remain mediocre?” said Felin.
“That is the challenge we are taking up with the Southern Lights event:
screening quality films for people who are thirsty for cinema.”
Felin may be onto something: several dozen chairs were set up for the
festival’s opening night in Jacmel, but the crowd far exceeded expectations,
with many standing to watch the Zambian and Ivorian films on offer.
– ‘One-day shoot’ –
Without government subsidies or any real system of private sponsorship,
producing a film in Haiti is a painful, pricey experience that few complete.
Haitian filmmakers living abroad have more access to funding, but oddly,
they are not part of the movement to revive cinema in their home country.
“A producer in Miami who wanted a film called me and said, ‘Do what you
want, I have $5,000, give me something I can put on DVD in three weeks’,”
Senecal said bitterly.
“That’s a one-day shoot, and there are people willing to do it. Tasteless
films like that flood the DVD market, and kill it for those of us who are
more demanding in terms of quality.”
Malian director Souleymane Cisse, the guest of honor at the festival in
Jacmel, said he experienced similar funding dramas in his country, and came
to Haiti to plead his case.
“In Mali, when we pitched film ideas, embassies told us, ‘No, we have other
priorities.’ But supporting culture helps countries develop,” Cisse said.
“When culture is cut off at the knees, you effectively keep countries in
poverty,” added the 78-year-old filmmaker, who screened his movie “Yeelen
(Brightness),” which won the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
The handful of Haitian filmmakers gathered in Jacmel, conscious of the dire
situation their industry is in, refuse to throw in the towel and say they
will keep fighting the good fight.
“You have to be a bit bonkers to take on a challenge like the one we are
facing, but I don’t have a choice,” said Felin. “The Southern Lights festival
is my way of getting involved.”