From the Duvalier Years through the 2004 Bicentennial

Abstract

This chapter surveys the history of Haitian cinema and the challenges that have prevented it from attaining the size of other national cinemas. It also discusses films related to the Haitian Revolution which were made by Haitians. These include documentaries and dramas debating the Revolution’s legacy (refracted either through the Duvalier era, the Bicentennial/Aristide era, or the 2010 earthquake), or celebrating revolutionary heroes from Toussaint Louverture to Catherine Flon. Though these films are less well-known than foreign films on the Revolution, they offer some of the best cinematic treatments of this event. The directors treated include Haiti’s most prominent filmmakers (Arnold Antonin and Raoul Peck), as well as diaspora filmmakers from Miami to Canada. The chapter also analyzes collaborations involving Haitian intellectuals working with French, Cuban, or North American directors. Haitians involved in such collaborations include Wyclef Jean, Lyonel Trouillot, Frantz Voltaire, Ralph Maingrette, and Dany Laferrière.