Haiti Cultural Exchange

Fanmi M, Men Yo! at Photoville
2023-06-03 - 2023-06-18 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, 1 Water St, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, United States
Haiti Cultural Exchange is pleased to have curated this exhibition of Lakou NOU 2022 artist Steven Baboun’s work for this year’s Photoville Festival.

Photoville Festival runs June 3-18th
Opening Weekend June 3-4th
Brooklyn Bridge Park

Fanmi M, Men Yo! (“My Family, There They Are!”) is a series of abstract photographs of queer Haitians in history, culture, and the current reality. The work, created as a Lakou NOU 2022 artist-in-residence with Haiti Cultural Exchange, celebrates and acknowledges the fluidity of queer Haitians, honoring their ability to imagine and create kind futures for the queer community in New York, Haiti and around the world. Steven generated this work collaboratively with community members, weaving participants’ collective creativity into their respective art forms. Custom textile installations Photography, sculpture, and soundscapes are an homage to the Haitian Vodou Lwa’s, who watch over and guide LGBTQAI+ people. From the unbreakable love of Èzili Freda to the carefree and expressive nature of the Gede family, this project reflects the innovative, resilient, barrier-breaking qualities of our Lwa’s.

Steven Baboun is a queer artist from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, based in New York City. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Arts as well as a minor in Education Studies from American University and graduated from Parsons School of Design with a Master of Fine Arts in Photography. Baboun is a multimedia artist creating through photography, video, performance, and installation. His work confronts social and political topics in Haiti from polarizing and controversial issues to elevating the importance of Haitian culture and stories, family history, and immigration, queer rights, and more. Currently, Baboun is the founder and creative director of the creative house, Studio Baboun, based in Brooklyn, New York.

Curated by Régine M. Roumain and Emily Schiffer.

Haitian Flag Day Selebrasyon!
2023-05-16 17:00 - 20:00 UTC | Prospect Park Boat House, 101 East Dr., Brooklyn, New York, 11225
In celebration of the 220th anniversary of the Haitian Flag, Haiti Cultural Exchange in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance present a Haitian Flag Day Selebrasyon!
Join us Tuesday, May 16 at the Prospect Park Boathouse & Audubon Center

Featuring live music by the renowned songstress, Emeline Michel
Acoustic Ballads by Wooly Saint-Louis Jean and a dance performance by Robenson Mathurin & NANM Dance Company
Artisanal vendors, cooking demos and more!

VENDORS
Askayana Chocolate
Cantave de Saint Marc Coffee
Bonbon Lakay
Artisan Network
Grandchamps Restaurant

EMELINE MICHEL
Vocalist, songwriter, producer, and performer Emeline Michel is internationally acclaimed for creating her own musical style by infusing pop, jazz, blues, and traditional Haitian rhythms to create deeply moving and joyful music, which captivates audiences with a magnetic live show. A master entertainer, Michel has been sharing her message with audiences across Europe and the Americas for more than 20 years, with 12 musical albums, including appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall; The United Nations; Ontario’s Luminato Festival; Montreal International Jazz Festival; New Orleans Jazz Fest; Tasmania’s Ten Days On The Island; the Teatro del Silencio, where she performed with Andrea Bocelli and the Choir Voices of Haiti in Italy; Zimbabwe’s Harare International Arts Festival; and on MTV’s, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief fundraiser.
Hailed by the New York Times as a “Diplomat of Music” and “The dancing ambassador with a voice serene and warm like the breeze,” Michel first began singing with the gospel choir of the Church of Gonaïves, Haiti. She later studied at the Detroit Jazz Center and returned to Haiti, where she completed her first album before moving to France to hone in on her skills under the tutelage of legendary vocal coach, Richard Cross. Now based in New York City, she runs her own production company, Production Cheval de Feu, and is currently touring in support of her upcoming new album and autobiographical documentary highlighting her love of children and her country titled, The Aroma of My Land (2019). To witness an Emeline Michel show, is to experience passion, exuberance, love and genuine presence in music.

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Register Here»
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PLEASE NOTE:
RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Entry is first come, first served, so please make sure to come early if you’d like to grab a spot!

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Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard, in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the Park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. Learn more at www.prospectpark.org.

Drumming for Healing with Okai Fleurimont
2023-05-13 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Diaspora Community Services, 921 E New York Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11203
Haiti Cultural Exchange in collaboration with Diaspora Community Services presents Solidarity With Migrants
Drumming for Healing with Okai Fleurimont
The rhythms of Africa have traveled throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. Some rhythms have kept their original forms but others have transformed into other rhythms but still with the root of African cultures. We will be taking a musical trip throughout the western hemisphere to discover the similarities, differences and impact of African drumming in the Western Hemisphere.
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Tanbou pou gerizon ak Okai Fleurimont
Ritm Afrik yo te vwayaje nan tout Amerik yo ak Karayib la. Gen kèk ritm yo ki kenbe fòm orijinal yo men gen lòt ki transfòme nan lòt ritm men toujou ak rasin kilti Afriken yo. Nou pral fè yon vwayaj mizik nan Emisfè Lwès la pou dekouvri resanblans, diferans ak enpak tanbou Afriken nan Emisfè Lwès la.
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-MetroCard’s can be provided through Diaspora Community Services
-Light Refreshments will be served
Register Here »

"Nigeria Jones" by Ibi Zoboi Book Launch
2023-05-11 18:00 - 21:00 UTC | FiveMyles Gallery, 558 St. John’s Place, Brooklyn, New York, 11213
Haiti Cultural Exchange presents the NYC book launch of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Featuring Ibi Zoboi in conversation with Ola Ronke, in partnership with Café Con Libros and the FreeBlack Women’s Library

Thursday, May 11, 2023
FiveMyles Gallery
558 St. John’s Place, Brooklyn, Ny 11213
6-9 pm

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes a bold new YA coming-of-age story, which explores race and complicated family dynamics, about a seventeen-year-old girl whose father is the leader of a Black liberation group.

Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is home schooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want. Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe. As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family. From award-winning author Ibi Zoboi comes a powerful story about discovering who you are in the world—and fighting for that person—by having the courage to be your own revolution.

IBI ZOBOI
Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Star Child; Okoye to the People; the Walter Award–winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam; and the Coretta Scott King Honor–winning picture book The People Remember. She is also the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net

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Register Here »

Mizik Ayiti!
2023-05-06 | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue, Brookyln, NY, United States
Brooklyn Botanic Garden in partnership with Haiti Cultural Exchange present Mizik Ayiti!
May 6, 2023 |11:00am
Alexandra Jean-Joseph & Sky Menesky of Imamou Lele
Let’s take a journey to Haiti through the exploration of traditional games, songs, drumming and dance movement.
Alexandra Jean-Joseph is an educator, dancer and choreographer. As the Artistic Director of drum and dance ensemble Imamou Lele, she currently produces cultural material and folkloric works of Haiti through traditional dance. As a manbo of Haitian Vodou, she strives to preserve the connection between Haitian Folkloric Dance and Vodou rites and to promote dance as an experience where spirit and art meet. She currently practices with her spiritual family at Le Temple D’Olohoum in Queens, New York. Le Temple D’Olohoum is dedicated to the observance of Vodou in its most religious aspect. It focuses on creating a physical, mental, moral, and spiritual environment for the practice of Vodou.
Sky Menesky is an educator, percussionist, and cultural activist. He currently works as a middle school teacher in Brooklyn, New York while hosting “The Sky Menesky Podcast”. The podcast is a sans-frontiere radio program committed to promoting, defending, and educating Haitians and non-Haitians on the importance of Haiti, and advocating for cultural, economic, and political change in our community here within the diaspora. As the Music Director of drum and dance ensemble Imamou Lele, Sky aims to protect and promote Haiti’s folkloric traditions and continue to preserve Haiti’s cultural heritage through traditional songs and drum rhythms.
Imamou Lele is an ensemble of dancers, drummers, and vocalists sewn together in the spirit of Haiti. Under the artistic direction of Alexandra Jean-Joseph and the music direction of Sky Menesky, Imamou Lele aims to promote and preserve Haiti’s cultural heritage through traditional song, music, and movement. Imamou Lele’s latest work, featuring Alexandra and Sky, uses elements of traditional spiritual practice to explore womanhood within the context of society in Haiti and its diaspora.

May 6, 2023 |1:00pm
Buyu Ambroise & The Blues in Red Band present a fusion of jazz & Haitian rhythms.
Buyu Ambroise has performed in New York City with various ensembles for more than 20 years, playing usually Haitian Konpa music or Jazz. Buyu has worked with many notable Haitian groups in the New York Metropolitan area. He recorded with Ayizan, a landmark avant-garde Rara ensemble. He also led the band Freefall which included world renowned Latin percussionist Bobby Sanabria (currently leader of the group Asuncion and the former drummer in Mario Bauza’s big band). Freefall also featured the talents of eclectic jazz percussionist Mino Cinelu (formerly with Miles Davis, Sting, and Weather Report). Buyu has also worked in the Project Liberty Jazz Ensemble with drummer Ben Dixon. Despite a long absence from Haiti, his roots in Haitian culture remain strong. In his debut & sophomore albums Blues in Red (released in June 2004) & Marasa (released in December 2006), Buyu draws from the folkloric repertoire of Haitian music. Buyu could not resist the calling of infusing the similar African roots of both Haitian music and American Jazz into these story-telling melodies. Buyu has created a fruitful combination of traditional Afro-Haitian beats with the smooth improvisational grooves of enticing bass lines, melodic brass solos & piano explorations in styles that take after those of American Jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter.
Coming from a Jazz perspective, Buyu has revealed a natural relationship between the complex polyrhythmic structures in both the North American form and the Afro-Caribbean sound of traditional Haitian music. This fusion is the birth of a new musical style that encompasses the two and sustains the mix effortlessly.

MORE DATES AND PERFORMANCES TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Reserve FREE community tickets here »
This event is FREE with Garden Admission

Salon d'Ayiti
2023-04-28 - 2023-04-29 | The Center For Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11217
Haiti Cultural Exchange and The Center for Fiction are continuing collaboration to celebrate the work of Haitian authors and books on Haiti. Join us on April 28 and 29 for a weekend of book signings, select readings, panel discussions and Q&A’s.

Friday, April 28th, 6 pm – 9 pm
Opening Night!
Saturday, April 29th, 11 am – 4 pm
Select readings and discussions in English, French, and Kreyòl throughout the day!

More details and registration here »
Please note there will be no translations for French & Kreyòl programming.
$10 suggested donation to support Haitian arts & culture. DONATE HERE »

Mentally Rejuvenate with Glenda Lezeau
2023-04-15 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Diaspora Community Services, 921 E New York Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11203
Haiti Cultural Exchange in collaboration with Diaspora Community Services presents Solidarity With Migrants
Mentally Rejuvenate with Glenda Lezeau
“This workshop will allow participants to tap from within and rejuvenate their minds. I will incorporate visualization exercises, meditation, and mindfulness exercises (i.e. deep breathing, puzzles, etc). I will also incorporate my signature letter writing activity where participants will write loving and healing letters to themselves. These letters will provide insight while tapping into their inner wisdom. Throughout the workshop, I will create space for open discussions. The workshop will end with a quick movement/dance exercise. (Most likely Konpa 🙂 )”
— Glenda Lezeau
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Mantalman rajenisman ak Glenda Lezeau
“Atelye sa a pral pèmèt patisipan yo al cheche anndan yo pou rajenisman lespri yo. Mwen pral enkòpore egzèsis vizyalizasyon, meditasyon, ak egzèsis atansyon (sa vle di respire pwofon, elatriye). Mwen pral tou enkòpore aktivite ekri lèt, kote patisipan yo pral ekri lèt renmen ak gerizon pou tèt yo. Lèt sa yo pral bay yon lide sa ki anndan yo. Pandan tout atelye a, mwen pral kreye espas pou diskisyon lib. Atelye a pral fini ak yon mouvman rapid / egzèsis dans. (Dans Konpa)”
— Glenda Lezeau
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-MetroCard’s can be provided through Diaspora Community Services
-Light Refreshments will be served
Register Here »

Radical Self-Care with Phadia Jean-Pierre
2023-04-01 13:00 - 15:00 UTC | Diaspora Community Services, 921 E New York Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11203
Haiti Cultural Exchange in collaboration with Diaspora Community Services presents Solidarity With Migrants
Radical Self-Care: Mental Health and Breathwork Workshop with Phadia Jean-Pierre
Our wellness has been impacted socially, politically, mentally, and medically creating challenges on how we show up for ourselves. SWITCH models support and uplift you to embrace your healing, gain new perspective, and practice radical self-care. When we allow ourselves to heal we become empowered to reduce our stress and connect with our mind, body, and soul. It’s time to improve your wellness by activating your energy within and shine. Radical Self-Care is now.
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Oto-Swen Radikal: Atelye Sante Mantal ak Respirasyon ak Phadia Jean-Pierre
Byennèt nou te afekte sosyalman, politikman, mantalman, ak medikalman epi kreye defi sou fason nou parèt pou tèt nou. Modèl SWITCH pèmèt ou sipòte, leve epi anbrase gerizon ou, jwenn nouvo pèspektiv, epi pratike swen tèt ou radikal. Lè nou pèmèt tèt nou geri nou vin gen pouvwa pou diminye estrès nou epi konekte ak lespri nou, kò, ak nanm nou. Li lè pou amelyore byennèt pandan wap aktive enèji anndan ou epi briye. Oto-swen radikal se kounye a.
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-MetroCard’s can be provided through Diaspora Community Services
-Light Refreshments will be served
REGISTER HERE »

Salon D'Ayiti
2023-02-11 14:00 - 18:00 UTC | The Center For Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11217
Haiti Cultural Exchange and The Center for Fiction are collaborating to celebrate the work of Haitian authors and books on Haiti. Community of all ages are invited to The Center for Fiction to engage with texts and authors through book signings, readings, panel discussions and Q&A’s.
Join us for the first event of our Haitian Literary Series: Salon d’Ayiti featuring the editors of The Haiti Reader: History, Culture & Politics
This afternoon at The Center for Fiction will feature select readings, panel discussion, Q&A, and a reception with the editors of The Haiti Reader: History, Culture & Politics.
$10 Suggested Donation REGISTER HERE »
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During the month of February, recent Haitian literary work will be featured for purchase in The Center for Fiction bookstore.
Save the Date for the second event in this series happening April 28 and 29, 2023
This will be a tri-lingual series, with programming in English, French, and Kreyòl.

Journaling for Remembering your Honorable Ancestors with Linda Duverne
2023-01-21 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Diaspora Community Services, 921 E New York Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11203
Haiti Cultural Exchange in collaboration with Diaspora Community Services presents Solidarity With Migrants
Journaling for Remembering your Honorable Ancestors with Linda Duverne
Feeling the need to meditate and journal about your relationship with your ancestor(s)whether you knew them or not? What would you say to them if they were in front of you?What do you wish to learn from them? Our time together will remind us that remembering where we came from is essential to remembering who we are.
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Jounal pou Sonje Zansèt Onorab ou yo ak Linda Duverne
Ou santi ou bezwen medite ak ekri sou relasyon ou ak zansèt ou (yo) si ou te konnen yo oswa ou pat konnen yo? Kisa ou ta di yo si yo te devan ou? Ki sa ou vle aprann nan men yo? Tan nou ansanm ap raple nou ke sonje kote nou soti se esansyèl pou sonje ki moun nou ye.
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-MetroCard’s can be provided through Diaspora Community Services
-Light Refreshments will be served
REGISTER NOW

The Body Work System with Guerdley Caju
2023-01-07 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Diaspora Community Services, 921 E New York Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11203
Haiti Cultural Exchange, in collaboration with Diaspora Community Services, presents Solidarity with Migrants
The Body Work System with Guerdley Cajus
In this dance and movement wellness workshop we’ll learn how to break through the self-silencing tendencies of internalized shame so that you can tune into the voice of your inner truth and express it with authenticity and audacity!
MetroCard’s can be provided through Diaspora Community Services
Light Refreshments will be served
**Registration for this event is FULL**

Lakou NOU Culminating Event
2022-12-03 18:00 - 21:00 UTC | BKLYN Commons, 495 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11225
Join us for the 2022 Lakou NOU culminating event on Saturday December 3rd at BKLYN Commons!
The 2022 Lakou NOU culminating event demonstrates the sheer resistance and power within Brooklyn’s Haitian diasporic community. Four unique projects by the 2022 Lakou NOU artists-in-residence examine crucial issues on the minds of many Haitians: the Haitian queer experience, immigration policy, language and identity, and what it means to be Black and Haitian in America. This free event presents the artists’ work in conversation with each other, demonstrating how these topics are intersectional.
Unlike traditional artmaking, where an artistic creation amplifies a sole artists’ perspective, Lakou NOU residents generated this work collaboratively with community members, weaving participants’ collective creativity into their respective art forms. The Lakou NOU culminating showcase will include visual art installations and photography by Steven Baboun, audio soundscapes by Lalin St. Juste, a live musical performance by Sherlee Skai, and a live dance performance by Robenson Mathurin.
The artists projects are as follows:
Steven Baboun (Canarsie): Fanmi M, Men Yo! (“My Family, There They Are!” in Haitian Kreyòl) is a series of photographs, sculptures and sound pieces birthed and inspired by the Haitian Queer community and reality. Each textile sculpture features a sound piece created collaboratively with participants in the Haitian Queer Educational and Artmaking workshop facilitated during Steven’s Lakou NOU residency.
Robenson Mathurin (Crown Heights): Koulè M Idantite M (My Skin, My Identity in English), is a dance workshop series that reflects on the complexity of Black identity in different societies and, specifically, as part of the immigrant experience. Community members engage workshops in which they discuss: what does it mean to live, survive, and thrive in your own Black skin?
Lalin St. Juste (East Flatbush): Mother Tongue, a multidimensional performance utilizing the soundscape of conversations around Kreyòl Ayisyen to interpret the celebratory and complex relationship to this language for Haitians throughout the diaspora.
Sherlee Skai (Flatbush): Conversation Through Music combines community conversation, storytelling, and acoustic ballads (shaped by multicultural influences from Haitian folklore to American jazz and soul); the aim is to raise awareness of immigration rights and advocate for justice centered policies for Haitian migrants.

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE »

Koulè M Idantite M — A Lakou NOU Artist Event
2022-11-20 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Gibney 280 Broadway, 53a Chambers Street, New York, New York, 10007
Koulè M Idantite M (My Skin, My Identity) is a reflection on the complexity of black identity as part of the Caribbean immigrant experience.
Performance and Dialogue with Robenson Mathurin, a Lakou Nou 2022 Artist.
“Koulè M Idantite M” (My Skin, My Identity in English), is a reflection on the complexity of black identity in different societies and, specifically, as part of the immigrant experience. “Koulè M Idantite M” invites black immigrant Crown Heights community members to engage in dance and choreography workshops that helped express their inner thoughts and helped to prime discussion of the question: what does it mean to live, survive, and thrive in your own black skin? The result of these workshops helped to create new choreography and performance.
The performance of this work will feature invited dance artists, project participants sharing their testimonies and stories, live Haitian drumming, recorded music, and possibly video projection. The public showing will also be followed by a public Q&A.
All visitors will be required to show their proof of full COVID-19 vaccination in order to access the Sign in App and enter Gibney Center. Gibney Center requires that you provide proof of vaccination at least 72 hours  in advance using this form.

RSVP here »
Learn more about Robenson Mathurin’s Lakou NOU residency here »

Allies For Haitian Migrants; A Lakou NOU Artist Event
2022-10-28 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, New York
https://haiticulturalx.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Del-Rio-MP3.mp3

Murder in Pacot
2022-06-26 20:00 - 22:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this:Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

MURDER IN PACOT* | Film | 130 Minutes | 8:00pm
*Pacot is the name of an upscale neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Director: Raoul Peck
Film in French & Haitian Creole w/ English Sub-Titles.
After the terrible January 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, an intellectual bourgeois couple struggles to reinvent a life amid the rubbles of their luxurious home. Needing money to survive, the couple decides to rent the remaining habitable part of the villa to “Alex”, a high-level foreign relief worker. He brings with him in the house, Andrémise, an ambitious 17 years old Haitian girl of modest background. Now the couple, strained by the loss of their social position, their ideals, their dreams and desires must face this toxic intrusion.

Stateless
2022-06-26 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this: Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

Stateless | Documentary | 97 Minutes | 6:00pm
Director: Michèle Stephenson
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless.

Jacques Stephen Alexis & How (Not) To Build A School
2022-06-26 14:00 - 18:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this: Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

***Doors open at 1:00pm | Screenings begin at 2:00pm
Jacques Stephen Alexis, Dead without a Burial Site | Documentary | 95 Minutes | 2:00pm Director: Arnold Antonin
Film in French and Haitian Creole w/ English and Spanish subtitles
Jacques Stephen Alexis is one of the most prominent writers of Haiti and the Caribbean. Coming back to Haiti in 1961 after a long journey abroad, the author of “General Sun, My Brother” and “In the Blink of an Eyelid” is kidnapped on François Duvalier’s orders and has been missing since then as well as four of his companions. This film shows the efforts to find records and decipher the mystery of his dis-appearance.

How (not) to Build a School in Haiti | Documentary | 91 Minutes | 4:00pm
Director: Jack C. Newell
Development, history, and colonialism collide when a seemingly simple aid project spirals out of control in Haiti. Headstrong American Tim Myers clashes with Haitian leader Anselme Saimplice, forcing a reckoning on privilege and power.

Post-Film Screening Q&A with Director

Zombi Child
2022-06-25 20:00 - 22:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this: Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

Zombi Child | Film | 103 Minutes | 8:00pmDirector: Bertrand Bonello
***Film is in French w/ English Subtitles
Haiti, 1962. A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. In Paris, 55 years later, at the prestigious Légion d’honneur boarding school, a Haitian girl con-fesses an old family secret to a group of new friends – never imagining that this strange tale will conVince a heartbroken classmate to do the unthinkable.

Spotlight on Haiti with Pierre-Michel Jean
2022-06-25 17:00 - 19:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this: Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

*** Films are in Haitian Creole w/ English Subtitles
Portrait of a Filmmaker with His Cat | Documentary | 5 MinutesDirector: Pierre-Michel Jean
My phone is like the black box of my life. I take it out of my pocket to memorize the slightest swirls of reality that challenge me. Retroactively, whole sections of my life can be told in this way. A few weeks before the global pandemic, I returned from a trip to Europe. This change of places, contexts of atmospheres and the sudden fear of the outside I wanted to show all that with my phone video archives. How the love of what I do, the love to inform others allows us to surpass ourselves.

Say Forgetting as a Lie /L’oublie pour Mensonge | Documentary | 33 minutesDirector : Pierre-Michel Jean
October 1937, the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo massacred more than 20,000 Haitian immigrants in the North of the Dominican Republic. A genocide passed over in silence that the Domin-ican government still does not recognize today. Before the memories fade, child witnesses and survi-vors of this appalling massacre more than eight decades later tell fragments of their story. As a re-minder to ward off the present and guard against the future.

Towo La Cou| Documentary | 65 minutes
Director: Pierre-Michel Jean
Every year at Easter, the heirs of the musical Rara Group ‘‘Towo La Cou’’ barely manage to pay the musicians and thus honor the tradition of their father: bringing the group to downtown Léogâne and defends the colors of Acul, their small village. This documentary film follows ‘‘Towo La Cou’’, a story of a whole community of destinies suspended by the toll of the high cost of living and a visceral need for music.

Post-Film Screening Q&A with Director & Filmmaker Guetty Félin

Kafe Negro & Madan Sara
2022-06-25 14:00 - 17:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this : Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

***Doors open at 1h pm | Screenings begin at 2:00pm
Kafe Negro: Cuba & The Haitian Revolution | Documentary | 52 Minutes | 2:00pm
Documentary in French and Spanish w/English subtitles
Director: Mario Delatour
Kafe Negro: Cuba & The Haitian Revolution is a film that explores the social, economic & historical ramification of the Haitian Revolution on Cuba. This film tells the story of the waves of migration of Haitian workers who, over time, profoundly transformed the culture and demography of Cuba and developed coffee growing on the island.

Madan Sara | Documentary| 50 Minutes | 3:00pm
Director: Etant Dupain
Documentary in Haitian Creole w/English subtitles
The documentary tells the stories of these indefatigable women who work at the margins to make Haiti’s economy run. It amplifies the calls of the Madan Sara as they speak directly to society to share their dreams for a more just Haiti.
Post-Film Screening Q&A with Director

Spotlight on Brooklyn & Haiti Filmmakers
2022-06-24 18:00 - 22:00 UTC | The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY, 10007, United States
SOLD OUT
Haiti Film Fest is presenting the diversity, depth and vibrant spirit of the Haitian people through contemporary cinema.

About this event

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange produces the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in collaboration with Les Lumières du Sud.
HAITI FILM FEST SCREENINGS
Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
The Flea Theater (The Sam) | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
Screenings will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars.
$10 suggested donation for film screenings. RSVP REQUIRED.
See full schedule by clicking on this : Haiti Film Fest 2022 Schedule

**Doors Open at 5:00pm| Screenings begin promptly at 6:00pm
Haiti Film Fest: SPOTLIGHT ON BROOKLYN FILMMAKERS
Dyaspora. Haitians Abroad: Exploring Language and Identity| Documentary| 39 Minutes | 6:00pm
Directors: Emmanuella Aristil, Nancy Fenelon
This short documentary Dyaspora. Haitians Abroad: Exploring Language and Identity, is looking into the subject of identity, language and duality within the Haitian American community. Through personal perspectives within the NYC diaspora, the directors seek to broaden the discussion and gain insight to this very question.
The Rain and The River | Short Film| 31 Minutes | 6:45pm
Director: Jean Lodescar Jr.
In the short film, The Rain And The River, an overly passive man (Alexander) who yearns to live life and find love must first battle his self-doubt and overbearing mother (Marie). Alexander grapples with barriers placed on him in his life and contemplates adversity. Underneath it all is strength and courage rooted in his ancestors…a strength he didn’t know he had.
Kay La Mande Wouze | Documentary | 8 Minutes | 7:15pm
Director: Jessica St. Vil Ulysse
When we as the Diaspora look at our motherland, we look at this ongoing narrative of civil unrest, in-justice, and in-equality and then we take a look at our lives here in the U.S. and realize we are battling some of those same issues; What are to do? The Film explore through movement where we as POC can draw from the strengthen our efforts to the idea of confronting these discriminations? How do we begin to spark change within ourselves and within our communities? Kay la Mande Wouze? There is a need of change. There is a need for a revolution. What role will YOU play in it?
Elena| Documentary | 30 Minutes | 7:30pm
Director : Michèle Stephenson
Spanish and Haitian Creole with w/ English Subtitles
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless.
Post-Film Screening Q & A with Directors

Haiti Film Fest : SPOTLIGHT ON HAITI with Rachelle Salnave & Marc Henry Valmond
Films are in Haitian Creole w/ English Subtitles
Men nan Men| Documentary | 15 Minutes | 8:00 pm
Director: Wilson Edmond
Inspired by the hit TV show “Orange is the New Black,” a young woman from Haiti galvanizes her friends to teach female prisoners Arts and crafts activities with the intentions of bringing them hope. Through the solidarity of her community, Men Nan Men is a documentary that follows Estella’s experiences working with women in the prison system and gives voice to this forgotten population.
The Vocation| Documentary | 8 Minutes| 8:20 pm
Director : Estaïlove St-Val
Bertho, a 34-year-old young man runs an arts and culture organization in Pétion-Ville, Haiti in the hopes of creating change in his neighborhood and keeping the youth out of the streets.
Eskwad | Documentary| 12 Minutes|8:40 pm
Director : Keziah Jean
Weeks after the Earthquake, Eskwad captures a small grassroots organization in Haiti at the center of authentic community development. Eskwad captures Haitians using unity as their key ingredient in cultivating sustainability in the agro-industry.
Madame Pipi | USA, LABADIE-HAITI | Documentary | 9:00 pm
Director : Rachelle Salnave
Madame Pipi follows the personal journeys of female Haitian bathroom attendants in Miami’s hottest nightclubs and their support to Haiti through their tips.
Post-Film Screening Q&A with Directors

Haiti Film Fest Opening Night
2022-06-23 19:00 - 23:00 UTC | Nitehawk Cinema – Prospect Park, 188 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, New York, 11215, United States
Ticket sales have ended

Sales have ended for this event and we are currently sold out. No tickets will be sold at the door. Please be sure to join us for the remainder of the Haiti Film Fest (June 24 – 26) at the Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY 10007. For more information visit: www.haiticulturalx.org

Haiti Cultural Exchange presents the 5th edition of Haiti Film Fest OPENING NIGHT screening with FREDA, by Director Gessica Généus

ABOUT THIS EVENT

In 2022, Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX) will produce the 5th Biennial Haiti Film Fest in partnership with Les Lumières du Sud.
Join us for the Brooklyn Premiere Screening of FREDA, by Director Gessica Généus, in partnership with SaNosi Productions, Ayizan Productions & Merveilles Production.
Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at Nitehawk Cinemas, Prospect Park West featuring a Q & A with Gessica Généus.
“FREDA lives with her family in a poor neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. They make ends meet thanks to their small street shop. Faced with precarious living conditions and the rise in violence in Haiti, each of them wonders whether to stay or leave. Freda, however, wants to believe in the future of her country.”
Haiti Film Fest was established by Haiti Cultural Exchange in 2011 and has featured a diverse array of films, from award winning full-length features to compelling shorts, by emerging and established filmmakers from throughout the US, Haiti, Canada, Cuba, and Europe. Over the past four installments, the festival has drawn an English, French, and Creole speaking audience of over 3,000, connecting our diverse community to stories of exile, trauma, identity, and belonging.
Opening Night: Thurs, June 23rd 7-9pm
After Party 9pm-11pm
Nitehawk Cinemas, 188 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215
**Film is in Haitian Creole & French, Sub-Tilted in English.
**To help support Haiti Film Fest, please plan to purchase a minimum of $25 worth of food/beverage during the film screening**
**Cash bar for after party*

Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26
Haiti Film Fest Screenings at The Flea Theater: 20 Thomas Street, New York, NY 10007

Mizik Ayiti! at Zanmi Restaurant featuring Buyu Ambroise & The Blues in Red Band
2022-05-29 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Zamni Restaurant, 1206 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, United States

Mizik Ayiti! at Lakou CAFÉ
2022-05-29 13:00 - 15:00 UTC | Lakou Café, 195 Utica Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, United States

Mizik Ayiti! at Grandchamps featuring Okai Musik
2022-05-27 18:00 - 21:00 UTC | Grandchamps, 197 Patchen Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, United States

Mizik Ayiti! featuring Sherlee Skai singing acoustic ballads
2022-05-07 15:00 - 16:00 UTC | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue, Brookyln, NY, United States
Presenting World Music singer-songwriter Sherlee Skai who brings a unique sound shaped by multicultural influences from Haitian folklore to American jazz and soul. She sings from the heart combining art, story,and song in perfect unison.
Based in New York where she graced the stages of Harlem Week, New-York Marathon, and more, Sherlee Skai’s music celebrates her origin and culture, shares her vision as an immigrant, a woman standing in front of life, hence the title of her album “TOUTOUNI” (Bare Naked).
Sherlee is a politically active and engaged artist and makes it her duty to promote Haitian culture and bringawarenesstothesocial and politicalissues inHaiti.

Haitian Drumming & Dance by Imamou Lele
2022-05-07 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue, Brookyln, NY, United States
Joins us for a family centered workshop for all ages!
Alexandra Jean-Joseph is an educator, dancer and choreographer. As the Artistic Director of drum and dance ensemble Imamou Lele, she currently produces cultural material and folkloric works of Haiti through traditional dance. As a manbo of Haitian Vodou, she strives to preserve the connection between Haitian Folkloric Dance and Vodou rites and to promote dance as an experience where spirit and art meet. She currently practices with her spiritual family at Le Temple D’Olohoum in Queens, New York. Le Temple D’Olohoumis dedicated to the observance of Vodou in its most religious aspect. It focuses on creating a physical, mental, moral, and spiritual environment for the practice of Vodou.
Sky Menesky is an educator, percussionist, and cultural activist. He currently works as a middle school teacher in Brooklyn, New York while hosting “The Sky Menesky Podcast”. The podcast is a sans-frontiere radio program committed to promoting, defending, and educating Haitians and non-Haitians on the importance of Haiti, and advocating for cultural, economic, and political change in our community here within the diaspora.As the Music Director of drum and dance ensemble Imamou Lele, Sky aims to protect and promote Haiti’s folkloric traditions and continue to preserve Haiti’s cultural heritage through traditional songs and drum rhythms.

Mizik Ayiti! at DRINK LOUNGE featuring DJ Serge Negri
2022-04-28 18:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Drink Lounge, 768 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, United States

Mizik Ayiti! featuring Obed Jean-Loui
2022-04-23 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Avenue, Brookyln, NY, United States
Free with Garden Admission
Obed Jean-Louisis a singer/songwriter born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. His exposure to an array of musical styles permeating the Island such as Rasin (traditional Haitian rhythms) Gospel, Konpa, Reggae, Jazz, and Pop, have inspired his creativity and fueled his desire to express and share his music.In the late 90s, Obedleft Haiti for New York.Shortly after his arrival he found himself in a school of artists and teachers such as Jowee Omicil, Nedelka Prescod, Lisa Harris, Beethova Obas, NY All Stars & the legendary Haitian band Tabou Combo whom he had the privilege of touring & recording with on their “Taboulogy”album. He has also been featured on “Atis Pou Ayiti”, celebrating Haiti’s independence Bicentennial, with artists such as Ralph Tamar and Eddy François. Over the years, Obed is humbled to have graced many of New York’s main stage venues such as Le Poisson Rouge, Joe’s Pub, SOB’s, BAM Café, The Brooklyn Museum, and Bay Street Theater, along with numerous other venues around the Metropolitan area including the Blue Note Jazz Bar,opening for soul songstress Mavis Swann Pool & Soul Understated.
Obed is currently working on the release of his first album, bridging his various musical influences, sharing his story as a Haitian immigrant in “Ladeo Sankofa”, as he tilts, turns, reaches back, and reclaims his musical heritage in a fusion of Creole & English songs, expressing a love of Haitian Culture and the joy of FREEDOM for everyone.
