=?x-unknown?q?26661=3A__Arthur_=28news=29_Festival_Film_Jakm?==?x-unknown?q?=E8l_2005_=28fwd=29?=

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Extract from FOSAJ October 2005 Newsletter Issue 4

Fondation Sant D'A Jakmel (FOSAJ)

9th-16th July - Festival Film JakmÃl 2005

This year's festival was a huge success thanks to all who helped put it
together. Even the two threatening hurricanes didnât deter the will to keep it all
going according to plan. With over 50,000 people who attended throughout the
week, the town of Jacmel was alive and kicking. Like last year, all screenings
were open to the public and free of charge. The daytime screenings took place
in three makeshift theaters around town and the festivalâs feature
presentations took place under the stars each night. A giant outdoor screen set up in
front of the sea attracted thousands of families, students, market vendors,
laborers, peasants, aid workers, diplomats and visiting foreign filmmakers, all
gathering to watch films that have been lent free of charge by such companies as
Bac Films, HBO Films, Dreamworks SKG, and Sony Pictures Classics. This year, a
closing night concert for over 8,000 spectators featured one of Haitiâs most
popular bands, Jahnesta.

Featuring 95 films from 30 countries the 2005 festival welcomed acclaimed
directors Raoul Peck (Sometimes in April), and Jeff Zimbalist (Favela Rising) in
addition to presenting award winning films such as Hotel Rwanda (Terry
George), Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles), Maria Full of Grace (Josh Marston), The
Agronomist (Jonathan Demme), Comme une Image (AgnÃs Jaoui), Le GoÃt de Jeunnes
Filles (John LâÃcuyer) and House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou). Beyond the
screenings, the festival also presented daily film workshops hosted by
visiting filmmakers, including Haitian-born Mr. Peck and Dany LafÃrriere. The focus
of the workshops ran the gamut of subjects, from screenwriting to casting to
actual production.

In addition to offering locals a temporary respite from their daily
struggles, the festival offers wide exposure and global education through film. As
filmmaker Zimbalist remarks, âWith the exchanges that stem from watching a movie
like Favela Rising in a place like Jacmel, one can see the potential for media
to be a vehicle for very real change.â With over 50% illiteracy and dramatic
unemployment in Haiti, the festival employs dozens of locals, including a
theater troupe that dubbed 12 films from their original language into Creole,
Haitiâs most widely spoken language. Through employment and attracting enough
visitors to pack local hotels, the festivalâs financial impact on the local economy
is increasingly significant.

In order to make some of the most important foreign language films accessible
to the thousands in attendance at the nightly outdoor screenings, a special
staff of Festival Film Jakmel worked for months in advance to translate,
record, and mix those films into Haitian Creole. Due to Haitiâs high illiteracy rate
and the large percentage of the local population who only speak Creole, this
process of dubbing films into the local language was deemed essential in order
to fulfill our mission of bringing films from around the world to the people.

Participating in this process were members of a local theater group from
Jacmel, whom we used to read and record the Creole translations. The entire
process - from translations to recording, mixing and re-mastering of these films
-was accomplished locally in Jacmel.

The total attendance for the eight days of Festival Film Jakmel was 55, 681
spectators. During the day some 21,361 spectators attended over the eight day
period. The evening open air projections totaled 33, 000 spectators over the
eight days with an average of 4,125 per evening. There was such a demand for the
workshops that it was impossible to accommodate everybody. The workshops were
coordinated and managed by Guetty Felin. This yearâs edition featured a bevy
of distinguished award-winning professionals in the filmmaking industry;
kicking off with novelist/director, Danny LafÃrriere who presented a workshop on
bringing "the Novel to the screenâ. The next day they got a double treat with
Nigerian filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu and New Yorker J.T. Walker who animated a
workshop on lighting and framing where the students savored delectable film
excerpts of great works such as âSoy Cubaâ and âOrpheo Negroâ. Two days later and
back by popular demand, Andrew and J.T. returned and presented yet another
compelling workshop on casting and choosing the right actors.

Emerging young filmmakers from Guadeloupe, Janluk Stanislas and Jean Claude
Flamand Barny were also invited to share their experience in directing their
short film and making their first feature. The workshop ended with an astounding
rap session on âCinema dâAuteurâ hosted by none other than their very own
compatriot and internationally acclaimed filmmaker, Raoul Peck. By the end of
the 5-day session, the students had written film treatments, synopsis and
scripts, acquired skills on lighting, camera placement and framing and also filmed
and directed some improvised scenes.

Contact and feedback:
5-7 Rue St Anne, Jacmel, Haiti.
Tel/Fax: (509) 288 2071.
Email : info@fosaj.ht
Website: www.fosaj.ht

___________________

Forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group - solidarity with the
Haitian people's struggle for human rights, participatory democracy and equitable
development - since 1992.

Web site: www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org