Haiti – Documentary Field Notes and Flashpoints

‘Inside Disaster’ really delivers

It is a year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and just about every generalist television network has been broadcasting special programming. I found most of it to be competently done and well-meaning, but extremely predictable and pretty superficial.

This is the curse of television. Just wait till the 10th anniversary of September 11th later this year. Millions of dollars will be spent on reporters and television crews lining up to broadcast from Ground Zero, and I could tell you already what they will say. Meanwhile, how much coverage is there of the millions of people who have perished in Congo over the last five years?

Fortunately, for this earthquake anniversary, there were a few exceptions from the run-of-the-mill. Radio-Canada’s news channel RDI broadcast a documentary by Réal Barnabé and Dominique Morisette who had gone back to meet the people and places featured in Radio-Canada’s first ever reportage from Haiti (done by the grand dame of Quebec télévision journalism, Judith Jasmin). Pourquoi Haiti? became Pourquoi pas Haiti? (Why Not Haiti?) and it was interesting to see that some of today’s key players on the country’s political scene were already active back then.

Frontline (PBS) showed an interesting look at the policing situation in Port-au-Prince, where the criminals who escaped the crumbling prisons in the aftermath of the quake have taken refuge in the emergency tent camps where they are rebuilding their gangs and taking control.

But the best programs are broadcast on TVO: the series Inside Disaster, directed by Nadine Pequenza and produced by Andrea Nemtin and Ian Dunbar at PTV productions in Toronto. I already congratulated them on their sense of initiative a year ago and I am very happy to see that they have really delivered. The authors of the series have also wisely decided to look beyond the disaster towards the long-term challenges of reconstruction – we haven’t seen that part yet.

Paul Adlaf - sound — Shooting 'Inside Disaster'

Nadine's ear phone — Dir. Nadine Pequenza

This is terrific documentary work, not just news reporting. We are truly inside the biggest humanitarian relief effort ever, focusing on the Red Cross and some really great characters – Jean-Pierre Taschereau who leads the huge team is just one of them – as they struggle against overwhelming odds to get water, food and medical help to the victims of the quake. You are really there with them, experiencing their challenges, difficulties and emotions.

The shooting and editing are excellent, and the website that accompanies the project is exemplary, giving you information about the earthquake, about ‘humanitarianism’ and emergency relief efforts, and about the film. The companion blog Haiti-today goes in depth into the reconstruction effort, and there is also an interactive component to the site, where you can play the role of a victim, a journalist or a relief worker. I asked Tobi Elliott who helps me with this blog to try it out. Her comments in a few days.

Watch TVO’s Inside Disaster Haiti online here.

Broadcast times:

The last two episodes of the three-part series continue until this Friday, with re-broadcasts listed below:

Part II: Relief
Thursday, January 13 at 12:01 AM ET

Part III: Recovery
Thursday, January 13 at 9:01 PM ET
& Friday, January 14 at 12:01 AM ET

TVO will then repeat the series in Prime Time on
three consecutive Wednesdays at 9 pm:

Wednesday, January 26 (ep 1)
Wednesday, February 2 (ep 2)
Wednesday, February 9 (ep 3)

SCN will be airing the series in Saskatchewan Sunday, Jan 16, 23 and 30 at 8:00pm & again at 10:00pm

Thanks to Tobi Elliott for her help with this blog.

Happy (stress-free) holidays!

Bigger presents from Haiti — Items from my present cupboard

I just wrote a very serious blog post, but I decided to save it til after the holiday season. I can see that people are in a party mood, which is a good thing. Even though Christmas and New Year’s come in well after Halloween and Valentine’s in my own Holiday ratings, it is a good time to see family and friends.

What’s not so good is the shopping Frenzy out there. With Canadian’s personal indebtedness at an all-time high, do we need to spend a lot more money on a lot more stuff? And do we need the stress of near-impossible parking and shopping mall line-ups?

In my Swedish family, present-giving has always been important. My mother, for one, always made beautiful packages for carefully chosen books or home-made textiles, a tradition now kept up by my sister Eva.

I like giving presents too, but I can’t stand Christmas shopping, and I have a system to avoid it. It’s the Present Cupboard. (Comes in handy for birthdays too.) All year, as I travel – or even just walk around town – I keep my eyes open for good presents. Although I won’t turn down a good sale with reduced prices, I have a big preference for buying things directly from people who make them, so I know where the money is going.

Small presents from Haiti — Inexpensive presents: the wrecked-car key rings on the right are from ATSA - the subject of my film Art en Action. You can find other presents on their website.

It seems to me this is more important than ever these days when arts and crafts are under attack from governments. If you buy something from a local artist or artisan, you are helping them stay alive and keep doing what they do best. There are also the special stores which sell fair trade presents, a great way to support cooperatives in poor countries. Many NGOs also sell fair-trade presents on-line.

And then there are great ways to contribute to good causes around the world, and ear-marking your donation as a present for a friend. This is mostly what I’ll do this year, because this has been such a terrible year for the people of Haiti.

So I will buy most of my ‘presents’ from Doctors Without Borders – you can buy cholera medicine, or pay for a day’s salary for a nurse or doctor. And I’ll make a contribution to Democracy Now!, for its great alternative news coverage totally independent of the multinational corporations who own most of the other media. ATSA is another excellent (and local!) group of engaged artists and citizens.

Boring, too ‘politically correct,’ moralistic? Some commentators in the mainstream media think so. If you asked the doctors on the frontlines in areas stricken by disaster, I think there perspective would be different.

Joyeuses fêtes!

God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

Feliz Navidad!

Happy holidays to all!

Thanks to Tobi Elliott for her help with this blog.

Super-Grannies – and two shorts

The normal progression for a budding filmmaker has generally been from student films and shorty shorts towards longer shorts, and then medium-length films and finally feature length ones. Working on the short films, he or she would learn the ropes, learn how to use equipment and tell a story. Later on, with more resources, would come a bigger crew and competent technicians or co-creators.

Not so in my case. When I started making audiovisual stories for television, I already had many years of storytelling behind me as a radio producer. And as a television ‘producer’ (meaning actually director) at CBC and Radio-Canada television, I didn’t have the right to touch the equipment. I remember the editors saying to me, “You can screen the cut again while I’m on my break, but close the door and don’t tell anyone.” It was a co-conspiracy by the bosses and the union.

Things have changed a lot since then! Now, in the digital world, many television journalists and directors do their own shooting and editing.

And for my part, I am looking after the beginnings I never had as a filmmaker. Over the last couple of years, I have made my first short films. And they will be screening at the Park Cinema in Montreal, before my film Super-Grannies (subtitled version of ‘Les Super-Mémés’) from Oct. 18th to 22nd.

Here is a brief description of the three films – with apologies for the PR language!

Letter to Béthièle. (8 min. 2010) In French with English sub-titles.

In a touching visual letter to his adoptive daughter Béthièle on her 10th birthday, Montreal filmmaker Magnus Isacsson reflects on her roots in Haiti and his own in Sweden, drawing some surprising conclusions.

Sonny Joe & the casino. (22 min. 2004)

Sonny Joe Cross collects used clothes from the residents of the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake. He sells some in his store and gives the rest to the homeless and poor in nearby Montreal. A former hard-drinking gambler, Sonny Joe leads a suspense-filled campaign against a casino promoted by the band council.

Les super-mémés. (45 min. 2010.)

Decked out in gaudy shawls and outrageous hats brimming with a cacophony of colours, «Raging Grannies» defy the invisibility so often experienced by older women. They are a colourful presence at most demonstrations and grassroots meetings promoting peace, social justice and environment.

On the surface, they are amusing, even hilarious. But underneath that humorous veneer, they are deadly serious. The film does more than portray of the movement and its members. It raises universal issues very seldom addressed by the current media, such as the role of senior citizens in our society. “With this documentary film, I wanted to accomplish myself what these exceptional women do so well: entertain while forcing us to reflection,” says the filmmaker.

Production: Island Filmworks

Distribution: Vidéo Femmes

Thanks to Tobi Elliott for her help with the blog.