Documentary Description
More than a
documentary about a revolution, Haitians Fight For Freedom will reveal
the spiritual need for recognition by the United
States. We
will document a worldwide gathering of Haitians for the 200th year
anniversary that marks its independence in 2004 as they pilgrimage to
Savannah, Georgia and to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Haitians Fight For Freedom will highlight the efforts of the
Haitian community in Miami to erect a monument for the fallen Haitian
soldiers who fought in the Siege of Savannah in 1791.
Interviews with
Haitians will be conducted as they share their family history of the Haitian
Revolution. Their stories will be
presented in interviews and with archival photos and artwork, as well as with
diaries, memoirs and private photos.
At times, the action being described by the testimonials will be
re-created utilizing a camera and actor voiceovers for
dramatizations.
In so doing, these
people hope to transform their experiences of the revolution into a positive
action for world peace. Contact
with nearly hundreds of Haitians have been facilitated via a web site, which
the producers intend to expand in order to enhance the documentary and make an
educational component available to high school teachers and
students.
Audiences will be
exposed to the experiences of people from diverse parts of the globe that
continue to live the repercussions of what happened in
Haiti, Georgia, and Louisiana.
The various episodes
of the Haitian Revolution will be unified via the recurrent images of a
HAITIAN AMERICAN Man seen in the distance. He has left his tour group of fellow
Haitians who are visiting Savannah and the site of the Siege of Savannah. He comes closer to the site
overlooking the battlefield. For
years, he has been reading and thinking about what had happened on this
spot. As he ascends, sound
effects from the battle intrude on his thoughts. The Haitian Revolution emerges from
the fog. He sits down wearily on
a bench, and in his imagination he “sees” the centuries old battles unfolding
below him. He is an
Everyman. An African American
whose thoughts connect the varied experiences of the
revolution.
The HAITIAN AMERICAN
“relives” his ancestral experiences and what he’s heard and read of these
battles. This device gives the
producers the opportunity to link and expand the battle stories beyond a
straight chronology. For example,
in the beginning of the film as the HAITIAN AMERICAN climbs toward his perch
we segue to the Siege of Savannah memorial, to the museum that is being built,
to the battlefield in Haiti. The
Haitian are overheard talking about a plot to overtake the French, as we segue
to the documentation of the uprisings in Saint Domingue
(Haiti) explained by renowned scholar and historian,
Leslie Balan-Gaubert.
We then segue to the
HAITIAN AMERICAN as his thoughts turn to the final revolutionary battle in
Haiti, gives way to photos, paintings, and family
stories.
In our interview with
Balan-Gaubert, he described the slave uprisings in
Haiti.
Haitians Fight For
Freedom will be organized into
episodes each of which will feature a historical account of the major events
that directly affected the United
States.
·
Haitian Revolution
·
Haitians helped to
liberate other slaves bound for America.
·
Siege of
Savannah
·
Louisiana
Purchase
·
United
States government embargoes
Haiti
·
200 years of
independence, where do they go from
here?