Ayiti Mon Amour
| Ayiti Mon Amour | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Guetty Felin |
| Written by | Guetty Felin |
| Produced by | Guetty Felin Hervé Cohen Jessica Anthony |
| Starring | Joakim Cohen Anisia Uzeyman |
| Cinematography | Hervé Cohen |
| Edited by | Stephane Vernet Augustin, Isabelle Devinck |
| Music by | Leyla McCalla |
| Distributed by | Europe: Orange Studio |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Haiti |
| Languages | Creole French English Japanese |
Ayiti Mon Amour is a 2016 Haitian drama film directed by Guetty Felin.[1] It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] It was selected as the Haitian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[3] It was the first time Haiti had sent a film for consideration for the Best Foreign Language film.[4]
Plot
A tale of magical realism unfolds in Haiti, five years after a cataclysmic earthquake. A teenager discovers he has a superpower, an old fisherman seeks a cure at sea for his sick wife, and a character tries to escape a story penned by her author.
Cast
- Joakim Cohen
- Anisia Uzeyman
- Jaures Andris
Production
Much of the cast and crew were drawn from Felin's family and local community: her husband, Hervé Cohen, served as cinematographer; her oldest son Yeelen acted as her assistant (and his girlfriend performed second camera duties); and her youngest son Joakim made his debut appearance in the film's starring role.[5] Felin sought to use natural light as much as possible, filming during the optimum hours of the day and harnessing the sun through reflectors, mirrors, and diffusers.[6]
The film was the first narrative feature shot entirely in Haiti by a Haitian woman director.[6] Felin's development of the film took place in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake; intended to be a film about "lost souls" more than a film about grief and loss, Ayiti Mon Amour drew from Haitian Vodou beliefs.[7]
The film was born out of grief and mourning. I wrote the first treatment on the heels of the devastating earthquake. At the same time I did not want it to be just about grief and loss. I think it is more about lost souls, alive and dead who are looking for the meaning of life and home.
The sea is a main character in the film because it represents the cycle of life. It also represents the original birthplace of mankind; that is if you believe that we are descendants of water mammals. There’s a Voudou belief that when a person dies their soul goes underwater and stay there for a year and a day. The family must perform a ritual that will help the soul to return on land. I often wondered about the souls that never made it to land, the ones that got trapped, so I wanted to create a sort of ritual through the film that allowed them to come home at least symbolically.
Reception
After a respectable showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, Ayiti Mon Amour was chosen as Haiti's selection for the Academy Awards and subsequently booked at other international film festivals.[8] It was entered into competition at the 57th Cartagena International Film Festival in 2017.[9] It was also among the films shown at the 24th New York African Film Festival in 2017 and the 11th Angoulême Francophone Film Festival in 2018.[10][11]
Annette Ejiofor, writing for NBC News, called the film "a remembrance piece, a love story between a home, its land, and its people – young and old."[10]
See also
References
- ↑ "Ayiti Mon Amour". San Francisco Film Society. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Kay, Jeremy. "Toronto unveils City To City, World Cinema, Masters line-ups". Screen International. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Kilday, Gregg (5 October 2017). "Oscars: 92 Films Submitted in Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ↑ "92 Countries in Competition for 2017 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ↑ "Haiti's first female-directed movie bids for Oscars". Jamaica Observer. Los Angeles. Agence France-Presse. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- 1 2 de la Fuente, Anna Marie (4 December 2017). "Latin America Teems With Femme Filmmakers in Oscar Race". Variety. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Ayiti mon Amour: Guetty Felin". Internationales Fraulen Film Fest. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ↑ Wise, Damon (7 November 2017). "Oscar Foreign-Language Rookies Overcame Daunting Odds". Variety. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ↑ Mango, Agustín (24 January 2017). "Cartagena Film Festival Unveils Competition Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- 1 2 Ejiofor, Annette (3 May 2017). "The New York African Film Festival Turns 24". NBC News. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ↑ "The Haitian cinema at the honor in Angoulême". iciHaiti. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2026.