FILM/AQ ONLINE
Haiti’s Ciné Institute
Aspiring Haitian filmmakers are learning their craft free of charge thanks to Ciné Institute , a Jacmel-based school founded in 2008 by Ameri- can filmmaker David Belle. The nonprofit school has created a two-year university curriculum that
includes courses in English and computer literacy, as well as
a complete film education, from cinematography to editing
and multimedia content.
In a country where just 1 percent of the population can afford to attend university, the institute is intended to be a major incubator for Haiti’s film industry. “We [want] to give Haiti
a voice—its own voice—in cinema,” says Paula Hyppolite, co-director of the school.
Ciné Institute traces its roots to the Festival Film Jakmèl, an
international film festival that provided free screenings of foreign films to tens of thousands of Haitians. Today the institute gives young Haitians the skills to share their own stories
with the world. The work of students and graduates is already
being shown internationally, from classrooms in New Jersey
to festivals in Sarajevo and Amsterdam.
Tragedy provided a chance to apply Ciné Institute skills closer
to home. The school was destroyed in Haiti’s 2010 earthquake,
but students dug their cameras out of the rubble and started
Lights, camera, action: The members of Ciné Institute’s class
of 2011, most of whom are now working as local filmmakers.
shooting scenes of the rescue effort and ensuing recovery,
while also helping deliver aid and supplies to their communities. According to Hyppolite, their efforts not only helped
relay the extent of the devastation to international audiences,
but also helped students themselves overcome the sense of
loss created by the earthquake.
Footage by the students is now being used for documenta-ries about Haiti’s story, including Haiti Rebuilds: A Journey of
Hope, recently screened at Columbia University.
New on Online www.americasquarterly.org
THE SOURCE FOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS OF THE HEMISPHERE AND BY THE HEMISPHERE.
NOW ONLINE
Visit AQ Online for more multimedia
coverage on social inclusion. In
our Q&A video series, AQ author
Judith Morrison (p. 124) discusses
why countries must count their
minority populations. Marcelo M.
Suárez-Orozco (p. 142) explains the
challenges for U.S. youth who grow
up in mixed status immigration-families. We also go to a skatepark
in San Salvador, El Salvador, to
interview a social inclusion hero
featured on our website, Nelson Cruz
(photo, left). Plus, don’t miss our
discussion with two experts on social
inclusion: former Chilean Economy
Minister Álvaro García Hurtado and
World Bank Senior Economist José R.
Molinas Vega.
Looking for the latest Dispatches
from the Field? It’s online.
Check out our dispatch from
Guatemala, where Ioulia Fenton
looks at the implications of the
Peace Corps’ decision to cancel its
programs and pull out volunteers
from El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras.
COMING UP
Between issues, stay up to date on the
latest from around the hemisphere
at AQ Online. Upcoming coverage on:
the race for Mexico’s next president
and Congress as voters prepare to
head to the polls on July 1; sustainable
development issues surrounding the
UN-administered Rio+ 20 conference
on June 20; and the Venezuelan
presidential election campaign.
Do you want to contribute to our
blog? Send a pitch to
aqinfo@as-coa.org.
Bookmark our social inclusion portal:
www.americasquarterly.org/inclusion.
Like AQ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/americasquarterly
Follow AQ on Twitter: @AmerQuarterly
BELOW: SALVADOR GARCÍA FIGUEROA; ABOVE: COURTESY OF HAI TI’S CINÉ INS TI TUTE
12
Americas Quarterly SPRING 2012
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
