Myrlande Charelus hasn’t release her first feature him yet, but you better believe that her name will be mentioned in the same breath and in the same sentence as cinematic luminaries like Euzhan Palcy, Frances Marion, Dorothy Arzner, Julie Dash, Sophia Coppola, and Myrlande’s personal favorite Ava Duvernay. While at Howard University, she was part of the crew of several productions, including a short film she wrote and directly. She recently spent some time in Haiti to film 4:53, a project with which she worked with the prolific Abdias Laguerre. She wrote the project and serve as its director, and it won’t be her last.

Kreyolicious: So, you’re at Howard finishing your MFA in Film. What has the experience been like?
Yes, well I recently graduated from Howard, where President Obama and Cecily Tyson were keynote speakers. I have now earned my MFA and hopefully someday I will have my [doctorate] in Third World cinema.

My experience from Howard was nothing to what I expected. I have built great relationships with some of the best people such professors and students I have met. Haile Gerima-I would say is my biggest accomplishment attending Howard—one of the hardest professors who’s ever taught me. However, my journey through film school would have almost been nothing without him. I have gained a mentor. He’s also a big deal in the black film community. He is a big deal to have as a mentor.

Above: Filming scenes for her film 4:53 in Haiti.

Kreyolicious: You have a project entitled 4:53. That’s rather intriguing. How does that number relate to the plot, or should I take a guess instead of asking? Is it an apartment number, a suite number, a set of digits significant in a milestone of the characters’ lives?
4:53– that’s my baby! My current project! The number signifies the time the earthquake struck down Haiti back on January 12th, 2010 at exactly 4:53pm. 4:53 can represent a circumstance or event that dramatically changes your life. It is a figurative earthquake! The story itself focuses on a boy proud of his heritage who is forced to leave his mother in Haiti to live with his ashamed father in the US. I wanted to play with culture, self-identity and colorism.

Above: Back in DC, the fledging filmmaker has a moment of reflection.

Kreyolicious: The last time I interviewed you; you professed admiration for Ava Duvernay. Do you still look up to her?
Yes, I love Ava. One of my professors is a great friend of hers. Ava visited Howard while I was still a student. What she is doing in the film industry is everything I want to do. I am not sure if you have ever heard of Array? It is a platform she uses to promote indie films.

Kreyolicious: Yes, I actually have heard of Array…Have you read any worthwhile books besides your school textbooks that you feel give you a good handle on filmmaking and screenwriting?
OMG! Yes- I mean, I read a lot of books, for different reasons. You have to understand I am also a writer—so I read a lot. I read a lot, but I read based on the project that I am working on. With 4:53– I did not have to do a lot of readings. Rather I visited Haiti and interviewed some people who were affected by the earthquake.

Kreyolicious: What would you like to say to aspiring female filmmakers?
If it is your calling, go for it! If it is for the money, you’re wasting your time. My biggest advice would be to find your voice, filmmaking is mostly a man’s career. So is almost everything else. But don’t let that stop you from going after your dreams. Study your craft inside and out. Therefore, other people won’t feel the need to tell you how to do your job.

Kreyolicious: We will keep hearing of you no doubt. What’s next after this project?
This is what I want to do for rest of my life. So eventually, you will hear a lot about me. I am currently in post-production for 4:53, a project I plan to finish by next year. I am taking my time with it. At the same time, I am currently mastering a short-script. Hoping to go in production by next year.

FOLLOW THE FILMMAKER’S JOURNEY HERE!

Budding documentary filmmaker Dave Fils-Aime has always had a little activist growing in him. A graduate of Yale University, Fils-Aime grew up in Martissant, Haiti and attended Saint Jean l’Evangeliste, an all-boy Catholic school. He says he and his family moved to the United States before the start of high school. “Although I was happy to finally be able to visit America,” Fils-Aime recalls, “my parents’ decision to stay in the country did not go well with me. I was saddened by the idea of having to forfeit the opportunity of attending my dream school with some of my closest friends.”

With time, the teen accepted his destiny and excelled in school and graduated as one of the top students in his high school in South Florida. Fils-Aime received a Miami Herald Silver Knight Award winner for his outstanding academic excellence and community service. His entrance into Yale provided him a platform as a budding community leader. He I served as the president of Yale’s Klib Kreyol (Haitian Cultural Organization). During a one-year leave of absence from Yale, Fils-Aime interned for Organizing for America, the successor organization of Obama for America during President Obama’s first term. He also served as a community organizer for the city of Miramar in Florida, which led to his being chosen to drive the White House Press Corps in a presidential motorcade during a visit by President Barack Obama to Miami.

Fils-Aime’s awareness about Haitian causes grew when he worked on community leader Marleine Bastien’s congressional campaign as a Volunteer Coordinator. He also wrote his senior thesis on Haiti during the early 2010s.

After turning down the opportunity to work on President Obama’s reelection campaign, Fils-Aime acccepted an offer from the United Nations Development Programme in Haiti, where he worked as a donor relations and resource mobilization consultant. While in Haiti, Fils-Aime launched a youth-driven program Basketball to Uplift the Youth (Baskètbòl pou Ankadre Lajenès).

Somehow, filmmaking emerged in this equation. Fils-Aime founded DaliReel Productions, his film company, and his fixation on the South of Haiti provided the inspiration for his first Haiti-focused production entitled, well, South of Haiti. The documentary was touted “The Best Tourism Video You’ll See All Year” by travel website Skift. It was Staff Pick by the video sharing site Vimeo and was also singled out by Canada.com as one of its “Monday Inspiration” Videos.

Dave Fils-Aime looking very pensive on a documentary set.

DaliReel Productions is your very own production company. What drew you to film and documentary filmmaking.

Well, one of my main roles as the Director of Operations of the Yale Men’s Basketball was to film the team’s games and to coordinate film exchange with other teams. I was also responsible for putting together a highlight video of the team’s best plays of the season to be played at the end of year banquet. Through this experience, I became extremely interested in filming and editing, and in ultimately using it as a medium to educate people about Haiti.

This documentary about Haiti is your very first production?

Actually, when I led the Yale International Relations Association election observation trip to Haiti, I took the initiative to film the entire experience and to use the footage to put together a documentary film titled Ayiti Leve: The Political Reconstruction of Haiti. That was my very first production. Although we have had private screenings of the film, we have not yet made it available to the public. Over the past year, I’ve been working on an updated version with my collaborator James Murphy, and we hope to make it available to the public in the coming months.

What drew you to the southern part of Haiti, and what ultimately made you feel that this documentary needed to be a reality?

It was actually through a retreat organized by some co-workers in collaboration with the tour guide company J’adore le Sud that I was able to discover the south of Haiti. It was my first time visiting the area and I was simply amazed by the region’s beauty, the breathtaking beaches, the magnificent caves, the wonderful waterfalls, and the fascinating historical sites that have stood the test of time. I felt that I had an obligation to share this experience with the world, to show a Haiti that most don’t even know exist. But I knew that I couldn’t do it on my own if I wanted the end product to be a topnotch piece. A year earlier, I had met filmmaker Alex Horner in Haiti through my good friend Jimmy Toussaint’s Haiti volunteer program. When Alex showed me some of his work, I was particularly impressed by his strong technical skills and great vision. He suggested the possibility of joining forces in the future to produce short films/documentaries on Haiti, and I expressed my strong interest in forging such a partnership. So, as soon as I returned to Port-au-Prince from the trip down south, I contacted Alex about doing a project on the region and he was immediately on board. Alex recruited Nick Mihalevich, a sound technician, to join us on the project, and a few months later they both flew down to Haiti from Minnesota to capture images and sounds over a period of 10 days.

Filmmaking can be tough territory. What are some of the things you’ve learned that you feel are must-know information for those who want to get into filmmaking.

Filmmaking is most definitely a tough territory. The most important lesson I’ve learned and that I would like to share with people interested in entering the field is that if you’re not willing to give it your all, do not even think about pursuing a project. Because even when you pour all your effort into a project, there is no guarantee that it will pan out. If I had not been fully intent on seeing the South of Haiti project become a reality, it would have remained simply a beautiful proposal on paper. I sent the project proposal for sponsorship to government ministries and a wide range of private enterprises, but we did not receive any positive feedback. Unfazed by the lack of interest in the project, Alex, Nick and I pooled our own funds together to finance the project. The lesson learned is: if you and your team are not passionate enough about a project to make sacrifices for it, the project will not become a reality.

Visit Dave Fils-Aime’s YouTube Channel| Like Dave Fils-Aime’s Haiti Basketball Organization Page on Facebook!

Robinson Vil isn’t a newbie when it comes to filmmaking. Creating stories for the big screen has always brought purpose to the life of this producer, director, and filmmaker behind several shorts and urban films.

His newest production Rasin Mwen is set, and was filmed in Haiti. It’s storyline takes viewers into Haiti’s slums. A young man (David Charlier) gets on the wrong side of a mafia-like pimp, resulting into all sorts of quandaries.

​ Kreyolicious: What was it like filming in Haiti?

Filming anywhere is overwhelming and it was no different in Haiti. The art of film-making can be arduous, especially when it’s done under budget. There were many obstacles we had to overcome as a team to see the project through. Some of the challenging factors were: the heat, traffic and the noise level. I’ve been making movies for over a decade now and I have learned so much; I was prepared. I was determined to do the film no matter what; nothing was going to get in my way.

Above: Filmmaker Robinson Vil.

​ Kreyolicious: Did you do make preliminary trips there to see how things were before you started shooting?

I lived in Haiti for sixteen years, before moving to the United States in 1992—so I knew what to expect. There were no hidden surprises. But, prior to shooting my film Rasin Mwen, I was hired to co-produce and star as the lead in a short film there in 2011. During that production—a one-week shoot—I had to pretty much do the same thing I did on my film. Though, we shot Rasin Mwen for five weeks.

Kreyolicious: Why was it so important for you to bring Rasin Mwen to the big screen?

One of my goals with Rasin Mwen was to bring about a new type of film-making to Haiti that was compatible to other countries. I wanted to do a story with young Haitian actors, that was relatable and relevant. A story that would not only intrigue, but resonate with its people. Screenwriter Wade Ballance and I did just that with the screenplay for Rasin Mwen. I also felt that the presence of good quality Haiti films was lacking. I wanted and determined to change that. I have three other Haiti films that are ready to go—upon securing funding.

Above: A scene from Rasin Mwen, a film by Robinson Vil.

Kreyolicious: Were there any things that surprised you about filming a project in Haiti?

How great and accessible the raw talents were. The majority of my cast was new and had never done any type of films before—let alone a full length feature film. We developed such a great bond instantly, many thanks to our casting director Frantz Louis-Charles, who helped me cast ninety percent of the talents in the film.

Kreyolicious: As someone who is living in the USA, what advice would you give to filmmakers about shooting in Haiti?

Don’t do it—unless you have all your ducks in a row. Be ready to work harder than everyone else on your team. Know your script, the story inside out. Be able to think quickly on your feet. Find quality and good people who believe in you, your project and themselves.

Kreyolicious: Are there some things you wished you had done differently?

Not really. If there is one thing I can think of, it would be the funding aspect of the film. I would look harder at securing funding and not go into production until it was fully acquired. My team of actors and crew-members were excellent, I wouldn’t change that. They all worked so hard, I’m indebted to them.

Kreyolicious: So Rasin Mwen has wrapped up. What should we expect from you next?

With the success of Rasin Mwen and new relationships with sponsors and investors, you can expect bigger and better quality films from Villain Pictures. As I previously mentioned, I have 3 more films in development that are ready to go into production. Rasin Mwen 2 is one of them.