Sonson, Jean-Claude Bourjolly’s most well-known film thus far, was released in 2003. In an era when practically all the other filmmakers were engrossing movie audiences with romantic comedies and dramas, Bourjolly’s Sonson stood out with its country setting, simple plot, and 80’s Haiti background.

The movie’s protagonist Sonson has a goat that is his very livelihood. The goat is stolen, and the culprit is none other than the town’s chief police brother. Together they assure that Sonson is neither reimbursed for his loss, nor that the thief is rendered his proper castigation. Sonson’s desire to create his own justice leads to the film’s harrowing ending. Though the film did not receive the popular acclaim from the masses that Bourjolly was probably hoping for, it did show that there was slight interest in unique stories like that of Sonson that captured Haitian life at its most basic.

No doubt aware that he would have to spice up things a bit to appeal to a much bigger audience, Bourjolly worked on Le Chauffeur next, a story about ill-fated lovers: the girl, the progeny of an elite family in Haiti. And the guy? The title character who trespasses on societal taboos to be with her. His next project was a film called Jod, yet another drama that he directed and wrote. This time, Bourjolly explored the effects of immigration on marriage and relationships. We caught up with Bourjolly to see what he has up his cinematic sleeves.

Can you tell us about yourself, and how you came to be involved in movies?
I had my beginnings in cinema through sheer circumstance. I was a photographer and I have this penchant for attention to detail. I realized that I had to put myself in the game to bring some positive changes to it. I wanted to say something different from what I was always hearing.

In terms of Haitian movies, things have slowed down significantly in the past few years.
It’s not that it doesn’t exist anymore; it’s just that it’s weakening and the reason is simple. We all think we can function on our own. Why can’t we put our heads together? Let me give you an example. In your opinion, why do you think there are all these religions? Because we all want to be pastors. We want to be the head of the church. We have too many film associations. I get the impression that we have an association for every movie set profession. How are we ever going to accomplish anything?

While your peers were making romance-driven films, what motivated you to do a movie like Sonson>?
I mentioned this earlier. I wanted to so something different in the business. There’s a bunch of guys out there who haven’t studied film who are just taking advantage of the whole situation. You don’t make movies just to feed yourself or just to call attention to yourself or to make yourself popular. You make movies because you have something to say. I put it clearly: when you have something to say. There are folks who do a movie just because they have the urge to talk, but you have to agree with me that a lot of people have the urge to speak, simply because their mouth is itching not necessarily because they have something worthwhile to say. It’s this tendency that we need to overcome. There aren’t 10 Woody Allens in the USA. If the movie industry is giving you an opportunity, you ought to go to school, not beat on your chest.

After Sonson, you directed a film called Le Chauffeur. Can you tell us about it?
Le Chauffeur closed out the 3rd Edition of the Montreal Black Film Festival and the critics were unanimous. It’s a great film that was made with little means, but it’s a film. You can compare it alongside any other movie made by a non-Haitian. Le Chauffeur talks about the subtle violence and the hypocrisy that exists in our society. It’s a really interesting subject. I haven’t shown it in Haiti simply to avoid problems. To prevent bootlegging. Meanwhile, it can continue to be shown at festivals. And when the Haitian audience is ready for it, they’ll give the signal.

When you are casting a film, what do you look for in your actors?
I’m always looking for something in their demeanor. It’s the first thing that identifies an actor.

What directors do you admire?
In terms of the ones who are out now: Samuel Vincent, Moise Karmeliaud, Jephté Bastien, though he’s pretty much have moved on from the local movement. I love Laurence Magloire a lot. She did a movie called Des Hommes et des Dieux. [Also] Arnold Antonin [and] Raphael Stines. In terms of foreigners, I like Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, Spielberg, George Lucas.

Any actors or actresses you’d like to work with?
Reginald Lubin, Smoye Noisy, Sophia Désir, Manfred Marcelin; there are others who I can’t think of right now.

What projects do you have in store for your fans?
I have lots of projects, and after Sonson, Le Chauffeur and Jod, I want to stay true to my roots. I’m working on something of major caliber for them. I’m going after works by bestselling novelists.

What makes a successful movie?
A director who’s got good sense, integrity—who has something to say, who has a story to tell.

By now, you have probably heard of filmmaker Krista Saint-Dic, and Paper Dreams, a docu-drama that she wrote and directed about the disillusionment of a success-hungry young woman (herself) who leaves Haiti for life in the United States. Young, impressionable, and eager for her version of the American Dream, the narrator’s illusions of becoming a world-renowned dancer arrive at a full-stop, hindered by the realities of immigrant life. We discussed Paper Dreams, one of her first projects to make an impact, as well as Joy Road, another theatrical project she was involved with.

Tell us about how you got the concept for Paper Dreams.
This project started off as dance performing/theater project originally at the end of Fall 2009. It was going to be a story dealing with social issues told through dance. But then the earthquake happened, and the project shifted into a film project instead. As we know, the social media played a great role in communication minutes following the earthquake and for months to come. I think it was from that point, people finally understood the purpose of Facebook and Twitter. We remember how devastating of an event that was for the World, especially for Haitians. That event in itself generated lots of feelings and lots of conversations from us. I started following heavily those conversations going around on FB; I’ve even gotten in a few arguments myself with Facebookers. So from these conversations, I was able to conduct a research from many different perspectives about the true thoughts that go through the mind of Haitians. I did go back home a month after the earthquake and surveyed those living back home as well. So, I gathered all of this info and married that to my life and my experiences. And that’s really how Paper Dreams started developing. At the end of the day I wanted it to be a story for immigrants but one that I can relate to, and hopefully for my people to do as well.

You went to film school? Is it a necessary path to directing?
No, I did not go to film school. I went to a four-year college. I was a dance major and a film minor.

What is your next project?
I’m currently shooting a new short called Light of the Forgotten. It’s the story of a Haitian woman who’s faced with a dilemma that forces her to either adapt the “liberty or death” motto that her fearless ancestors carried or to continue with the degenerated unmotivated mentality currently haunting the Haitian community. This journey helps her discover the key to saving Haiti. It will be ready hopefully by the spring.

When do you think you’ve found the perfect person for a role?
When you can take directions well and translate the required feelings through the lens of the camera.

Would you mind discussing Joy Road?
Joy Road is a gritty feature starring Wood Harris (“The Wire”, Remember The Titans), as Tony Smalls, a lawyer who is happily part of the new urban middle class in Detroit. While his sister Nia (NBushe Wright, Blade), a high school graduate, is not. But when Nia’s boyfriend, Big Boy (Christian “Trick Trick” Mathis) is arrested for murder, Tony is pulled back into the neighborhood he worked so hard to escape. Believing in the system and its minions would only work against Tony as he faces off against an old neighborhood nemesis, Flip (Jamie Hector, “The Wire”), who is all too clear about who he is and what he stands for. But who really controls the criminal justice system in Detroit? Are the gods Tony prays to who he thinks they are? And who really runs the streets? Joy Road was theatrically released for a period of five weeks in eight different cities.

And what is Krista’s message to those who want to direct, produce, or write movies?
I would tell anyone to go for it, because every story is different. Therefore, it’s essential to tell it because the world will not only benefit from it but the world also is yearning for it. One thing also, you find out while you’re making movies, you get the opportunity to learn about yourself.

At which point of your life did you decide that the movie business was going to be your life?
I’ve always been a performer, whether in dance, acting, theater, etc… I’ve been dabbling with the arts from the age of 3 or 4 years performing on stage. However, I decided that the movie business was going to be my life really at my last job in the very last months of being there. There was absolutely nothing motivating me anymore about the job to the point that I was anticipating getting fired. And when the day came, it was the biggest weight lifted off my shoulder. And that created time for me to do what I love.

You can watch Paper Dreams here.

Haitian-American filmmaker and screenwriter Patricia Benoit is the mind behind the drama Stones in the Sun, (Creole title Wòch Nan Solèy), one of the very few feature films released in the United States that depict the Haitian-American experience. The film was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival (where it won the Heineken Audience Award, and a Special Jury Mention prize), not a small accomplishment for a first feature film. Benoit collected quite a cast: Edwidge Danticat plays a role, and veteran performer Michele Marcelin, and new blood Carlo Mitton, James Noel, Patricia Rhinvil, and Thierry Saintine round up the principal cast. The film explores the krazy glue-like bond that exists among families in the Haitian immigrant community and the pains of assimilation and exile.

Q&A
How did you get your start in the film industry?
I founded a community organization with France Pean, called the “Haitian Women’s Program”, and made some educational films.

Is it difficult being both the director and writer of a work?
You need to maintain perspective vis a vis the work and not be too kind or too brutal to your writing.

A portion of the film was shot in Haiti, correct?
We worked with Cine Institute. Their students were amazing. I and the crew were impressed with the level of professionalism. The students never encountered a problem they couldn’t solve and they and the institute are part of their community. Their energy was boundless and they’re a really creative bunch – finding creative solutions to problems. They found actors, locations, did costumes and production design as well as Assistant directors and grip. I’ve already worked in Haiti with groups and I know that it’s essential to work with people who are respected and trusted within their own community.

You’re among the Haitian-American film community. Will you be collaborating with the community in Haiti for future projects?
I definitely intend on continuing. Is it particularly harder to be a woman filmmaker?
Sometimes.

What inspired you to write Stones in the Sun?
My family was exiled under Duvalier.

After the completion of a film, a director has over the course of production, learned a lot.
You are only as good as the people you work with.

Why did you choose the 1980s as the decade for the film’s setting?
The film doesn’t take place in a specific time. It takes place during a military dictatorship after the departure of Duvalier because I didn’t want to focus on political specificities. Hopefully the issues are timeless.

Do you imagine a day when a film like Stones in the Sun will get wide theatre release?
That would be great, but I don’t think that any film with subtitles and not in English gets that yet. A Separation—a wonderful film set in Iran—I recommend that everyone see it—won the Oscar for best foreign film and is only playing in two theaters in New York City.

What advice do you have for aspiring directors and first-time directors? Don’t get an undergraduate degree in film. Learn about other things – in and out of school. Try to get as much experience in non paying gigs and be ready to work really hard without complaining. That way you can watch other people work. Try to see some great movie classics, not just Hollywood films. That way you can be exposed to different ways of making films.

And do you have a few words for actors and actresses on how to make them more appealing to a film director?
I would recommend highly taking scene study classes. For example at HB studios in Manhattan.

Your film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. That must have been grand.
It’s great. New York is the perfect venue for this film because of the large Haitian community here and because the film takes place here and in Haiti. How did you manage to put together such a great cast?

Through friends, acquaintances and online casting searches.

What’s next on your agenda?
I’m working with Edwidge Danticat on a film that will take place in the peasant community in Haiti.

When filmmaker Shirley Bruno’s film Tezen was screened at the Haiti Cultural Exchange Haiti Film Fest earlier this month, audiences got to see imagination poured on film at its best. Bruno took “Tezen”, a traditional Haitian folk tale, and turned it into a poignant short film.

Kreyolicious: If you could give a budding filmmaker some advice, you’d say…
Shirley Bruno: My advice is to make films. Don’t be precious about the practical parts but, only make films about things you actually care deeply about. It’s pointless otherwise. I know the American industry tends to dismiss shorts but I would say make shorts. Make many. I’ve never understood how young filmmakers think they can handle making a feature if they haven’t cut their teeth on shorts. Even after you make a feature, you can make a short – you can feel free to experiment and take risks with a short. It’s a powerful medium in its own right.

Above: A still from an upcoming project from filmmaker ShirleY Bruno, based on the life of a woman soldier in the Haitian Revolution.

Also, you must truly know your stuff – know your lenses, study color and light for their emotional qualities, study photography, study painting, understand editing, sound design, costumes, production design – learn as much as you can about every aspect of filmmaking, not just script-writing or the camera. Read, read, read literature. Read short stories, nonfiction, biographies. Read stories that talk about people like you as well as stories about people who are nothing like you. Look for the universal truths in everything you absorb, the stuff that makes us human. Whenever you discover a film that really moves you, go and spend the next weeks watching only the work of that one particular filmmaker so that it’s a real study of her/him. This way you can see how they evolved, what they’re about, what is their process even if it’s nothing like yours.

Kreyolicious: Interesting…
Shirley Bruno: Don’t obsess over the newest camera or the latest rig. This is also pointless. Good cinema can be made with a crappy camera if it’s right for the story, if the acting is good, if the story you are telling is meaningful to you. Don’t ever be concerned with making a pretty picture or getting some big actor in your film or a well-known cinematographer or whatever. As I said, cinema is made up of smoke and mirrors. Aim to do more with less. Find the simple and most creative way to tell your story. Be bold. But be flexible. Better to fail at making something that means something to you then to make a soulless film that you think the industry may like. What other people like has nothing to do with you. That is their business. You can only make a film you like. Travel. Meditate. Get in tune with your interior self, your inner stories. Make films about things that get under your skin, things that scare you, bring you to tears, reveal who you really are when no one is looking. It’s pointless to tell stories that have no heart. Only when you tell stories that genuinely move you can you have a chance at moving someone else.

CLICK HERE to visit film director Shirley Bruno’s website!

The model-actress-writer-producer Lutza Gayot got the first inkling that she wanted to pursue a creative career while pursuing a degree in International Business. Weary of the negative images that were floating of Haiti in the international media, Lutza put together an animated documentary Haiti Through My Eyes, a positive exploration of what Haiti meant to her. The documentary, she recalls, was widely covered in the media, including WSVN-7 Miami, BET, Fox, and countless newspapers and other media outlets in Europe. It also established her as an early player, if not pioneer, in Haiti’s international makeover.

Besides her love for film, Lutza was enamored with modeling, and strutted her stuff for such brands as Coogi.

Her latest film-related project is a documentary entitled My Mission, written by Jepthe Bastien. She’s just finished writing her first book. Kreyolicious cheries, you shall learn about that tome at another time. In the meantime, check out this interview with her discussing body image and her career.

Kreyolicious: You’ve worn so many different hats over the course of your career. You’ve been a model, film producer, researcher and actress. If you could assume only one of those roles for the rest of your life, and you could only choose one…which would it be?

I would say modeling. I love dressing up and and role-playing…that would be my first pick—since you ask for one.

Kreyolicious: Do you ever get those moments when your creative juices get stalled?

Uh, yes and no. I get at a place sometimes [when] I need to make the proper decision on my next move. It’s always so serious for me.

Kreyolicious: Say you were assigned to be big sister to someone who is entering college right now. What would you say to her to help her make up her mind on how to choose a career?

I would say pick a career you enjoy and one that can help other people. I’ve learned in life you can enjoy what you do, [and] yet [if] you’re not participating in the growth of others—that leads to nothing at the end.

Kreyolicious: When you were in high school, did you ever struggle with yourself in terms of self-image.

Yes, I did. I was told negative thing about my butt, my lips my walk, my height. So, I used to hold my lips inward, and wore a butt garment to flatten my butt.

Kreyolicious: How did you get over this?

I [came to] understand [that the things] I was struggling with made me a woman. So, I embraced them all, and [that made it] better.

Kreyolicious: When you’re undertaking a creative project…say a film…what steps do you take to take it from the idea stage to the completion stage?

I spend time with the casting director to figure out what he’s looking for—and also—I weigh in details on my side. I was called in for a principal role on a movie with Vivica A. Fox. I got the part, but i had to back out. I look at many aspects.

Kreyolicious: Entertainers tend to have five-year plans. What do you hope to accomplish in the next five years?

In all that I do, helping my country is my plan.

LUTZA ON INSTAGRAM | CLICK TO VISIT LUTZA’S WEBSITE

Stefani Saintonge is drawn to cinema. Her blood stream has fragments of celluloid sprinkled all over it, and lots of vintage cutting room dust. If her parents had their way, she would be doing her medical school residency right now, not doing this interview about her career as a Bronx, New York-born filmmaker of Haitian descent. At least, they can be proud of all the accolades she’s received for her work as a writer-director-writer. These laurels include the winning trophy at Essence Black Women in Hollywood Short Film Contest for her coming-of-age short Seventh Grade. Her documentary La Tierra de los Adioses (The Land of Goodbyes) won Best Latin American Short Documentary at Mexico’s Festival Internacional de Cine en el Desierto.

Her next project will bring her to Haiti, her parents’ native land. It’s a project close to the Hofstra University MFA-holder’s heart entitled Babay, Papa Rose.

Kreyolicious: How did your interest in film begin?

I come from a movie-buff family. Both of my parents are obsessed with cinema in their own way. My dad loves the action- thriller- high drama blockbuster type stuff. While my mom loves the indie- foreign- documentary type stuff. Movies are our only bonding activity aside from eating. It didn’t become a viable dream for me until I had to graduate college with a print journalism degree, and the thought of writing news articles for the rest of my life terrified me. That forced me to face what I truly wanted to do with my life and cinema was it. I applied to graduate school and the rest is history.

Kreyolicious: You’re based in New York. Do you think that it’s absolutely necessary that a filmmaker be based in either New York or Los Angeles?

I’m from New York, so I’ve never tried to be a filmmaker outside of this city. With that said, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary, but it does help in developing a network. Filmmaking is so accessible now that you can do it from anywhere. So it depends on what you want out of film. If you just want to make your own films, sure, live in Milwaukee. But if you want to work on other’s people’s films and connect with super talented individuals, then it’s probably best to be in one of the two.

Kreyolicious: If you could put together a list of five films and five filmmakers who have influenced you, who would figure on that list?

That’s a hard one. That list changes depending on the week and the project I’m working on. Right now I’m preparing for a short to be shot in Haiti about a family reuniting for a funeral. So I’ve been watching dysfunctional family-event films like The Celebration, Rachel’s Getting Married or About Elly. I’m also looking at movies shot with natural light since that will be our situation given Haiti’s electricity problems so Dallas Buyers Club, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Tree of Life are also on my list.

Kreyolicious: What made you undertake the project Seventh Grade?

I had mentor who told me to write about a significant event from my childhood. I couldn’t think of anything so instead I tried to pinpoint when my childhood ended, and for me it was Seventh Grade and all the terrible, confusing, hormone-induced incidents that come with it.

Kreyolicious:: Now that film won every possible prize for short films, practically. Were you surprised at the way it was received?

I was surprised. It was my first narrative venture. I’d gone to school for documentary, but wanted to try my hand at fiction just to see if I could. It was rough learning as you go, but we made it work. I’m glad people connected with it, which is always the goal when creating films.

Kreyolicious: Practically every film project you’ve done touch upon topics of community, migration, and adolescence. Why those themes?

Also…women. I have two immigrant parents who come from a place where community and family is everything. That can be a nurturing space for young women but also quite destructive. I guess I’m interested in that clash.

Kreyolicious: You’re involved with a film collective called The New Negress Film Society. First off, I have to say that this name sounds really cool. Not just negress…new negress. What made you join this initiative, and what does it mean to you?

My friend, Ja’Tovia Gary, is one of the founding members, and she asked me to join. I agree with you, the name is dope. It embodies exactly how we as black women artists confront the world. I encourage everyone in this artist hustle—especially black women—to organize. It can be marginalizing. The saying is correct—there is power in numbers. New Negress is all about concrete support whether it’s through exhibition, promotion or working on each other’s individual projects. Having a network of people you admire as artists who have pledged to ensure your success is invaluable.

Kreyolicious: How do you stay connected to Haiti? Do you go to Haiti often?

I’m working on a short now to be shot in Haiti, which has forced me to go to Haiti more. I was just there in June laying out a foundation, and I will be back in December to stay until the shoot at the end of January. The goal is to have this be a Haiti-US co-production involving the film community based down there as much as possible. I hope this will open a door to continue creating and building connections with the artist community in Haiti.

Kreyolicious: Would you advise a college freshman to major in film in preparation for a career as a filmmaker? Or would you encourage her to major in finance, work in that field for a while, and then use income she saved towards a career in film?

I do not advise the latter at all for two reasons: At the end of the day, the only way to improve at your craft is by completing projects. Many, many projects. If you work in another field for a while, all that time and energy you spent doing something you don’t like was time you should have been using developing your art. Filmmaking is not a hobby. It takes full-time effort. Secondly, people get addicted to comfort. Starting a film career is years of seeing a minuscule return for a massive amount of effort. If you let yourself become accustomed to a fat paycheck every other week, you’re never going to want to change your career to something as poverty-inducing as filmmaking.

If you want to be a filmmaker, then be a filmmaker. There’s no safe path. If you can go to film school, do it. You’ll have four years to practice, develop your art, build a network and create something to potentially launch your career.

Kreyolicious: Filmmakers and other creative people are never idle. Even when they’re sleeping. What are you working on now, and what do you plan to undertake next?

I was fortunate enough to receive a grant to do my next short project in Haiti. We’re shooting in January, just outside of Port-au-Prince. The film is loosely based on my mother. It’s about a woman going to the funeral of her estranged father in Haiti.

Seventh Grade from Stefani Saintonge on Vimeo.

Kreyolicious: You hold an MFA from Hofstra University in Documentary Filmmaking and Production. Looking back now, would you have made the same choice?

I go back and forth on this. Sometimes I wish I had gone to traditional film school so I could have the narrative training that many of my colleagues have. However, documentary film training has informed my aesthetic in exceedingly beneficial ways. The intimacy and authenticity you see in Seventh Grade came directly out of documentary. I plan on merging my training into my narrative pieces even more with my next project. I guess today I’m at peace with the decision. It was a great program, and the choice brought me further than I expected.

[Photos furnished by subject.]

STEFANI SAINTONGE ON VIMEO| STEFANI SAINTONGE’S WEBSITE | Keep up with Stefani’s project in Haiti HERE

The founder of MAAT Films, her very own film production company, New Jersey-born, and New York-bred Nadhege Ptah is getting ready to release her first film Dodo Titi. One of three children raised by Haitian parents in the USA, the actress-screenwriter-director and casting director is ready to step out in a big way. A critically-acclaimed screenwriter, Dodo Titi marks the first time Ptah’s going to explore Haitian themes in one of her productions. The storyline of Dodo Titi centers on a Haitian woman’s immigrant experience

Kreyolicious: Tell us more about yourself.
 
I danced in my mother’s womb, and leaped my way out at seven months and became the ticket for my parents to stay in America. I continued my dance from the womb to the stage as a trained dancer in modern and ballet and performed with various modern dance ensembles. I choreographed a dance in high school for a play the Caribbean club was presenting. That piece catapulted me to present for the United Nation’s International Day and I also received many invitations for colleges and organizations.
 
However, I never claimed myself as a dancer overtly because it only remained a hobby. There were pressures in my Haitian upbringing to become a doctor, lawyer, or nurse, as a real goal to achieve success. The arts were frowned upon, so I studied psychology while actively dancing for modern dance companies. I went on to pursue a master’s degree in forensic psychology.
 
I reached a cross road during graduate school, which derailed my next steps to obtain a Ph.D., and studied drama. It was then that I began to find my voice and passion through various mediums of performing and developing other artistic skill sets as a writer, producer, and director. Overall, I am a creative storyteller using several artistic disciplines that display honest human stories with the intent to inspire and ignite change.  

Kreyolicious: Most filmmakers will tell you that it’s a movie that they saw that changed their lives, and helped them see that visual arts was the way to go. Was that the case with you? What drew you to filmmaking?
 
I was always drawn by movies, Broadway, musicals, drama, music videos, performances in general. I loved to sing, dance, act and put on shows as a child. I got teased in college for watching music videos all day. I was particularly drawn into the music videos that mirrored a film, like Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I loved the videos that melt the artist’s song into a mini-movie.  I would say the visual of capturing a story, magnifying it on a huge screen, and reaching a big audience sparked my interest to transition into being a filmmaker, which encompasses all of my artistic passions.     
 
Kreyolicious: So you have your own film production company…MAAT Films. What goes into running your very own film production company?
 
Oh boy! That question needs a dissertation response. Okay, let me attempt to summarize this. I run the production company in the same fashion I raised my children – by nurturing it in order to grow.  It is a business you are running. There needs to be a plan and vision in place. I continue to shape and mold it based on the vision. I make necessary changes when it’s not working. I protect the vision, and reach out to the necessary village that aligns and believes in the vision to assist with their skills sets that I may lack. I control what can be controlled, but let go and trust, so the vision can breathe and begin to develop a voice and niche.

 
Kreyolicious: If an aspiring female filmmaker were sitting across from you right now…what tips would you give to her in terms of turbo charging her career?
 
Get out of your way. Know thyself. Get help—it takes a village. Cancel the internal monsters that say, “It’s not time, I’m not good enough,” and [don’t] procrastinate. Basically, just do it and synchronicity will begin to take place based on actions. Then, the universe will unfold the infinite possibilities.
 
Kreyolicious: What do your parents think of your having a creative career?
 
Ha! You know the Haitian push – to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or nurse are your only options. Since the birth of the film, the reality of my creative career is finally acknowledged as opposed to: Why are you not practicing psychology? Hence, psychology is practiced through my creativity.
 
Kreyolicious: What has it been like putting Dodo Titi together?
 
The story’s backdrop is a storm. Well, life imitated art. There were many storms to overcome to get to the finish line, and we survived.
 
Be sure to tune in for PART TWO of the interview with Nadhege Ptah. Meanwhile….

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE DODO TITI WEBSITE | MAAT FILMS ON FACEBOOK | MAAT FILMS ON TWITTER

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!