Reginald Lubin is one of the most-loved actor-directors in the Haitian movie business. He’s known as the man who juggles multiple personas and does it with ease. There’s Reginald Lubin the writer and screenwriter as in Pouki Se Mwen, the drama about a college student who gets infected with AIDS. There’s Reginald Lubin, the suave and debonair leading man in La Peur D’Aimer and Vanités, Intrigues, Passions, and finally there’s Reginald Lubin, the refined actor in La Rebelle.

So which Reginald will we see in Kite’m Pale, his newest film? From the look of things, it won’t be the suave and debonair leading man, but the behind-the-scenes multi-tasker. Lubin had publicly stated that his next film would be entitled Lyse. It’s not made clear as of yet whether this Kite’m Pale project is Lyse retitled, or whether Lyse was given backburner status in favor of this new flick.

In any case, with the exception of veteran actress Hughette St. Fleur (better known as Madame Seraphin in Arnold Antonin’s film Piwouli et le Zenglendo, though she also has roles in Alelouya, Le Miracle de la Foi), the entire cast of Kite’m Pale are newcomers, among them Camise Delia, a promising young talent, along with a host of new generation young actors based in Haiti. This latter move will no doubt be appreciated by Haitian movie fans, some of whom are always bemoaning the fact that the same faces tend to be cat in movies, over and over, and over.

Kite’m Pale is in the same vein as La Peur D’Aimer and Pouki Se Mwen, two films that were crafted by Lubin to raise awareness about teen pregnancy and AIDS respectively. Not surprisingly, GHESKIO, a 30-year old organization with a humanitarian mission, is one of the primary backers of the film. One of the admirable things about Lubin’s cinematic works has always been his tendency to weave social issues within his films to the point where viewers are convinced that they are watching a simple fiction film, but in reality they are being served with some poignant social messages. Kite’m Pale touches on everything from domestic violence to sexual and verbal abuse in Haitian society, and apparently is very Lubinesque.

Some will welcome the film, while wishing he were a featured actor among the cast. Lubin’s last role in La Rebelle, demonstrated more than most films that he had done, of what he is capable of as an actor. Of course, he’s come across some criticism, mainly that his roles tend to be an extension of himself. “Reginald Lubin always plays the doctor, the lawyer, the professional man,” is an oft-repeated psalm about the actor. It will be interesting to see how the film measures against Lubin’s past work. Hopefully, Kite’m Pale is swiftly followed by another film from Lubin, and presumably one that showcases his talents as an actor further.

Director Richard Senecal is the mind behind a great number of Haiti’s films. You and your grandmother have probably sat down and watched many of his films. Does I Love You Anne sound familiar? How about Barikad? Or Cousines?

Here he is discussing his latest work El Violinista (The Violinist), his craft as a filmmaker, and sharing his thoughts on the Haiti’s movie industry.

Kreyolicious: How did the idea for El Violinista come about?
This documentary is the result or combination of two other projects. First I was working on a documentary about Haitian students in the Dominican Republic. I had completed some shooting and many interviews, but I was not satisfied with the result. It was another typical Haitian documentary with a lot of talk and very few images. Film is not radio, and I wanted more than talking heads. The second project was about an old Dominican violinist teacher. There, I had more images, but I could not catch my main character story because he was too shy to share it confidently with me. But he happened to have an Haitian violin student who was also attending university in Santiago. At some point, I started to focus on him instead and I would end up follow his evolution during about four years. The final film is about fulfilling an apparently lost dream through hard work and perseverance. It is also about a young Haitian confronting the complex challenges of living in the Dominican Republic and trying to integrate Dominican society. This is a very personal project. The film about Haitian students was originally funded by a small grant from FOKAL and some contributors on Indiegogo, but total production time was scheduled to be only one year. I ended up working five years on this film and financing most of it through my own companies Imagine Haiti and Imagine Dominicana. I think it’s really worth it.

Kreyolicious: Do you have a passion for classical music?
I like all kinds of music. I mean real music, not noise. I had an early contact with classical music since it’s the music my mother used to listen at home when I was a kid. I was also lucky enough to have some music classes in high school. So at the end, I’m as familiar with classical music as with other music genres such as jazz, blues, rock, pop and many flavors of world music. I think it’s a real asset. Nowadays, too many of our so-called musicians lack a minimum true musical background and education. Thus the poverty of our contemporary music.

Kreyolicious: Do you feel less in control when you’re doing a documentary as opposed to a feature film?
It is traditionally perceived that fiction films and documentaries are two different animals. Difference is even more marked in our young cinema tradition where documentaries are usually associated with long and multiple interviews. There have been recently some efforts by some of my Haitian colleagues to blur the borders between both genres, but it has been mostly done by doing [reenactments] with actors or, at least in one case, animation. The challenge I gave myself was to even further blur the lines while staying true to the actual events and situations. So yes, there’s a lot of unpredictability during the shooting phase. The actual control is achieved at the editing stage. Final product form is closer to a feature film while staying 100% a true documentary without any fictionalization.

Kreyolicious: What’s the most inspiring documentary—or documentaries have you seen? What was inspirational about them?
I have seen a lot of documentaries and I’ve been inspired by so many that any attempt to list them would be futile. And I’m talking real documentaries, not TV [reporting segments]. Because there is a difference and people easily mistake one for another. Real documentaries have a point-of-view. They do not pretend to objectivity—which is the essence of journalism.

Photo Credit: Mondy Bertheth

Kreyolicious: What are your thoughts on the Haitian movie industry?
I think it is at a turning point–like everything else in our society. The only options are to die or to grow. It would be foolish to keep doing the same kind of films we used to do a few years ago. I’m afraid some of us filmmakers fail to fully understand that. The time when anyone with very little filmmaking background or culture could wake up, catch any consumer camera and cook a “movie” is over. We must go a full step further and it will be through education, professionalism and team work that we will achieve that.

Kreyolicious: If a film school student were to ask you about how to best prepare to film a documentary, what would you say to him or her?
First, watch and study documentaries, real ones, many of them. Second, choose your point-of-view. Third and maybe the most challenging, immerse yourself. Your presence as a filmmaker will necessarily distort the reality you’re trying to catch. You can either try to minimize it or turn it to your advantage. And, do not forget, filmmaking is about visuals and sound. Images and ambiances can be stronger than dialogues or interviews. Last but not least, filming is the control of time though patience and clever choices.

Kreyolicious: What’s next for you?
More films I hope. Nothing clearly specific at this time, but that may change at any moment. Regarding The Violinist, we’re going to try to reach a more international audience. We understand this is not necessarily a film for the general Haitian public. The original version is in Spanish and there are two subtitled versions in French and English. The choice is deliberate at a time when distributing or screening a film in Haiti is almost an impossible task. And yes, we need to open new doors, explore different avenues. There’s a world outside eager to hear and enjoy our so many untold stories.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE DIRECTOR’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Ready…set…go…Haiti’s carnival season has begun, and PleziKanaval, a website launched by Haiti multimedia personality Carel Pedre, is at it again. The platform will be posting carnival songs from Haiti’s artists (as well as Haitian artists living outside of Haiti). For this year’s edition, Pedre announced on social media that he invested in a dedicated server—a prudent move considering the traffic the sites receives.

According to Social Blade, a website that measures social media and video content analytics, the Plezikanaval Youtube channel has over 9 million views—not counting this year’s numbers. This figure is based on just a little over 300 videos. Social Blade also estimates that a Youtube channel like Plezikanaval has the earnings potential of about $18,000 annually, from Youtube ad sources alone.

One new feature of his website is the addition of Konkou Kanaval Timoun, a kiddie edition of the carnival, that allows Haiti’s youngins to have their own celebration and carnival song contest. As he has done in previous years, the radio host-music enthusiast plans to have an awards show to reward Haitian carnival artists for their kanaval song releases.

Above: Carel Pedre poses with some artists featured on PleziKanaval. Photo Credit: Plezikanaval

In less than ten years of existence, the website has morphed into the foremost site for carnival songs and Haitian carnival-related content. But what has driven its popularity? As artists like TPO and others brought out in a previous interview, having a web platform where a user can get access to Haiti’s carnival in one place has helped tremendously. And it also helps that PleziKanaval doesn’t only posts Haitian carnival songs on its website, but also broadcasts them on the most powerful social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s like having a Haitian carnival song promotional package. Additionally, Pedre is a radio hosts and helms “Chokarella”, a radio morning show based in Haiti. Pedre uses the show to promote Haiti’s artists and during carnival season, he makes use of the popularity of his show to promote Haiti’s carnival season and the artists who create tracks for that purpose. And to add to all of this, he provides video coverage of carnival parades and events, completing the one-stop-shop aspect of PleziKanaval.

With more than 18,000 subscribers already on board, web traffic from all over, and a phenomenal growth rate, PleziKanaval’s growth appears to be unlimited.

CLICK HERE to visit PLEZIKANAVAL. | CLICK HERE to check out Plezikanaval on Youtube!