If you’ve never heard of Educa Vision, you’ve at least seen, read or purchased one of the publishing company’s books without realizing it. Educa Vision, whose niche is publishing Haiti-focused, and Creole-language books, is based in Coconut Creek, Florida and among their bestsellers was one of the first full-pledged Haitian-Creole language dictionaries. Headed by Féquière Vilsaint who serves as CEO and President and author Maude Heurtelou, who holds the reins Vice President, the company has and grossed half a million dollars last year.

What started as a three-person operation, has grown to nearly a dozen staff members, publishing at least 65 titles a year from about 10 when the company first launched in 1991. In addition to the educational titles that are Educa Vision’s bread and butter (books, audio, video, charts, interactive titles), the company publishes children’s fiction books, historical, and coffee table titles. Among the books in Educa Vision’s rich and eclectic catalog are Fine Haitian Cuisine: A Broad Collection of Haitian Recipes by Mona Cassion Ménager, one of the few books about Haitian cooking in English, and Who is Who in the Haitian Diaspora a reference book of notable Haitians, a historical tome A History of Survival, Strength and Imagination in Haiti by C. Accilien, J. Adams, E. Meleance and even an English translation of noted Haitian painter Philippe Dodard’s book L’Idée de Modernité dans l’Art Contemporain Haïtien, not to mention several groundbreaking Kreyol-English bilingual children’s books, including The Bonplezi Family, widely catalogued in children’s libraries all over the United States.

The publishing company has expanded to include non-Haitian themed books like The Two Mrs. Gibsons, a children’s book about an African-American girl of Japanese heritage. Vilsaint and Heurtelou have also added Caribbean Studies Press, an imprint of Educa Vision, that publishes Caribbean-interest works. Vilsaint, a graduate of Concordia and Lavale University, estimates that his company has 755 books in its catalog. He was more than happy to discuss Educa Vision with us.

How did you get interested in publishing?
As a Molecular Biologist at the University of South Florida, I was often invited to speak to high school students about careers and specifically about my work as a Biochemist and Molecular Biologist. These encounters took place mostly during Black History Month celebrations. At one of these encounters, a student seated in a corner appeared completed disinterested to the discussion. My efforts to get his attention did not move him. I learned later that he was a Haitian student who did not speak English. To make the story short, I started to prepare thematic bilingual lists for the student to review a week or two before the teacher would introduce a specific theme. That led to one teacher inviting me to speak at a teacher’s meeting at county-level [and] later to a state-level ESL conference. In all cases, some teachers requested copies of my thematic notes for their own students, in other schools. I made the decision to develop and publish two dictionaries in one year and to organize Educa Vision.

After the first year, I requested and obtained one year leave of absence from the University. After the leave period, I decided not to return and continue the development of Educa Vision. I’ve been interested in publishing, since high school. In college, I was photo editor and later French editor for the University newspaper. I also volunteered to organize several community communication pieces.

When did the company start being profitable?
After about one year, we reach a break-even point and we stayed more or less at this level for many years. We systematically re-invest any profit to develop new projects, train our employees, re-tool or renew equipment and expand working space. We offer additional editorial services to institutional customers, including other publishers, the Center for Disease Control and others. These services bring some revenues to help Educa focus on educational materials.

Are you pleased with the response that you’ve gotten so far?
Teachers with Haitian students in the USA are delighted to have access to educational materials connected culturally and linguistically to the Haitian students. In Haiti, educators interested to find materials in home language are very happy to seek our resources. We are invited occasionally to present training seminars in Haiti. The responses from teachers are very, very encouraging. Finally we received several awards, including one from Haitian Studies Association during the Annual Conference at Brown University in 2010. In 2011, The United States Library of Congress invited Educa Vision along with some authors to make a presentation at the Library Of Congress—on Educa Vision history and trajectory—for the Permanent Archive.

Has the fact that Educa Vision is based in Florida been a plus for the company?
We think so. The benefit of being in South Florida is a proximity to Haiti. I can travel early in the morning, participate in a meeting in Port-au-Prince and return the following day early. In the United States, most of the orders come in electronically or by the Post Office. Our [face to face] contacts with customers are through conferences and exhibits. The exhibits are in Florida and New York, equally.

No doubt you are inundated with manuscripts and book proposals. What criteria do you usually look for when deciding whether to turn a manuscript into a publication?
First, that the manuscript has an education connection or a cultural reference. Second, that the author has a good grasp of the subject at hand anchored by experience, education or both. Third, that the author masters the language in which the manuscript is written. Fourth, that the content is rationally, critically and functionally organized. Fifth, that we can sell the books in the market that we serve. Sixth, other. This is a simplification. There are other elements that we consider in evaluating a project. We discuss submissions during a weekly editorial meeting that takes place every Wednesday at 1:00 PM.

What have you learned along the way as a publisher of multicultural and Caribbean-themed books?
The Caribbean is a diverse and dynamic environment. It contributes a large body of interesting materials analyzed through a critical prism that could be appreciated by people around the world. It is important to open access to education for all, with materials that include the experience of the students in the context of a multicultural world.

Where do you see Educa Vision heading?
In 2011 we published 63 titles, in four different languages for K-12 and academic levels. This year’s crop include a science collection of 36 titles in Haitian Creole. [So] more books, convergence toward materials that can be accessed electronically. We are working on the first Haitian Creole Encyclopedia.

This has been an edition of Yap Mennen, in which we celebrate and highlight the achievements of leaders in the community. Join us for the next edition!

Meet Martine Jean of Melange Media.

Jean left law practice in Ohio to pursue her dream in Hollywood, and founded Melange Media, and like its name indicates the company delves into all sorts of mediums, whether film or television. Jean was born in Cap Haitien, and grew up in that city as well as Port-au-Prince before coming to the United States. As she worked as an attorney, she was pursuing acting on the side, earning herself several spots in commercials and industrial videos. Theatre was also a big part of Jean’s life, so it was only a matter of time before films would become a part of it all as well. Jean auditioned for a film about a superhero who discovers that she has super powers after a lab experiment. It turns out that the script would mirror her own life. She imagined that she wouldn’t get the part, as she didn’t feel that she physical fit the character’s profile. But the audition and casting folks thought otherwise. They were immensely impressed; turns out that Martine Jean had acting superpowers that she didn’t know about.

The part in that film was followed by a part in another project called Johnny Appleseed. Jean finally relocated to California, but was still a practicing attorney on the other side of the coast! Upon arriving in Los Angeles, her focus changed from acting to writing and producing, and she’s been doing that ever since. Her latest project is The Silent Treatment, a silent black and white film with a cast she dubs “some amazingly talented actors”.

Jean knows that in Hollywood, your business value is not based on your past glories, but on current projects. At the moment, she’s writing a project for a major production company that is soon scheduled to go into production.

How did Melange Media come to be?
Melange Media came to life after I’d had a brutal year. My previous production partnership was not working out the way I imagined it would. I had some health and other personal matters to tend to. I hit a wall. It felt like I hit a plateau before even starting. It’s funny, in L.A. you can spend years begging people to read or option your scripts, but at some point, you have to make a decision to shoot your own films. It’s not easy at all. In fact, even though I’ve produced for other companies, I’m still learning. I’m constantly learning.

The biggest obstacle to making your own movie is funding, finding the investors who believe in you enough to give you money to shoot a film. That’s why you usually start with a short film. A short is kind of a business card. It’s like a preview and it tells people what you can do. So, it’s with those things in mind that I decided to start Melange. I have a diverse background and I wanted that to inform my work, hence the name Melange—which means mixture.

The tagline for Melange Media is ‘Bringing Quality Entertainment to Life’. How do you go about fulfilling that mantra in every film venture?
The tagline came about because we wanted to focus on quality and not quantity. That’s something we strive for every day. That’s our goal and we do our very best to attain it. It’s all about how passionate you are and what sacrifices you are willing to make for the love of the art.

You have a project on the Horizon The Prenup. What type of project is it?
The Prenup is actually a tv show, not a movie. It’s currently under option and we’ve had several meetings at networks about the show. I can’t discuss the details, but I will tell you that it’s a lot of fun and hopefully it’ll come to a TV near you soon!

What is it really like in Hollywood?
Hollywood is interesting. The business is not what I expected before moving here. In a way, it is what you make it. You have to move here already grounded and centered. If you already have family or close friends here, then that is wonderful. Behind the glitz and glamour, Hollywood can be little ruthless, so my advice is to keep your circle small and tight. Make sure it includes people you’ve known for a while and whom you trust fully. Living here is great. L.A. has everything a person would want: beaches, nightlife and great weather. For those who are into winter sports, just go up the mountains and there is plenty of snow for skiing and snowboarding. Once you’ve learned the traffic patterns, driving is not too bad either.

Do you think that technology will one day render movie theaters obsolete?
I sure hope not! Movie theaters are not just about the movie itself, they are an experience. Popcorn, drinks and raisinets … and then just sitting in a huge theater and experiencing a film with complete strangers. It’s amazing to me.

What goes into running Melange Media on a day-to-day basis?
The most important thing to do on a daily basis is network. This was hard for me. I enjoy going out occasionally, but I don’t like going out with the intent to network. At some point, I had to learn that the entertainment business is seventy five percent who you know. You can have the greatest, Oscar-worthy script. If your mom is the only one who’s read it, then you’re going nowhere fast. On a daily basis, we network as much as possible, we set up meetings, we pitch projects to different networks or to the huge production companies and we watch movies. That last part is very important too. It’s like a basketball team, studying another team’s film so they know what to expect at the next game. We try to be aware of what’s out there or what’s coming and from whom. We are constantly studying and improving.

Do you have any projects planned for Haiti or for the Haitian community in the USA?
I am working on a couple of scripts that center around Haiti. They are far from being in production and I would need the funding to bring them to reality. I also had an idea a couple of years ago that I hope to one day make bring to life. I would like to develop a program where we would select a few up and coming Haitian writers, directors, producers every year, bring them to Hollywood for 2 weeks of training with the big, award winning filmmakers in Hollywood. Real, hands-on training. And hopefully at the end of the program, give each filmmaker a camera or other equipment they would need.

After music, movies are the universal language that allows us to communicate with others. As Haitians, we have such a passion for the art of filmmaking. There are so many films being made either in Haiti, Miami, NY and Canada by Haitians. Sometimes, I’m amazed at what Haitian filmmakers are able to accomplish with little to no resources! A lot of Haitian filmmakers simply lack the resources to make their films the way they would like to make them. I think a program like this would be a wonderful opportunity for them.

Is it necessary to live in California to thrive in the cinema industry?
I don’t think it’s necessary to live here. Tyler Perry lives in Atlanta and his movies do amazingly well theatrically and on DVD. With that said, I think L.A. and to a certain extent New York are where you make the big connections to advance your career, so it would be wise to be in one of those places at some point.

As someone who has so much experience in the industry, what counsel can you offer to someone who’d like to follow in your footsteps?
I don’t think I have very much experience at all. I do have a lot of drive and passion. I also have a lot of fight in me and you need all of those, at a minimum, to survive in the industry. My biggest advice is if you want to make movies, start wherever you are. When you’re first starting out, you don’t necessarily have to be in Hollywood. If you’re in Haiti or in Idaho, start there. Shoot your short films, submit them to festivals, get some credits on IMDB, so that if and when you decide to move, you’ve already got a body of work and some experience.

What’s the next big thing at Melange Media?
Next on our agenda is submitting The Silent Treatment to film festivals. Personally, I am writing a feature film script for another company. The story is titled Bits and Pieces. The title may change, but hopefully that film will be in production before the end of the year. We’re excited about what the future hold!