Freda

To stay, or to go? A question many young Haitians grapple with, as the situation in Haiti deteriorates and the violence gets worse. So does Freda, an anthropology student from a poor neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince. Her boyfriend leaves for Santo Domingo. She is unsure whether she should give up her family and her belief in the future of her country. In the meantime, her sister is trying to move up the social ladder by bleaching her skin, her brother moves to Chile, and her mother tries to keep herself and her shop afloat.

In her fiction debut, documentary filmmaker Gessica Généus shows the Haitian community from the inside, with an emphasis on a female perspective within a patriarchal society. Against a backdrop of religion and colonialism, activist discussions and street protests – featured in documentary footage – it is mainly the actors who set the tone in this stirring sketch of complex situations, intimate personal relationships, and painful moments. Largely Creole-spoken and developed with support from the Hubert Bals Fund.

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This film is part of the Freedomline. Click here for an overview of the other films that have been selected for the Freedomline