An hour south of Miami is the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, Haiti. In 1991 its citizens elected a former Roman Catholic priest and exponent of liberation theology, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, as president. Popular among Haiti's poor and disenfranchised, Aristide become a target of Haiti's business interests (and the political parties that served those interests) because of his daring policies which tried to raise the standard of living for the huge majority of Haitians. During his second term in office, his government came under increasing pressure from many sides and by 2004 political violence had escalated sharply. On February 29, 2004, Aristide and his family left Haiti on a US-dispatched airplane -- according to Aristide, against his will; the US claims with his full cooperation.
Nicolas Rossier's powerful and informative documentary focuses on Aristide's later years as president, as he struggled to fulfill his promises of reform in the face of mounting domestic opposition (driven in large part by business and military interests) and, simultaneously, an increasingly hostile relationship with the United States.
Featuring an exclusive interview with Aristide from his exile in South Africa as well as the views of a wide range of supporters and critics including US Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, Colin Powell, and Noam Chomsky, and intermixed with searing glimpes inside strife-torn Haiti, Aristide and the Endless Revolution offers a moving testimony to the Haitian peoples' struggle against oppression and exposes the tangled web of hope, deceit, and political violence that brought the world's first black republic to its knees.
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"Taut, well-balanced, insightful. A probing look into Haiti's contentious modern history."
- The New York Times
"Powerful, cogent! An absorbing piece of investigative journalism. Surprising access to a bevy of heavyweights."
- Boston Globe
"Informative and Enraging...Highly recommended!"
- SF Weekly
See details about this film's theatrical
run.
Check out the new book Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide and the Politics of Containment by Peter Hallward. Advance copies are available now at Haiti Liberte and will be available on Amazon.com beginning April, 2008.
Bonus materials:
- Bonus Filmed Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide
- Updated for Haiti's 2006 Elections
- Historical Timeline
- Text Interview with Economist Alex Dupuy
- Text Interviews with Director
- Director Biography
- Resources and Links
Format: DVD
Release Year: 2006
Running Time: 82 minutes
Color: Color
Language: In English, French & Creole w/English Subtitles
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