Haitian Song

Haitian Song is a lyrical portrait of life in a small village in rural Haiti. The film focuses on the "rituals" which compose the texture of everyday life: getting water from the river; making rope by hand from sisal; cooking rice and beans in an outdoor kitchen; planting and harvesting. Through intimate and detailed scenes, the film follows Gustav and Zilmen, a man and a woman, through the cycle of their day and follows the larger community through the cycles of the week: the market on Tuesday; the cockfight on Saturday; the dance on Sunday. Narrated entirely in Creole (with English subtitles) by Haitian peasants and interwoven throughout with haunting songs, the film evokes a mood and feeling of rural village life. It is highly visual, as well as informative and educational.