“Haiti International Film Festival Celebrates 10 Years in LA..”
By Joey Krebs,
The Haiti International Film Festival (HIFF) marked a milestone, celebrating 10 years of showcasing Haitian Cinema in Los Angeles. The Festival, held on Saturday, August 16th at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, highlighted the enduring vision and power of storytelling as Haiti continues to grapple with political turmoil, gang violence, and international neglect, along with disparaging remarks made by the President of the United States of America, accusing Haitian immigrants of eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
Founded in 2015 by Jacquil Constant, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and professor, HIFF has grown into a premier cultural platform for Haitian and diasporic voices. The 2025 edition carried the theme “Liberty: The Art of Liberation in Haitian Cinema”, linking Haiti’s revolutionary legacy with present-day resilience.
Hosting the anniversary event was HIFF Ambassador Béchir Sylvain, Haitian-American actor and director, known most recently for his role in Jurassic World: Rebirth.
“With Haiti under siege, storytelling becomes an act of survival,” said Constant. “Our mission is to counter stereotypes and present the true depth of Haitian identity.”
This year’s film award winners lineup blended acclaimed festival hits with emerging talent, presenting a wide range of narratives from Haiti and the African diaspora. Featured screenings included:
• Mountains (directed by Monica Sorelle) – Best Feature Film Award
• Kidnapping Inc. (directed by Bruno Mourral) –Best Innovative Film Award
• Broken Hope (directed by Hess Wesley) Best Social Justice Short Film Award
• Evil, I (directed by Vanessa Beletic) Best Haitian Diaspora Short Film Award
• Keur Simbara (directed by Sea Mahsati) Best African Diaspora Film Award
Other filmmakers in the spotlight included Philippe Roc, Gabriyèl Barlatier, Al’Ikens Plancher, and Fernandel Almonor, whose works explored migration, memory, and survival with both urgency and artistry.
Parallel to the screenings, HIFF curated an exhibition at Pasadena City College’s Boone Family Gallery, titled Haitian Revolution: Art of the Haitian Global South which premiered through August 14th, the show connected Haiti’s revolutionary past with contemporary artistic visions.
The exhibit featured portraits of Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe, and Alexandre Pétion, alongside modern contemporary works by Saurel Louis and Ayanna Legros.
• Louis’s paintings drew on magical realism to depict Haitian street and domestic life.
• Legros transformed discarded materials into installations reflecting the textures of rural Haiti.
Together, the films and artworks presented Haiti as a site of both historical defiance and modern creativity challenging authoritative prejudice and systemic oppression..
Festival organizers framed the 10th anniversary as both a celebration with its decade of cultural resistance, followed by
its call to action. Cliff Decatrel, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning producer and HIFF board member, emphasized the importance of reclaiming Haiti’s global image.
“Too often, Haiti is reduced to headlines of crisis,” Decatrel said. “HIFF gives space for Haitian voices to lead, showing the artistry and humanity that the world needs to see. Culture here is not only about struggle—it’s a declaration of strength.”
As HIFF enters its next decade, the festival will continue to affirm that Haitian identity cannot be limited or confined to tragedy or bias. Instead, through cinema and artistic form, it declares liberation, resilience, and the enduring power of storytelling through a cinematic means of relating with its community as the ultimate revolutionary act…
