Books & Cinema: My Father’s Land

Books & Cinema continues its summer film series spotlighting Haitian identity issues in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic with the award-winning documentary My Father’s Land, and a short fictional film, Purgatorio. Tickets are $12.

In partnership with the Miami Book Fair’s ReadCaribbean program and O Cinema, Ayiti Images is presenting a compelling pair of films that explore immigration through the perspective of Haitians living in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. This is not only a hot topic in the United States due to pending negotiations regarding TPS (Temporary Protected Status), but a matter of international concern. Both island nations have been under fire for civil rights violations due to their policy of forced repatriation of Haitians living within their borders.

Winner of the 2015 Amnesty International Human Rights Prize, My Father’s Land, directed by Miquel Galofré and K. Tyler Johnston, follows the journey of 64-year-old Papa Jah, determined to visit his aging father in Haiti despite the danger of losing his right to return to the Bahamas, where he’s lived since age 18. The film highlights the plight of many in the Haitian community, who either left their beloved homeland in search for a better future or were born in the Bahamas — but all of whom are now required to apply for citizenship or face deportation. The film examines how Haitians have been portrayed and how identity issues have affected Haitians in the Bahamas, one of the most popular Caribbean destinations.

Preceding the documentary will be a short fictional film by Martine Jean, entitled Purgatorio, which is a film depicting the impact of the DR Constitutional Tribunal’s decision of September 2013 on Dominicans of Haitian descent. The ruling rendered thousands stateless.

Beginning in 2014, Ayiti Images launched its 2017 summer season with a sold-out screening of the 180-minute made for TV film, Toussaint Louverture in May, during Haitian Heritage Month at O Cinema in Miami Shores. Ayiti Images has been promoting films on the Haitian experience intertwining a new theme for each film along with working in conjunction with the Miami Book Fair’s yearlong activity initiative, ReadCaribbean.

O Cinema has housed the series in the attempt to also bring the larger South Florida community together through art of films and discussion about Caribbean life.

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ReadCaribbean is a series of readings, discussions, writing workshops and more highlighting the vibrant and diverse literary culture of the Caribbean. It is a Miami Book Fair program created with the support of John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Green Family Foundation.