21100: Slavin comments on "Roussan Camille," a film by Mario Delatour (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JPS390@aol.com

 I only got to see three movies at the NYU Haiti film series, which closed
 last night, but it was an "only in New York" event -- an exhaustive and
 innovative collection, and with the exception of the opening night gala,
 absolutely free. I am a disgruntled neighbor of NYU, but the university's
 Institute of African-American Affairs and the Africana Studies Program --
 the prime organizers of the film series -- make significant contributions
 to the city's intellectual life, especially for those with interests or
 close ties to the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.

 I made sure to see "Roussan Camille," made by filmmaker Mario Delatour.
 It tells the biography of a mid-20th century Haitian poet, Roussan
 Camille, and chronicles a belle epoch era. "Roussan Camille" features
 mind-boggling footage of Port-au-Prince in the 1940s and 1950s – one
 marvels at the city's infrastructure, beauty, and, yes, urban plan -
 three concepts that make absolutely no connection to the PauP of today,
 or of the past two decades (perhaps longer). One memory is of a boulevard
 of almond trees along what is today route Carrefour. But the film also
 has the most mouthwatering, panoramic contemporary shots of la ville
 Jacmel and the Jacmel-Marigot coast ––  a lot of it shot from the veranda
 of Manoir Alexandra –– lovely, rich, breaktaking montages. Perhaps the
 film's strongest aspect is that it's an authentic tribute the country.

Patrick

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J.P. Slavin
New York
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