For the past ten years there has been tremendous growth in the number of talented screen writers on the African continent as well as in the Caribbean. Haiti and African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and others have shown great interest in pushing the art of cinematography. Big screen movies made in Africa are becoming the movies of choice in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora and are bombarding the market in New York, South Florida and other places where Haitians purchase their entertainment.

I have watched numbers of Haitian movies and, lately, African movies, and I can tell you that the movies being produced by talented African moviemakers—especially those in Nigeria and Ghana—far outweigh those produced by Haitian cinematographers. In the African productions, the screen play, acting, photography, music, lighting, etc. …all those things that contribute to a finished product, are far superior to most of the Haitian output. I don’t want to put down Haitian moviemakers, but I do want to give my honest opinion. The bottom line is, if you think  you can get rich quick by creating a DVD and calling it a movie, you’re making a mistake. Movie making takes more than just slapping something together in a week or two.

Most Haitians, whether living in Haiti or in the diaspora, have an ambition to excel over their peers. And Haitian people are resilient when it comes to overcoming the difficulties that life presents. There is great potential for the creation of a viable Haitian film industry. There are good stories that can be interpreted on the big screen and many talented Haitian screenwriters with the motivation to succeed in the industry. However, too many are in such a rush to make quick money or easy fame that they don’t take the time to learn the industry and properly apply what they’ve learned. The rush to make movies without the necessary planning and skills cannot give the public a product that they will want to see.

When you watch some Haitian movies that have been produced in the last ten years, you might want to give them an A+ for effort, just because they have the audacity to make themselves believe they can produce a movie. In the second place is the story line, which usually has no significant cultural relation to what they want to portray (that’s not to say that there haven’t been some good movies coming from the Haitian community). Third place goes to sound clarity, color, and editing, which too often are an embarrassment to professional moviemakers who watch these movies. I’m sorry to say that most of the movies produced by Haitian directors are difficult to watch because of poor lighting, inadequate costuming, and faulty editing.

 Finally, when it comes to acting, this is another embarrassment on the part of so many Haitian Americans who claim to be actors. Most of them have never attended even a one-hour seminar on acting. They can’t read the script, and they can’t act. Many Haitian movies are based on love and sex but the actors who are playing the love scenes seem to be focused on the camera rather than the scene. So over all, Haitian cinematography has a long way to go to achieve artistic success if they continue to put out such mediocre movies.

One reason I wanted to address this issue is that I have seen what the Haitian American radio industry has become and I wouldn’t want the film industry to become like the flea-market kind of journalism and broadcasting entities we have out there. There is still time for the film industry to reshape its course by investing in and reorganizing the industry to keep it from becoming a complete failure. Too many Haitian Americans have already stopped buying Haitian movie DVDs. They would rather buy African movies because they are so breathtaking...their stories more interesting and the movies are far better organized and put together compared to the efforts of Haitian directors and producers.

I have never produced a movie and I don’t ever intend to do so, so I hope those in the industry who read this will not take it personally. But as a buyer of DVDs who enjoys good movies, I just want to alert Haitian moviemakers that people are going for the African movies because they’re better made and it could reach the point that no Haitian movies are ever sold. This is meant to give honest advice to the moviemakers so maybe they can reshape the industry and prevent that from happening. If you have any comments, please contact me at publisher@mainstream-press.com.