Port-au-Prince, March 16th, 2013: The French actor Lambert Wilson is currently in Haiti, on his second visit to the country - until March 18th. "My interest in Haiti has been triggered by family reasons. My godson, Felix, was born in Delmas, Port-au-Prince and I have always been drawn to the country's rich and vibrant culture", said Wilson who is accompanied on this trip by the French television channel Canal Plus (Canal+) for which he is directing a 26-minute documentary.
Lambert Wilson’s documentary film for Canal+ sets-out to profile some of the people working on a project in the ravines of Mornel'Hôpital – a project run in partnership by FJMH (Fondation pour les jeunes de Mornel'Hôpital) and ONJPSH (Organisation Nationale des jeunes pour sauver Haiti).
The initiative is supported through MINUSTAH’s Community Violence Reduction (CVR) programme which targets Haiti’s most destitute, marginalized and crime-prone urban neighbourhoods with the objective of reducing ‘the draw’ of criminal activities by offering livelihood opportunities; high labour-intensive environmental and infrastructural projects, and economic and social reintegration activities.
The ravines project entails building drywalls to reduce water-flow and floods in the densely populated areas that stretch-out below in Port-au-Prince – involving also the planting of vetiver and bamboo to stem further soil erosion. The project aims at reducing both community violence and vulnerability to environmental risk, while remuneration permits the beneficiaries to make steps towards a more economically secure existence. Wilson’s film details how members of the communities adversely affected by flooding build the drywalls and plant trees and shrubs.
Those profiled in the documentary include Carlo, a resident of Matissant, Lanina a mother of eight living in Boutillier, Jules from Fontamara and Nadège from Mornel'Hôpital. Wilson has conducted in-depth interviews with his subjects, observing their daily lives, their pasts and hopes for the future. “In addition to addressing the ravines project, I am attempting to reflect the real lives of real Haitians working on the ravines project” he explains. “I also want to convey a sense of the complexity of Haiti today and, of course, the energy and beauty of a country that never ceases to amaze me. I only hope I can do justice to it all” he says.
