Ken Steps Out, Carnaval, & The Movie is ALIVE

Ken Steps Out, Carnaval, &
The Movie Begins To Emerge

Sunday, 31 Jan 05, was a landmark day for me. It was the very first time I actually took to the streets and walked around Pétion-ville all by myself. I am usually in a car and only walking from the car to wherever we're going (restaurant, house, business, etc). Last Sunday I finally stepped outside our compound in Bois Moquette and strolled amongst real Haitians.

Pétion-ville is on a hillside above Port-au-Prince and the entire town is on a slope. We live near the upper edge of town, so the stroll to centre-ville was pretty easy--except for the massive craters dotting the streets. Sidewalks are rare, so one must negotiate the many tank traps while trying to avoid contact with a moving vehicle. Haitians drive as if they had a bumper sticker proclaiming: I Brake For No Man, Woman or Child. Given the perilous nature of walking the streets in Haiti I'm surprised there aren't piles of dead and injured pedestrians lining the roadways.

I began my trek around 3:30 in the afternoon. The streets are much more active than they were back in November. The chimeres have been inactive since then and people are starting to come outside and enjoy life a bit. On this Sunday before Carnaval people hit the streets to sing, dance and romp around town following various bands and waving flags of their favorite sponsor (Barbancourt Rhum, Comme il Faut cigarettes, or Prestige Beer). Along the parade path there were numerous vendors selling everything from home made rum (sold by the shot) to house plants. It was quite a sight.

Being the only light skinned person amongst thousands, I expected to feel strange--as if everybody was looking at me. Truth be told, they could have cared less who the hell the "blanc" was standing in the street with the curious expression. For the first time I really felt like I was in Haiti.

My second excursion into centre-ville was this past Saturday. I had the morning free and wanted to cash the reimbursement check I received for my air fare. The bank opened at 9:00 AM. I was there at 9:30 and the wait was about 50 long, in a serpentine path winding around the small lobby. I cozied up to the last person and began My Excellent Haitian Bank Adventure.

Many aspects of Haitian society can be observed in a bank, particularly when the wait is a minimum of 30 minutes at any time of day. After the metal detector search, one wanders into the bank and meets a helpful bank employee. If you know enough to slip this person some cash you'll be escorted to the next available teller. Since I am ignorant of the going rate for this type of service, I became one of the few white people in the history of Unibank Haiti to actually get in line.

The line only moves forward when the bank guard insists the customers get closer together so more people can get in line. It also moves when someone gets tired of waiting and bails. The tellers work at a pace slightly slower than the movement of a glacier. The only sound heard is the ringing of cell phones, which are specifically forbidden inside the bank. (The award for strangest ring tone went to a young man with Havah Nagilah). If a person of wealth, light skin, or a strong sense of entitlement entered the bank, they just walked up to the next available teller without paying the customary bribe. In a line that had become about 75 people long, not one person made a peep when a woman of privilege walked into the bank and up to a teller without so much as a hesitation. In my list of Haitian traits, this one goes down as #3) Most Haitians are extremely submissive. Not one person in the bank line complained about the wait. No person even exhibited impatient body language. Waiting is expected in Haiti, especially among the lower classes. In order to blend in, I also carried an air of eternal patience by resisting the temptation to let out a long, exasperated sigh, or to batter that line jumper with self righteous indignation.

It was 10:23 AM when the excitement of being fourth in line took over. I had my check, passport and pen ready to go. I'd even memorized everything I had to say in French en avance. Finally, at 10:36 AM the teller looked around to see if there were any "paying customers," then rang a little bell to call me forward. I suppressed the urge to run up to him with profuse exclamations of "Merci beaucoup!"

My transaction went without incident. I even managed to give my address, phone number, and ask for $200 US in Haitian gourdes--all in flawless French. I walked out of the Pétion-ville branch of Unibank at precisely 10:45 AM. I was giddy with the sense of having accomplished something truly significant. In fact, all I had done was wait...like every other Haitian does... tous les jours, toute la journée.

My 30 minute hike back up the hill to Chez Nous also went without incident. I walked right through the Saturday AM market, bustling with vendors and shoppers. I tried not to think about the fact that I had the equivalent of 3 times the annual income of the average Haitian in my wallet.

A Night Of Haitian Music
PITIT MWEN will spotlight 3 major musical talents from Haiti: a young Haitian hip-hop artist named Christopher La Roche (Freedom), pop singer Michael Benjamin, and singer and saxophonist Mamina. I had the chance to see Mamina at a place called Escale Bar Terrasse. This is a bar/restaurant on the roof of a gas station in the hills overlooking downtown Port-au-Prince. We were placed on the guest list by Gerthie, our production designer, who is a personal friend of Mamina. That saved us the $30 Haitian cover charge (about $4 US) and fed our sense of entitlement.

Mamina is originally from Guadeloupe, a French province in the Caribbean. She married a Haitian musician and started doing traditional Haitian compas. In addition to being a terrific singer with a strong voice (think Celine Dion or Whitney Houston), she also plays a mean saxophone. Her show features Haitian hits from the 60's through the 90's, and a few American pop tunes. She even does a set of Spanish language music, some traditional, some salsa. The show was fun and she got the mostly older crowd up and dancing right from the start. We left after a few hours and she never took a break. During her set, she mentioned that Sacha Parisot was in the house. It was met with a round of applause. No mention was made of his producer. I've decided to get a tee shirt here saying: I'm Sacha Parisot's bitch.

The Movie Begins To Emerge
As of Saturday, 5 Fev 05, we are officially 4 weeks away from our shoot start date. As the elements come together (locations, actors, etc) I'm beginning to visualize the film in my mind. It is finally becoming ALIVE.

Here's where we're at in the pre-production of PITIT MWEN:

• All of our 29 or so locations have been scouted. We're in the process of taking Sacha to each of them for his approval. After we get a signed release for use of the location from the owner, Sacha and Aitor Mantxola (our cinematographer from the Basque country in Spain) will visit to plan each shot.

• Our 2 lead male actors have been cast. Offers are out to our 2 lead females, one of whom is only 17 years old. She will be the star of the film and is the only actress we've seen in Haiti who is perfect for the part of Lorraine; our self-possessed, spoiled little rich girl. We're nervous that her parents will not allow her to be in the movie, which will conflict with her final year in high school. Being an actor is no big deal in Haiti and most parents see it as a useless path of endeavor. (An asute observation, I would say). More on this later, but PITIT MWEN will take a severe hit if she can't be our leading lady. Most of the smaller parts are either cast or close.

• Our potential crew members have been identified and we're in the process of interviewing them in order to make our final selections. Preliminary meetings with wardrobe and make-up are set for next week and we've brought on a production designer to help realize the look of the film with Sacha and (later) Aitor. Most of the film crew members in Haiti are used to working for no money. We have an extremely small budget for the crew, so each one may make the equivalent of $20-25 USD a day.

• Another film shoot is taking place in our area as we speak. The film is "la pluie d'espoir" (Rain Of Hope) directed by Jacques Roc. Jacques is a Haitian who lives and works in New York City. He's been shooting his Haitian epic for the past 2 years, and the end is finally in sight. His last scheduled shoot days are the early part of next week and he'll be loaning us several pieces of equipment--and his house for 3 of our foreign crew members to sleep. He also hooked us up with 6 of his crew, all in critical positions, who are willing to work on PITIT MWEN. His generosity will be a saving grace for our production, and it will enable us to use high end grip and lighting equipment without having to purchase it from the US. We hear he's running a few days behind schedule, but he's still due to be finished next week. Stay tuned as I'm sure there will be more on this issue as it gets closer to our Zero Day on 4 Mar 05.

Since this is Carnaval weekend, and all businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesday, getting something done will be a challenge. We hope to visit our beach location later today (Sat, 5 Feb 05). I am so excited about FINALLY going to the beach, but as I write this Sacha is still working on the translation of the script from English into French and Creole. If he stops before it gets too late, I will get to see the beach for the first time in over 2 months in Haiti. Stay tuned to see if it comes about.

A bientot - Ken