New perspectives on Haiti shown through “La Belle Vie”

George Ibarra/Contributing Writer

As part of FIU’s Haitian Summer Institute Program, a six-week program designed to teach students conversational Haitian-Creole with opportunities to study abroad, students were treated to a screening of Rachelle Salnave’s Emmy nominated documentary, La Belle Vie, which was shortly followed by a Q&A session with the producer and director.

Salnave’s La Belle Vie is a deeply personal documentary, delving into the intricacies of Haitian society that Salnave discovers while embarking on her own journey to connect closer to her Haitian roots. Despite its short runtime, the documentary film manages to provide a wealth of views on political and economic life in Haiti rivalled with public perceptions of the country, while displaying Salnave’s own story on reconnecting with her homeland.

Some of the film’s more interesting topics comes from the Haitian concept of “La Belle Vie,” or “The Good Life.” Throughout this documentary, Salnave struggles to find the truth between her family’s romantic views on the wealthy, Cinderella lifestyle that they had in Haiti before immigrating to the United States. Other topics discussed include the negative public perceptions of Haiti that America has had during the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s, as well as in the years following the devastating earthquake that struck the country in 2010.

The rift between these views on Haiti leads Salnave to the divisions of race and class in Haiti following their independence, issues of identity and diaspora among Haitian immigrants and the socio-political issues the country faces today.

The Q&A session following our screening of the documentary film was held in both English and Haitian Creole. For someone with virtually no knowledge of the language, this Q&A session provided an interesting experience.

During the Q&A, Salnave expanded on her thoughts surrounding her homeland. When asked on how Salnave would improve conditions in Haiti, she responded that there were “endless ideas” from native Haitians on how to improve life in the country that were waiting to be implemented.

Most notably, Salnave expressed extreme disappointment in how the media portrays Haiti. Salnave notes that the media focuses solely on delivering biased articles on the poverty and political turmoil of Haitian society. News outlets could be using their power to provide a larger, unbiased lens on life in Haiti to the public instead, and paint a truer picture of the country, says Salnave.

Overall, the film provides enough different views on Haitian life that viewers come away with an understanding for the intricacies of life in Haiti, to a degree where even non-Haitians can relate to some of the struggles Haitian people face.

Photo taken from labelleviefilm.com