So I haven't posted in a while, because it's been so busy not only with Nou Sove, but with other
KijiK projects as well. We have been taking in a lot more production work,
CineVisun our non-profit Film and Media industry support organization just wrapped up a weekly Sunday event that went for two months and we're wrapping up post on
Sove Nou. But work on Nou Sove has been heating up. We just cameback from our second big production leg in New York and it was great.
And we're heading to Cape Hatien on Monday.
The first part of production in New York was covering Jimmy and his involvement in the movement
I 2 am Haiti as the spokesperson/ambassador for the Pan American Development Foundation.
While there he shot the first Public Service Announcement for the campaign.
Next Jimmy co-hosted an event for the MTV Unplugged Caribbean showcase which was an incredible look at some of the best current and up and coming Caribbean artists in the world.
“The world” was an omnipresent theme this trip. We are hoping to bring the plight and fight of and for Haiti to the world with the Sove Nou trilogy, in case I haven't mentioned that it is indeed three projects that compromise one concept. The first parts are the documentaries "
Sove Nou" and "Nou Sove" and the third is feature narrative film "Tears for Revolution" which we are currently developing to start when Nou Sove is in post production. The worlds of Haiti and New York are more alike than many might think, at least the distinction of populated areas. NYC is filled and over the brim with the hustle and bustle of living, people moving as machinery, timed, synchronized in and out of buildings, subways, cabs, night and day.
No care of light and dark, simply getting it done. High energy, high octane, making ways from the connectivity. As I've written in many posts Haiti is the same, the people moving in unison, like a dance.
The cogs churning, dependent on the wheels to turn for the next day to turn to weeks and years. This is the key, as it's infectious. One moves up, then another and another with information, knowledge and connection internally and externally with the world. All. It's what makes New York a global epicenter. Movement is what makes Haiti work period. Upward growth will move the country forward.
Information processing theory dictates that our minds work like computers with short term memory (RAM) which operates our daily routines and long term memory (hard drive), which is our history. I feel novel experience (cognitive dissodance) increases the productivity of our short term memory, which in turn expands our long term memory and the ability to process our history quicker, relate it to our circumstance at the given moment and/or project for future growth. The more relevant the information, the better suited we are to make things happen for ourselves and others. Therefore the more connection we have to the global strata, the better suited we are to maneuver in this new age, the technological revolution. Education does it, is uplifting in every way. The more informed we are, the more we demand that change happens.
While in New York we stayed in the Millennium Hilton across from where the Twin Towers once stood.
It was amazing and at the same time eerie and haunting.
It's a lesson that destruction can happen to anyone, anywhere and we must care no matter where it occurs. America came together on that day. All of us. We rallied hand in hand. But division always sets in. The machine churns regardless.
Haiti is an American story. Haitians fought in the revolutionary war. There were slaves in America, but they fought as free men coming from Haiti at that time, a free country. They fought for America's independence. The history of Haiti and America is indelibly intertwined. Haiti has suffered many debilitating blows historically and recently with five major hurricanes hitting the island nation in the last couple of years. Much of Haiti looks like a war zone due to internal problems, but also natural disaster. Many are fighting for the TPS distinction that other nations have received for similar problems and even less, that would allow expatriates and others to recover and save many lives. But that story can be found in the Sove Nou trilogy. For now production continues on Nou Sove.
The last of our New York Tour was covering the Hollywood United/
Hollywood Unites for Haiti (HUFH) celebrity soccer match and after party. Hollywood United is a celebrity soccer team run by the incredible actor Anthony Liapaglia (Without a Trace, CSI, Frasier).
The match was to benefit Jimmy’s non-profit organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti. There were many celebrities out for the event.
Skeet Ulrich (Jericho, The Newton Boys), Donal Logue (Max Payne, Ghost Rider), Gilles Marini (Nip, Tuck), Ethan Zohn (Survivor ,winner 2007), Costas Mandylor (Beowulf, Saw), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Michael Stahl David (Cloverfield, The Black Donelly’s),
Cheryl Burke (Dancing with the Stars), members of the band “Your Vegas” Melky Jean (recording artist), Marc Baptiste (photographer) and more.
One standout and I feel has become an incredible thread in the Nou Sove saga is Michael Stahl David. When I was in Haiti in December, it was Michael’s first trip. He seemed to be enamored and drawn in by the country and the people, as many are intoxicated by the magic, power and energy the island nation holds. We spoke at a dinner a couple of days before the soccer match and he told me he was on his way back to Haiti to teach acting classes the following week and how excited he was. At the soccer match he gave an incredible interview echoing the same and bought many raffle tickets in support of
HUFH.
This is a transformation I have seen occur many times and I can see why Haiti at one time was one of the top tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Will Haiti ever be considered “The Pearl of the Antilles” again still is yet to be seen, but I do feel she will one day rise from the ashes as the phoenix, blazing a path to glory.
