"I approached Jean Dominique in 1991 to propose a portrait documentary as an excuse to get to know this amazing man I had met only once previously. He was in exile. He was bored. He agreed. We became friends. His life and his vision of a democratic Haiti got swept up in his country’s turmoil over the next ten years. This film is a tribute to a great guy and his unfulfilled dreams."

This is how American filmmaker Jonathan Demme described the premise of his fascinating documentary, a veritable distillation of Haitian history during the end of the 20th century through the admirable figure of Jean Dominique, a dedicated agronomist who became a journalist and fought for the freedom of Haitians. A man of many battles, he was the first to bring Creole and international informational to the radio―an extremely popular medium in the country due to low rates of literacy. For two decades, Radio Haïti-Inter provided an opening to the world and gave Haitians a chance to better understand their own political situation. With the indefatigable contribution of his wife, the journalist Michèle Montas, the couple worked tirelessly to defend freedom of speech, social justice and democracy, often at the risk of their own lives.

At a time when the country is once again confronted with immense political, humanitarian and security crises, let us remember the commitment and courage of these exceptional individuals, of their fundamental belief in change and the ways in which their actions and words were always guided by hope for a free and proud Haiti.

Jason Burnham
Tënk's programming assistant

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