Haitian American filmmaker Rachelle Salnave premier’s her 2nd feature documentary La Belle Vie: The Good Life at the 23rd Annual Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and also the Toronto Black Film Festival in February. A four-year in the making process, The Good Life is a story about a Haitian-American filmmaker, Rachelle Salnave’s journey to discover her Haitian roots by examining the complexities of the Haitian society as it pertains to the overall political and economic dichotomy in Haiti. Using her own personal family stories interconnected with capturing the voices of Haitians and experts overall, this film chronologically uncovers the rationale behind its social class system but also how it has affected the Haitian American migration experience as well. With the proliferation of political turmoil, poverty, and now an Earthquake shattered nation, La Belle Vie: The Good Life in the end beckons all to lay down their arms, be it the tangible weapons of death and pain or the psychological and spiritual tools of division and prejudice, and work as one to rebuild and prosper in the name of a new and stronger Haiti.
The Pan African Film festival is scheduled from February 5th-16th 2015 and Toronto Black Film Festival is February 10th – 15th 2015.
No stranger to the filmmaking process, Salnave began by creating her 1st feature documentary of the gentrification of Harlem back in 2009 with a piece entitled Harlem’s Mart 125: The American Dream which one Best Documentary film at the Africa World Documentary film festival in St. Louis and soon after traveled from city to city. She then moved on to create 2 short films; The Heavenly Nut about a couple in Guatemala who believe that the Macadamia Nut Tree will reverse Global warming and The Haitian Guantanamo Bay Experience: The Legal journey which made its official selection at the American Black Film Festival in 2013.
Here is the trailer for the film
La Belle Vie: The Good Life – Official Trailer from Rachelle Salnave on Vimeo.
For more information about La Belle Vie: The Good Life log onto www.labelleviefilm.com
