Filmmaker

This is the presentation of the movie Sweet Micky For President by Slamdance Film Festival

Documentary tracks Martelly's Rise to Power

"Sweet Mickey for President" held its World Premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in January. The documentary traces the journey of President Martelly from Konpa superstardom to the highest office in the land.

The film provides an overview of 100 years of Haitian political upheaval during which the country endured 32 coup d'etats.

Martelly ran against Fugee musician Wyclef Jean and won despite his inexperience. Today he is ruling by decree until Parliament is functional once again.

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For the past three years, two filmmakers, Rachel Magloire and Chantal Regnault did a lot of research to learn the experience of a unique group of outsiders in Haiti--the criminal deportees from North America. Since 1996 and 2002, the U.S.A and to a lesser extent Canada were conducting a systematic policy of repatriation of all foreign residents who commit offenses on their soil. The extent of crime was immaterial--from violent to petty theft. When a deportation order is executed, Haitians victims of such repatriation were returned to Haiti--a new life begins in an unfamiliar and hostile land. They struggle with very limited financial means. Most of them have never been on Haitian soil or left when they were very young and many of them no longer have any family. They are unwelcome criminals, others view them with suspicion. The film speaks in the voice of the former offenders and their families. The film has been rewarded at the Festival of African Montreal as the best international documentary. Rachel Magloire was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, but she was raised in Montreal, Quebec. Chantal Regnault is a French-Haitian photographer who was born in France, presently lives in New York.

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Raoul Peck began working with short films and socio-political documentaries; then worked on feature films. He made his first Haitian movie such as L'Homme sur les quais in 1993; The Man by the Shore.

Raoul Peck really made his mark after the movie Lumumba, his 2000 feature film about Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

Presently, he travels regularly between Voorhees Township, Camden County, New Jersey, USA, Paris, France, and Port-à-Piment, Haiti.

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