Marie Barbancourt Shows Dark Side of Modern Haiti

Haitian-American Marie Barbancourt, resident of Montreal and television broadcaster, has made "Pour que plus jamais", a film about underground atrocities committed against middle-class citizens in Haiti, under the Martelly-Lamothe government. Although the film's narrative is fictional, it is based on happenings Barbancourt and her family suffered through that echo the reign of Francois Duvalier, who was a blood thirsty dictator.

ADVERTISEMENT


Barbancourt, who wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film, plays Mia, also an ex-pat in Montreal. When she receives word her mother has been mysteriously executed back in Haiti, following the puzzling death of her father sometime before, she returns to get justice. The reason for both deaths is her parents' ownership of a home and some acreage, object of a land grab by a family with ties to corrupt politicians. She goes to court to resolve the issue, but the judge refuses to adjudicate her case. Instead she is thrown in jail on false charges, where she is tormented, so she will relinquish her claim.

Barbancourt says the film is ". . . a metaphor for life in Haiti as myself and others experienced it." She reveals her parents, too, were killed in Haiti, for the same reasons as the film's off-screen characters. And she says the killings remain a well-guarded secret. Barbancourt filmed Pour que plus jamais as a way of processing her grief and raising awareness the long shadow of Duvalier still haunts the Haitian landscape, despite appearances to the contrary.

Reply to this article

Read more: Marie Barbancourt, People

« Deputy Arnel Belizaire brutal assault on Minister Phélito Doran | Main | Lesly Saint-Roc François Manigat passed away at the age of 84 »

Return to Articles List

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

E-mail (required, will not be published)

Subject: Marie Barbancourt Shows Dark Side of Modern Haiti edit

» »

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.