Still no word on what the international release expectations are for Philippe Niang's Toussaint L'Ouverture (starring Jimmy Jean-Louis title character).
Although a notice on Jimmy Jean-Louis's Facebook page dated March 28, states that the film will screen in Haiti, Montreal, Miami, and NY in the coming weeks/months.
And well, I can now confirm that it recently screened in Haiti, within the last couple of days actually, as part of the Republic's National Day of the Diaspora commemoration celebration, which is on April 20.
The star of the film was present for that screening, as you can see from the photos within this post, where he met with the likes of Daniel Supplice, the Minister to the Presidency of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE), celebrated Haitian artis Philippe Dodard, Lucie Tondreau of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition, and many other attendees.
In what was meant to be a 2-part TV-movie, Jimmy Jean-Louis is joined by French actresses Aïssa Maïga (Paris, Je T'Aime, Bamako) as Toussaint's wife, Suzanne, and Sonia Rolland (Moloch Tropical, Midnight In Paris) as Marie-Eugénie Sonthonax, wife of abolitionist L.F. Sonthonax.
Expected to air in on French TV this spring (If it hasn't already), the film premiered in the USA at the Pan African Film Festival in LA in February, which is where I saw it, and where it picked up some trophies.
I assume the above playdates in Montreal, Miami and NY are more than likely film festivals – specifically, the American Black Film Festival in South Beach/Miami, in June, and possibly the Urban World Film Festival in New York later this fall.
Early in March, the Haitian video-sharing website NouLive.com, hosted part 1 of the film, which I shared here (although it wasn't subtitled).
It's since been taken down of course.
More pics below, and the rest can be found HERE.
