Serenade for Haiti

Description

“Music is our refuge,” says a student at the Sainte Trinité Music School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. “With music… we feel we are in another world, far from troubles.” Recognizing those troubles but celebrating the refuge, this documentary is a testimony to the role that art can play in creating community and sustaining hope under the most difficult circumstances. Shot in Port-au-Prince over a seven-year period both before and after the 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands and reduced much of the city to rubble, Serenade for Haiti finds a sanctuary of hope at Sainte Trinité, which has been training young people in classical European and Haitian musical traditions since the 1950s. Replete with vivid images and joyous sounds, the film focuses on the students—most of them poor, some orphaned by political violence—and their teachers, many former students themselves. All speak eloquently about how the discipline of music has helped them discover their own voices and value in the world, but nothing speaks more forcefully than the glorious music itself. After the quake, with the school’s stately white buildings in ruins, lessons and practice continue outdoors, maintaining a rhythm of resilience. In one teacher’s words, “The country is destroyed. All the buildings are destroyed. Music must go on. Life goes on.” —Juliet Clark

The April 7 screening will be followed by a special live musical performance that unites local talent with special guests from the film.

Trailer

Film Details