Cinema
Olivia
Bob Lemoine · 1977
Synopsis
The film follows the trials of a poor peasant woman, Olivia, who has come to settle in Port-au-Prince; Olivia Léon plays the role. Shot in Creole and on thirty-five-millimetre film, it is among the rare films produced in Haiti under the Duvalier dictatorship, and it is as such that histories of Haitian cinema cite it, without recounting its plot.
Context
The 35 mm format distinguishes it from the other two Haitian films of the period, shot in 16 mm. Belfim presents it as a feature film that the author directed and produced himself. The author then began a second film, which was never shown. The CNC admits only two films officially produced under the dictatorship, this one and Raphaël Stines's film of 1976, whereas three are sometimes counted.
Who it is for
A feature film in Creole from 1977, known through books on the country's cinema and through film databases.
Prizes and reception
Counted among the only two (according to the CNC) or three Haitian films of the twenty-eight years of the dictatorship.
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