/images/dot_clr.gif) Conversations with the
Living: Globalization
and the Haitian AIDS
Crisis
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| Leigh E. Carlson / Gregory Cassagnol / Trina DeMattei |
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| "Conversations with the Living: Globalization and the Haitian AIDS Crisis" will raise awareness of the current HIV/AIDS crisis in Haiti and the history of the disease there, while exploring how the profound poverty of the nation works synergistically with the disease, and focusing on the positive strides that have been made in recent years and the vibrant culture that gives everyday Haitians strength in the face of daunting conditions. |
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| Haiti's tragic struggle with AIDS parallels the country's equally tragic history, the two are virtually inseparable. "Conversations with the Living: Globalization and the Haitian AIDS Crisis" addresses this fact by spotlighting the events that led to Haiti's disenfranchisement and aims at turning the world's attention towards an avoidable humanitarian crisis.
The damaging affects of an HIV-positive diagnosis, and the obstacles faced economically and socially are introduced and personalized through Jean-Claude, an HIV-positive Haitian, and his family, who like other Haitians go to great lengths to receive treatment. Lacking accessible treatment coupled with the need to maintain anonymity for fear of social stigma and carrying malnourished bodies barely able to sustain the anti-retroviral medicines they receive, these families represent a large percentage of a population struggling to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis in Haiti.
After the earthquake on January 12th, 2010 there is grave concern that the further fractured health care system in Haiti, of which the HIV infrastructure is a part, will struggle to meet the needs of the Haitian community and garner the long-standing support that is so desperately needs to combat the HIV/AIDS
crisis.
Not only does 80% of the population subsist on less than $2 a day, but Haiti is structurally impoverished. One of the main reasons for the 2010 earthquake's lethality was because of Haiti's extreme poverty on every level. Governmental poverty created the public health system that ceased to function in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake because it was already crippled to begin with. Even before the disaster, there were three doctors for every ten-thousand Haitians.
The earthquake shattered much of Haiti, but the country was broken long before the disaster struck. How many lives could have been saved had the poverty not been so severe?
The question holds true for the HIV/AIDS epidemic still festering under Haiti's skin. The same healthcare system that could not treat broken legs, will never be able to dispense anti-retrovirals - at least not unless something is done about it. "Conversations with the Living" is determined to keep the attention of the international community focused on the immediate and long-term needs of this historically underserved nation and her people. |
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| Marc Landas (Director) is a filmmaker and writer based in New York who has worked for news sources ranging from Fox News to the Los Angeles Times, is the author of "The Fallen: A True Story of American POWs and Japanese Wartime Atrocities", and currently serves as an online editor and print journalist for several Londonbased publications, including "European Laboratory" and "Scientist Live".
Leigh E. Carlson (Producer) is a film and television producer that has worked for independent production companies and networks such as Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, currently serves as a
media producer for the non-profit organization Getting Out By Going In (GOGI), and as the Production Manager for Gurney Productions, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA.
Gregory Cassagnol (Producer) made his foray into the arts in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when he began writing for Source Magazine and Spin Magazine as a record reviewer, news reporter, and columnist, which led him to an independent news producer position at BET and the production of the award winning documentary film, Hip Hop 101:The Game, distributed through Win Media/Ventura.
Trina DeMattei (Line Producer) has line produced nearly a dozen independent films, recently co-produced the short film "Heather and Goliath", an environmental documentary about the LA River, and is currently producing the feature film "Grown".
Bernard Moor-Jankowski (Director of Photography) has worked with Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Court TV, TLC, Fuse TV, and MTV, selffunded a human rights documentary in Mauritius, Africa (http://www.chagosfilm.com/) and most recently completed a project in Mali, Africa for the New York African Museum of Art.
Brandon Huus (Sound Mixer) attended school at the Institute of Production and Recording in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, has worked as a sound technician for live music acts, technical director for several theater productions, and as a sound mixer for film and television projects, including numerous web series, short films, television series, and feature films.
Robert Dannin (Advisor) holds a doctorate in ethnolinguistics and anthropology from the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Paris, served as the director of Magnum Photos, and has worked many years as a journalist, with publications including Black Pilgrimage to Islam (Oxford University Press,
2002), several other publications on the MuslimAmerican experience, and recent work examining community movements in New York’s Lower East Side and the school choice controversy in Ohio. |
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| In a broader sense, "Conversations with the Living" is about commemorating the lives of people who have died of AIDS through the words and stories of their friends and loved ones, providing hope for those infected, and educating future generations about prevention, treatment and reversing the social stigma attached to the virus.
With the history of HIV/AIDS in Haiti, success has been marked by access to health care, and the education and empowerment of those most affected by the virus, because it has led to a measurable decrease in the national infection rate. Continued success is possible, and "Conversations with the Living" will be a part of continuing that success and focusing on rebuilding Haiti's HIV/AIDS infrastructure.
After seeing the film, we hope people will ask questions, engage in conversation about HIV/AIDS in Haiti, offer suggestions, and give their time and resources to support programs that aim to provide access to health care and make HIV/AIDS a preventable manageable disease in Haiti.
We hope to build a network of voices that refuse to allow the people of Haiti and the struggles they face go unheard like they have in the past. HIV/AIDS in an avoidable humanitarian crisis, and the people of
Haiti have the ability to fight this disease if afforded the opportunity.
Our success as an organization and
as filmmakers will be measured by our ability to help create that opportunity.
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