We Don't Give Up In Haiti

Billy Jean was taken to an orphanage as a young child by his mother for safety, and to ensure he got an education. He explains the difficulties children face and why education is so important.

We wanted the film to celebrate Haiti. Most of what we hear in the
media about Haiti is negative and the spirit and determination
of the people are rarely celebrated as they should be. I wanted
to include the bright colours and carnival spirit that is abundant
there, as well as illustrating the Haitian ability to triumph in the
face of adversity.

An important way of understanding people is to engage with their
culture, so I wanted to reference Haitian painters and Haitian music.
I have directly referenced the Haitian painter Philomé Obin, whose
work is often charged with political commentary. His famous paintings:
Rue 0 (Zero), Due Cap-Haitian, Peasants going to the market,
Crossing the Stream on Donkeys, Toussaint L’Overture, and Maison de
Odette Lapommeray Acul-du-Nor were particular influences. I was
also influenced by the painting style of Claude Dambreville and his
celebrations of the ideals of the country.

As a backdrop to the main theme of the film I wanted to make reference to some
of the rich and complicated history of Haiti. So we have a tent city, survivors of
the earthquake surrounding the statue of Toussaint L’Ouverture (leader of the
Haitian Revolution), a group of schoolchildren defiantly making their way to
school. In order to understand Billy’s mother, I also made reference to what was
happening politically around that time in the street behind her and her baby.

One thing we hadn’t envisaged was the challenge of access. I wasn’t able to
directly interview BIlly, so I pieced together various parts of this story and the
situation of education in Haiti. Some of it was recorded in Haiti and sent to me
by mobile phone, so I wove this into the film style, showing the audience that
this is like a scrapbook of conversations. There are lots of different aspects of
education in Haiti, that’s why it is important to let people speak for themselves
and find solutions that work for them.