Overview:
The Forgotten Occupation, a documentary on the U.S. occupation of Haiti, will make its Los Angeles premiere with a particular one-week run in Beverly Hills. The movie, by Alain Martin and Roxane Homosexual, blends private narrative with political historical past to look at a formative and infrequently neglected chapter in Haiti–U.S. relations.
The acclaimed documentary “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti” made its Los Angeles theatrical debut on Jan. 10 at Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills, kicking off a one-week engagement by means of Jan. 16.
Directed by Haitian filmmaker Alain Martin and govt produced by bestselling writer Roxane Homosexual, the function documentary revisits the 1915–1934 U.S. navy occupation of Haiti by means of a deeply private lens. The movie premiered final yr and can now be launched to West Coast audiences with a particular red-carpet screening, adopted by a Q&A, in partnership with Haitian Spotlight LA.
Mixing intimate household reminiscences with broader historic context, “The Forgotten Occupation” is framed as a letter from Martin to his grandfather. The narrative unravels a paradoxical legacy of a person who as soon as welcomed American rule in a rustic nonetheless bearing the scars of that intervention.
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Actor Jimmy Jean-Louis with director Alain Martin on the Los Angeles premiere of “The Forgotten Occupation” at Lumiere Cinema on Jan. 10. Photograph courtesy of David S. Coy II
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From left, producer Hans Augustave, director Alain Martin and Haitian historian Felix Jean-Louis on the Los Angeles premiere of “The Forgotten Occupation.” Jean-Louis seems within the documentary as a historic skilled inspecting the long-term influence of the U.S. occupation of Haiti. Photograph courtesy of David S. Coy II
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Director Alain Martin speaks throughout a post-screening Q&A moderated by Jimmy Jean-Louis following the Los Angeles theatrical debut of “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti” at Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills on Jan. 10. The documentary blends private household historical past with an examination of the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. Photograph courtesy of David S. Coy II
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From left, Richardson Chery, Martine Harris, co-founder of Haitian Highlight LA, producer Hans Augustave, Jess Blaise, communications director of Haitian Highlight LA, and director Alain Martin collect on the Los Angeles premiere of “The Forgotten Occupation” on Jan. 10. Haitian Highlight LA partnered on the screening and post-film dialogue. Photograph courtesy of David S. Coy II
“By tracing the roots of that energy by means of an intimate household story, ‘The Forgotten Occupation’ reclaims the narrative of Haitian reminiscence, love, and resilience, inviting Los Angeles audiences to see as we speak’s immigration flashpoints not as abstractions, however as a part of a protracted historical past of occupation, anti-Blackness, and extraordinary Haitian resilience,” Martin stated in a press release.
The movie’s West Coast premiere comes amid renewed nationwide debate round immigration, as Haitian migrants and asylum seekers face rising scrutiny in political discourse and border coverage. On this context, the documentary offers a well timed reflection on U.S.–Haiti relations, elevating pressing questions on empire, displacement and democracy.
“Our cultural reminiscence is, all too typically, terribly quick,” stated Homosexual. “Alain Martin’s The Forgotten Occupation is a well timed, vital reminder of the brutal American occupation of Haiti that lasted almost twenty years and sought however didn’t deliver a proud, unbiased nation to heel.
“However this film is a lot extra,” she continued, “as a result of it is usually a stunning and shifting love letter to a household, a folks, a rustic.”
Tickets can be found through lumiereticketsa.com/theforgottenoccupation. Day by day showtimes will run Jan. 10–16 at Lumiere Cinema on the Music Corridor, 9036 Wilshire Blvd.