Local film makers & Haitian film to take spotlight at HFF 2025

The sixth iteration of the Hairouna Film Festival (HFF) will see the work of nine local film makers being screened this weekend, in addition to, Kidnapping Inc. an award-winning film out of Haiti.

The festival kicked off last Saturday, March 15, 2025 with the Animation Night which was well attended by patrons of different ages.

On Friday, March 21, HFF will officially open the festival with the Comedy Night at the Flowt Beach Bar where two short films, ‘Yuh EH Hear (Ting!)’ directed by Trinidadian Seth D.N Nurse and ‘Run Like We’ from UK director, Rhys Aaron Lewis will be screened.

The feature film, ‘Kidnapping Inc’. was selected as Haiti’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Oscars. Director, Bruno Morral has been racking up international acclaim as Kidnapping Inc is the first Caribbean film to premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and also the first Haitian film in history to do so. It was named as Best Film of the Vevey International Funny Film Festival 2024 and copped the audience medal for Best Quebec Film at Fantasia Film Festival.

Mourral, and actor, Marcus Bourreau, will also host a workshop with persons interested in film making on March 22 at 1:00 p.m at the Beachcomber Hotel.

Though much buzz has been created for the Comedy Night, the Vincy Night, being held at the Calliaqua Playing Field on March 22, is arguably the most anticipated event with 10 local films being screened in this year’s festival.

This year’s programme features animations, music videos, short fiction, and documentaries from Hayden K. Billingy, Javed DaSouza, Dynamite, Fabian Guerra, Sean Roache, Aiko & Vonnie Roudette, Christina K. Smith and Jemmel Williams.

Festival Director, Aiko Roudette in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, said the Vincy Night event offers a special spotlight for Vincentian films to shine. She noted that despite the substantial economic, cultural and social benefits that the audiovisual sector brings, there is still a lack of awareness among the public as it relates to these benefits.

“Public perception can be a barrier to the development of local talent,” Roudette noted.

She said over the last three years, HFF has seen a huge growth in local film making however, economic challenges remain a significant limitation to film production.

“Due to economic reasons, it can be difficult for film-makers to have time to pay their bills and also make the films and tell the stories about their communities that they would like to tell. Film-makers and artists in general, would benefit greatly from an art fund to which they can apply for funding to work on their personal projects.”

HFF has also been encouraging local film-makers to apply to other film festivals in the Caribbean, and they provide assistance through waivers so that film-makers can avoid submission fees.

As part of the support for local film-makers, HFF will be launching the second edition of the Hairouna Film Fellowship, a one of a kind scriptwriting competition which awards the winner US$8000 in production funds, as well as production support toward their project.