Description

Cité Soleil, the most dangerous slum of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is the poorest section of the poorest city in the Western Hemisphere, a place of horrific squalor populated by a half million people living in a chaotic world of filth and violence. The subjects of this shocking film, made with astonishing access, are 2pac and Bily, two brothers who are leaders of gangs that unofficially serve as shock troops for Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas party. But it is 2004, and Aristide is hanging on by his fingernails. The brothers, whose day-to-day existences are filled with constant, bloody turf wars, share the same woman -- a pretty, misguided French relief agent. Needless to say, this insane love triangle only adds to the tension between the pair. Director Asger Leth attained an incredible level of trust from his subjects that allowed him to capture unfiltered scenes of brutal honesty; scenes not just of terrifying violence but also of intimate moments between the lovers that serve as startling counterpoint to the world outside, where life seems completely hopeless. After a while, it becomes increasingly hard to blame these thugs who must do anything humanly possibly to survive. – PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007

“I often found myself so moved by what I was seeing, I felt physically paralyzed. This is a story that transcends both genre and politics. This is an epic, universal story about hope, love, dreams, death and the vicious cycle of violence and poverty that has been with us for time immemorial. Ghosts Of Cite Soleil may in fact turn out to be not only one of the greatest, most compelling, most moving documentaries of all time, but (without exaggeration) may turn out in the end to be one of the greatest films of all time. Now that the film is complete, I find it so emotionally overwhelming, so deeply moving, that I literally spill tears working on the film, as I watch it over and over. This has never happened to me on any project I have ever been a part of. This is a movie that is so powerful it will have a life way beyond any of us. I can't tell you enough how proud and honored I am to be an executive producer of Ghosts Of Cite Soleil.”

- George Hickenlooper, Executive Producer, Ghosts Of Cite Soleil; Director, Factory Girl, Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse

“A scary, fascinating documentary… there has never been anything quite like Asger Leth's film; it's amazing it even exists and that the director is still alive” – Todd McCarthy, VARIETY

“A vivid document of a nation pushed into hell” – Robert Keser, SLANT MAGAZINE

Website

http://www.ghostsofcitesoleil.com/

Credits

Director: Asger Leth
Screenplay: Asger Leth
Cast: Winson “2pac” Jean James “Bily” Petit Frère Éleonore “Lele” Senlis Wyclef Jean
Producers: Mikael Rieks, Tomas Radoor, Seth Kanegis, Kim Magnusson, Cary Woods, George Hickenlooper, Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean, Jorgen Leth
Distributor: THINKfilm