There is a much dire need to tell our own stories now more than ever.

Of course, like everyone in Haiti and in the Haitian Diaspora, our clock pretty much stopped at 4: 53 PM on Tuesday, January 12th. Since then, many of us have made the pilgrimage to the mother country and have returned shell-shocked and speechless. This unfathomable tragedy has caused a seismic shift for us Haitians in the Diaspora as well and the time has come for us to articulate how we can best serve Haiti and what roles we will play in her recovery. One of the best ways to serve is not to let Haiti fall into neglect, in fact, as artists it should become our duty.

Here at BelleMoon Productions LLC, we have decided to respond in the following two ways:

J-12.TV, a global web platform that will webcast a weekly documentary series tentatively titled “Stories from the quake” or “Fault lines” which will follow the stories of quake survivors as they put the pieces of their lives back together, long after the international media has gone.

Our second response is to give some of the proceeds of the sales of our films to 4 Haitian recovery efforts on an ongoing basis. We are still working out those details and will keep everyone posted. These are not major NGOs, but smaller Haiti-based non-profits that have been working for development and sustainability long before this nameless tragedy.

Haiti Earthquake, when the media spotlight fades…

The minutes following the quake, every form of communication in Haiti had gone down, with radio and television headquarters destroyed it was impossible for Haiti to provide coverage for the population and the world. The little bit of news that did come out was via the web. In Less than 24 hours after the quake, the huge media void had been filled by a plethora of international cameras that had descended Port-au-Prince showing the images of what looked liked a post nuclear war zone. We were then shown heart-wrenching images of rescues and dead bodies being hauled to mass graves. By the second week, the stories began to have a sense of redundancy as star cable news anchors sparred with each other for a piece of this prized tragedy. In the meantime, indie filmmakers from across the globe rode motorbikes around the city of Port-au-Prince scavenging for sensational footage of crushed bodies, looters and riots. Cable news crews and indies alike, in many instances, without any respect for the privacy of the Haitian people or permission, barged into their makeshift tents and into the ruins of their homes in search of an umpteenth pitiful story. Most of those images, as valid and crucial as some of them may have been, only comforted the world’s gaze on us as perpetual victims of incessant tragedies of biblical proportions.

In the upcoming months we will see a profusion of documentary-like films on Haiti on networks all around the globe. Unfortunately, by the end of 2011, Haiti will have fallen completely out of the public’s media sphere, out of sight out mind, until the next tragedy hits.

As for us filmmakers in the Haitian Diaspora who had our lenses focused on Haiti long before this tragedy, what role can we play in Haiti’s recovery? What kind of films should we make? What purpose will they serve? How can we give more resonance to our stories? Who will be our audience? How can we keep Haiti from being just a media fad or a fleeting interest for well-intentioned foreign filmmakers? How can we change the ongoing narrative on Haiti? Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti the country of dirt eaters, Haitians, the ongoing victims of a bad curse etc… Who will tell the stories of the three founding members of the women’s movement all perished in the quake? or the story of the entire second year class med school students aspiring to one day play an active role in the development of their country? Who will tell stories of crushed dreams and educational institutions and movements that were toppled in just 35 seconds?

It is these very questions that have prompted us at BelleMoon Productions to create J-12.TV. Simply going in and capturing some footage and editing a film will not be enough to cover the multitude of stories that will unfold in the upcoming months and years. There will be stories of abuse, but also stories of bravery and sacrifice and of hope. Families will move from tents to homes, others will leave the city for the country side and try to start anew, couples will get married and children will be born. This time next year, Haitians will celebrate the carnival that the quake spoiled for them this year, because cathartic moments of joy are a strong part of what keeps us going as people. The series “Stories from the quake” will feature a mellifluous flow of characters from every sector of the population, those living in tents and others trying to rebuild their homes. We would like to feature characters in Port-au-Prince but as well in Leogane, Grand Goaves and Jacmel and other parts of the country that were impacted by the earthquake.

Why the Web?

J-12.TV is about giving the Haitian population and the global web community immediate access to Haitian stories that are unfolding in the aftermath of this tragedy, beginning now and for the next five years or so. The internet has proven to be a very effective, reliable tool and source of information for the Haitian population. In the immediate hours following the quake, before the news crews, the internet was the only source of communication the few individuals in Haiti who had access to a reliable internet provider were able to access news of what was going on in the country but to also give news to their loved ones outside the country. They were also able to provide us with information and later images of the damage in other parts of the country as well. For example, the students in the film school Ciné Insitute in Jacmel were very instrumental in getting the news out. They went into full gear as soon as their internet service was back up, by the end of the first day they had begun streaming images out to the world which led to news crews and rescue teams coming to Jacmel and providing the much needed relief for the people.

Funding and Partnerships

J-12.TV is a long-term project that will need continuous funding and the support of various organizations, foundations and institutions. We are currently searching for funding and strategic partnerships internationally. We need film equipment, computers, editing software, web specialists, and robust Internet providers, office space in Miami and in Haiti. We intend to attract corporate sponsors as well to whom we will provide visibility on the J-12.TV website.

What’s next?

We intend to collaborate with expert filmmakers in and outside of Haiti to jump-start the project immediately. Our first step is to go to Haiti for a two-week scouting period to find characters and listen to their stories. After we have located our characters and written our projects, we will return to Haiti and begin filming. We intend to edit and upload the first episodes the week following our initial shoot.

In the beginning, a team of established filmmakers outside and inside of Haiti will capture these stories, we will work with local assistants and production crews. In the long run we would like to train Haitian citizens to capture, produce and edit those stories themselves.

J-12.TV is also about empowering the youth with the tools of social media. Our intention is to also create jobs locally in the media and communication sector for long-term sustainability.

As secretary of state Hilary Clinton said during her first trip to Haiti after the quake, "the future of Haiti, belongs to Haiti." The reconstruction of Haiti in the aftermath of the quake will be an opportune moment for us Haitian filmmakers in Haiti and the Diaspora to reconstruct our own images and offer an entire new narrative to the world.

February 12, 2010-02-13

Guetty Felin