Haiti Film – Watch “The Road to Fondwa” and Donate:
UPDATE 04/19/10:“Fondwa Update after Three Months” by Allison in Fondwa
UPDATE 03/22/10:Updates from Allison in Fondwa
UPDATE 02/23/10:Week 5 update from Allison in Fondwa
UPDATE 02/11/10:Week 4 update from Allison in Fondwa
UPDATE 01/22/10: Direct from Fr. Joseph, a list of urgently needed supplies and services in Fondwa.
UPDATE 01/19/10: Urgent Need for the Association of Peasants Fondwa (please click to read a direct message from Fr. Joseph sent Tuesday 1/19 at 9am.)
“Less a cinematic opus, and more a dry and gritty survey, “Road to Fondwa” offers the viewer a glimpse into the sad pathos of Haiti. Still, the Haitian legacy of resilience and survival rings true in the movie. There was a hopeful light in the eyes of the Haitian people that penetrated the cameras.”
- NYTimes.com
In response to the tragic earthquake Haiti has suffered, we are contributing 100% of the proceeds from Road To Fondwa sales to Haiti earthquake relief efforts in the area of Fondwa, Haiti.
Since we began working on The Road to Fondwa more than 3 years ago, we have had 3 core goals:
1. To spread the word about Fondwa’s alternative vision for sustainable development;
2. To present a realistic view of Haiti;
3. To increase collaboration with and financial support for the people of Fondwa, and Haiti in general.
To purchase a film and support Haiti relief efforts, please click here.
Consider picking up a pack of 10 or more DVDs/CDs to share with friends or to re-sell as a fundraiser for Haiti relief. For purchases of 10 or more units we are selling them at our own cost (break-even) in order to make this option as accessible as possible. See: bulk purchasing to learn more.
Screenings: Help to raise funding and awareness for Haiti by screening The Road to Fondwa at your school, church, business, book club, etc. We are building a map of screenings around the world, let’s fill it up! Click here for specific instructions on how to set up a successful screening!
Once you’ve seen the film, we would love to hear what you think via Twitter (@roadtofondwa), e-mail, or facebook!
Reactions to The Road to Fondwa (add your own in the comments below):
“Finally, a documentary that shows Haiti’s potential and the potential within us all. As a Haitian it made me proud, and as a human being it made me want to dance!”
- Carine Fabius
Owner, Galerie Lakaye Haitian Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
“The Road to Fondwa is a wonderful movie that transports viewers along several intersecting routes– a jarring road to awareness of Haiti’s harrowing poverty and of the heavy burden of US responsibility for creating it; an uplifting path to appreciation of Haiti’s heroic history and indomitable spirit of resilience and resistance; and an inspiring runway to action in solidarity with Haitians’ determined efforts to build a road to a better future for all.”
- Andrew Marx
Director of Communications
Partners in Health
Please also consider donating directly to Partners in Health (PIH), an organization very worthy of your financial contributions – they are leading the medical response throughout Haiti (the “donate now” button above goes directly to them).
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The Road to Fondwa is an astounding triumph for any documentarian, especially the young team of first time filmmakers behind Fondwa. The film is both inspiring and informative, beautifully photographed, paced, and worth watching again with family and friends. You can’t consider yourself a global citizen if you fail to learn about and help other members of your larger community. Watching the The Road to Fondwa is one such avenue to that empowerment.
Thanks, Justin. I want to show this at my church. For update on Fondwa check out http://www.piphaiti.org
Just tried to look at your Road to Fondwa documentary… on vimeo… als half way there were many technical problems… could have been the traffic (that would be a good sign)… but maybe it is a technical problem…. can you check it? it start when the lady tells about her work on the market…. digital blocks fill the screen, sound stutters , later the complete sound falls out…
I like to post a small description of your video as I liked your approach to show the back country…. as another focus than the bidonville misery…
I prefer the vimeo format over the Youtube… as your movie needs the high resolution
GREAT EVENT tonight (1-18-10) in Washington DC. Thanks for putting it on. Your all great people.
I just finished watching this video, and reading the letter update from Fr. Joseph, and it has brought tears to my eyes.
The hope, the dedication, the vision, and the time all those people put into making things better… and then to have it taken away overnight. Getting to know those people thru the video has made this tragedy even more real to me. And, I’m left with a sense of sadness at what has been lost, endless awe of the strength and dedication shown by the people in the film, and a heart full of hope that things will be rebuilt even better than before.
Thank you for sharing the Haitian situation in such a loving way, and for showing all of us that there is ALWAYS a way each individual can make a difference.
Thank you for this beautiful ticket to Haiti. Past the images that bombard our television screen, this documentary filled me with a true sense of HOPE.
I am currently teaching a course called Contemporary Global Literature at a high school in Connecticut, and in studying Danticat and “the butterfly’s way”, an anthology of Haitian authors, I was trying to find a documentary to give my students a visual of Haiti. The Road to Fondwa has been an invigorating expereince. This documentary has not only made the recent tragedies more real, but has given me new hope in the human spirit. Although Haiti is a nation that has struggled and will continue to struggle, the people, the landscape, the history; all of these things give me a reason to keep my head high for the future. Through this documentary, hope has been rekindled. Fondwa and its people are a model for not only Haiti but for our global community.
Road to Fondwa is an absolutely marvelous film, providentially completed before the January 12 earthquake demolished the place and many of the people of Fondwa and area. It is a film about wonderful people living life in a rural part of Haiti but nonetheless intertwined with places like Cite Soleil. It conveys hope, and not only that, the people are a positive example for all of us. I highly recommend it for group showings and fundraisers.
I recognized a face in the film, Fr. Joseph, who is Fr. Joseph Philippe, the founder of Fonkoze, the micro-finance group in which I am active, and which will be integral to the recovery of Haiti. But Fonkoze is not mentioned in the film: the focus is on Father Joseph’s community, Fondwa, now in ruins. Fondwa needs our help.
Nonetheless, I’d recommend, also, a visit to http://www.fonkoze.org, AFTER a generous contribution to Fondwa.
THANK YOU, MESI, to the producers of this film.
I was in Fondwa in 1998! What a blessing to know that a University has been built to educated the Haitians. When I was there, we visited and worked in a beautiful clinic building. I pray that it is still standing after the earthquake! The people of Fondwa were incredibly wonderful to work with. We visited a bakery and bought bread. I miss Haiti! I miss Fondwa! I pray that the Haitians will stay strong and rebuild. God bless the Haitians!
This is a great movie! Really tells their story.