by Sarah Onyango
On April 27, 2015, the Canadian Film Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti hosted a screening of the film “Ayiti Toma, au pays des vivants”, at the River Building Theatre, at Carleton University. In attendance were the film’s director Joseph Hillel as well as the Haitian ambassador, H.E. Frantz Liautaud and Mrs. Liautaud,, the high commissioners of Jamaica and Guyana, and many members of the local Haitian community. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Mr. Hillel.
The Canadian Film Institute created the Latin American Film Festival in 1997 to increase the awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Latin American cinema in Canada’s capital. Over the first 18 years of programming and organizing this public festival, in collaboration with its partners at the GRULA (the group of Latin American embassies accredited by the Government of Canada), has presented 225 Ottawa premieres of Latin American films, 17 visiting filmmakers, and attracted close to 52,000 spectators.
The festival runs from April 25, 2015 until May 9, 2015. For more info about tickets, passes and screenings, visit www.cfi-icf.ca
