HAITI FILMS:  Join us for one or both films on Haiti.  Help raise awareness and money for Episcopal missions in Haiti.  Eat popcorn, drink sodas. Discussion to follow the films. In the Parish Hall. St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 403 E. Main St., Durham, NC (682.5708)

Friday, April 23, 7 p.m. :"POTO MITAN"

In Haitian Creole, women are known as poto mitan, or central pillars, of socioeconomic and family structures.  Single or married, they often are the breadwinners. In this 2009 documentary, five of these women tell their stories and through their faces, voices, and messages illuminate the impact on Haiti's economic system of forces beyond its shores. Interwoven with the women's profiles are interviews with government ministers, scholars, and social activists who provide economic and political context. From changes in U.S. consumer tastes to tariff import restrictions to the eradication because of world health concerns of the life-sustaining Haitian Creole pig, the impact of globalization on the biographies of these striving women is brought home for the viewer.  Narration written and spoken in traditional "krik krak" style  by acclaimed Haitian novelist, Edwidge Danticat.

Friday, May 14, 7 p.m. :"THE ROAD TO FONDWA"

Before the earthquake, Justin Brandon and two other graduates of Notre Dame spent five weeks filming in Haiti with this goal in mind: "to give people in the audience the opportunity to travel to Haiti without actually going there."  One premise of the film is that the international community devalues Haiti.  The filmmakers chose to take a close look at a village called Fondwa, high in the mountains southwest of Port au Prince, and to tell its story. A story of people who opened their own bank to help neighbors fund businesses and learn to manage money. People who started a health clinic for themselves and who founded a university ----the University of Fondwa.  It struggles, but it is the first university in Haiti to teach in Creole, the French-African language spoken by 95% of the populace.  The soundtrack of the 37 minute film features Haitian bands, including the only one ever nominated for a Grammy, Boukman Eksperyans. (2008)