Here are some of the activities of the upcoming Haiti Film Festival, hosted by Haiti Cultural Exchange in New York City from May 9-12, 2013. The following are the events slated for the first two days of the festival (subsequent posts will follow to highlight other events).

Haiti Cultural Exchange presents the opening of the Haiti Film Festival 2013 on Thursday, May 9, from 6:00pm to 12:00am. The opening features a performance by Emeline Michel, with music by DJ Zing. Honoring Frantz Voltaire, founder of the Centre International de Documentation et d’Information Haïtienne, Caribéenne et Afro-Canadienne (CIDICHA) for his work in film and archival research, this event will take place at DROM 85 Avenue A, East Village, New York.

Emerging Filmmakers Networking Event and Screening of Select Short Films: This event takes place on Friday, May 10, 2013, from 6:00 to 9:00pm at the FiveMyles Gallery, located at 558 St Johns Place in Brooklyn, New York. Select short films include:

Viter Juste, The Father of Little Haiti (2012, 6 Minutes, English) by Rachelle Salnave: Known as Pere Juste (Father Juste), Viter Juste was a pillar in the Haitian community in South Florida. Father Juste named Little Haiti, a well-known neighborhood in Miami, Florida recognized for its enclave of Haitian culture and people. He was instrumental in fighting for the civil rights of Haitian immigrants and contributed to a cultural safe haven for many Haitians who risked their lives to come to America to find freedom. [See photo above.]

Night Driver (2011, 20 Minutes, English) by Fritz Celestin: A young man with a dirty job struggles to validate his dreams of becoming a musician. His growing emotions for a beautiful young prostitute drive him into a dangerous situation where he must make some serious decisions.

For more information, see http://haiticulturalx.org/hcx-haiti-film-fest-2013-schedule

For a moving portrait of Viter Juste by his son, Carl Juste, see http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/05/01/1028082/haitian-advocate-viter-father.html

Also see previous posts Viter Juste, Haitian community pioneer and leader, dies at 87 and Viter Juste, Father of Little Haiti and a teaser of Rachelle Salnave’s film at http://vimeo.com/54448190