Frontiere
True North
Michèle Stephenson / Canada / 2025 / 96′
Forced into exile by François Duvalier’s dictatorship, many Haitians sought refuge in Canada. But life in this seeming multicultural paradise concealed more or less subtle manifestations of intolerance: cruel comments, ghettoization and differing standards. Acts of oppression particularly prevalent in university life, where black students were denied the promised rewards for academic excellence. The accumulated injustices prompted students to occupy the university’s computer lab and demand that their grievances be heard. Ninety-seven students were arrested, many brutally mistreated by the police, and deported from the country.
Director Michèle Stephenson
Editing Sarah Enid Hagey, Shannon Kennedy
Music Andy Milne
Production Studio112
Produced by Michèle Stephenson, Leslie Norvelle
INTRASTEVERE CINEMA – Room 2, May 26, 8 p.m.
Michèle Stephenson
Filmmaker, artist and author Michèle Stephenson draws inspiration from her Haitian and Panamanian roots to think radically about narrative and subvert imagery in spaces. Her stories intentionally reimagine and stimulate reflection on how we confront and dismantle the internalized impact of systems of oppression. His documentary American Promise received three Emmy nominations and won the Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, Stephenson co-directed the immersive magic realism series on racial terror, The Changing Same, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontiers and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.