Producers Forum: DeeDee Halleck

An award-winning documentary about the colonial exploitation of the Haitian people, Bitter Cane was filmed secretly by a collective of Haitian and American filmmakers—many part of the Mouvement Haitien de Libération, an underground revolutionary organization—during the dictatorship of Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”) Duvalier. The film’s deep insights into the exploitation and foreign domination of the Haitian people remain all too relevant today.

After BITTER CANE was filmed in Haiti – clandestinely during the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier – the director was identified as “Jacques Arcelin.” That was a fictitious name used to protect the identify of the filmmakers. Now we can finally reveal their real names. The film was co-directed by Haitian activist Ben Dupuy and his American comrade Kim Ives. They were part of a collective of Haitian and American filmmakers called Haiti Film.

DeeDee Halleck began making films in the 1960s. Her film, The Mural on Our Street was nominated for an Academy Award in 1965, and she went on to work with artists Shirley Clarke, Richard Serra, Nancy Holt, Robert Frank, Jean Dupuy, and others. She was president of American Independent Video and Film Makers (AIVF) 1977-1982, organizing a campaign to create funding and space for independent producers on public television. Since 1974 she has been the film and video chronicler of the Bread and Puppet theater. In 1982-4 she was raised funds from The Corporation on Public Television to make a film on Haiti, working as a member of Haiti Films, along with Kim Ives, Kyle Kibbe and Pennee Bender. The film went on to win prizes at TIFF (Toronto) and Cannes and was shown clandestinely in Haiti.

DeeDee Halleck will be there in-person for the post screening discussion.