The investigation into Moise’s murder is crawling through Haiti’s court system amid accusations of political manipulation while more than 40 suspects remain in prison. Half a dozen others have pleaded guilty in a separate case in Miami where five alleged conspirators are set to go on trial in August.
After close to five years of interminable legal proceedings, President Jovenel Moise’s assassination is bursting back into the spotlight with three movies due to be released this year, each offering a different perspective.
First comes “July 7, Who Killed the President of Haiti”, a rare—almost entirely Haitian production—premiering in Miami on March 1.
While the title suggests a true-life examination of Moise’s death, Director Robenson Lauvince opted instead to concoct his own plot with elements drawn from the real events. “It’s a sensitive subject,” Lauvince told AyiboPost. “I did not want people to think I’m trying to interfere with the investigation. I wanted to do a film that’s more cultural where we talked about us as a nation,” he says.
The investigation into Moise’s murder is crawling through Haiti’s court system amid accusations of political manipulation while more than 40 suspects remain in prison. Half a dozen others have pleaded guilty in a separate case in Miami where five alleged conspirators are set to go on trial in August.
Robenson Lauvince, director of the film July 7: Who Killed the President of Haiti.
To steer away from controversy, the victim in “July 7” is named President Renel Moise. But the assassination is faithfully recreated down to the alleged Colombian gunmen and the resounding declarations in English reported outside of Pelerin 5, proclaiming: « This is a DEA operation! »
From there the film takes its own course, through the eyes of a Haitian student, played by former Miss Haiti, Raquel Pelissier, who visits her family in the north of Haiti to conduct academic research on the assassination.
To steer away from controversy, the victim in “July 7” is named President Renel Moise.
Above all, Lauvince, who was born in Port-de-Paix, Moise’s former hometown, was anxious that Haitians be given their chance to tell their own story for a change. So, he jumped at the opportunity when he got a call a week after Moise’s death.
“I took a lot of pride in this project to make sure that we talk about Haiti the right way, the real way,” he says. “Usually when those things happen in Haiti, foreigners come and tell the stories. I feel like we need to start telling our own stories. This is the first time ever that a true event in Haiti is told by Haitians,” adds the director.
So, this is the Haitian version full of vodou spirits, documents turning into snakes, an alcoholic professor who is the only one who dares to speak the truth, some police torturers, and malevolent US agents pulling the strings behind the scenes. For comic relief, there is a group of innocent yet all-seeing children, reflecting the hope of a more positive future for the country.
The largely unknown cast of Haitian-born actors, deliver their lines almost entirely in Creole in a script written by the celebrated writer, Gary Victor, and Haitian Canadian actor/writer, Paul Henry, Athis. The promising plot struggles to take off and descends into confusion as a jumble of characters appear and disappear in a hail of bullets, blurring an otherwise powerful message about Haiti’s descent into misrule following Moise’s demise.
Filmed on a $5 million budget in the Dominican Republic with some master shots captured in Haiti, Lauvince says the team spent several months researching the story before formulating the plot.
“When someone watches the film, it will be extremely difficult for them not to know it was done in Haiti. I wanted it to be authentic,” said Lauvince, who left Haiti in 2004 and studied film in Florida.
A more traditional English-language Hollywood thriller, filmed in Panama with a cast of familiar names from contemporary cinema and TV, led by Aml Ameen – who portrayed Martin Luther King Jr opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s Oscar-nominated Rustin – is due out later this year.
In this role, Ameen plays an American lobbyist in Haiti who uncovers corruption in Moïse’s inner circle and is swept up in the political turmoil after the assassination.
The one thing the two movies have in common is Petion-Ville born actor Jimmy Jean-Louis who plays President Moise in both films. Now 56, Jean-Louis rose to prominence more than a decade ago in the US playing the role of « the Haitian » on the NBC television series “Heroes”.
Actor Jimmy Jean-Louis in the role of President Renel Moïse on the set of the film July 7: Who Killed the President of Haiti.
Those seeking the truth behind Moise’s assassination will have to wait a little bit longer for the Raoul Peck-directed documentary, “The Hands That Held The Knives,” expected to appear later this year after the trial of the five alleged conspirators set in August in Miami.
An all-seeing Vodou priest in the film July 7: Who Killed the President of Haiti, named Bad, played by former Kompa singer and guitarist of Boukman Eksperyans, Eddy François.
While Lauvince chose to make an artistic film inspired by the events of July 7, he and his cast are keenly aware of the importance for the country of getting to the truth about what happened.
“Right now, even Haitians who are way older than myself say they have never seen Haiti this bad. The country keeps going downhill,” said Lauvince. “By this project we will spark conversations. Through films we can educate the world, or we can educate ourselves. We cannot just be okay with the way things are going, we need to do better.”
In writing the script, Athis used his character in the movie, Eden, to deliver some of the most telling lines about Haiti’s deeper socio-political problems. “It is time for us to tell the truth,” he told AyiboPost. “At the base of Haitian society, it’s about class struggle, the struggle for power, for advantages. Everything that happens in Haiti, it’s about access and privilege. Since the dawn of time, it’s always been the case. Those who are the most privileged, they want to keep their privilege to the detriment of the masses,” he added.
At first, Pelissier, the lead actress, was reluctant to get involved. “Like every Haitian, we usually tend to stay out of politics. So, my first response was to say no.”
After reading the script she changed her mind. “I thought it was powerful, and that we could send an important message to our community,” she said.
Pelissier was also born in Haiti and moved to Spain aged 18 to study optometry before going back to compete in the Miss World competition and winning the crown in 2016. She found it easy to identify with her character in the movie, Shedline, who is also a student returning to Haiti and is exposed to the harsh realities of political violence and corruption.
“She represents every Haitian, everybody who is frustrated and asking questions,” says Pelissier. “She doesn’t understand that getting into this investigation could get her in trouble. So, there’s a little bit of disconnect with the reality of Haiti. The people around her have to remind her to be careful,” she adds.
Audiences in Haiti will have to wait a bit longer to view “July 7” as it makes the rounds in film festivals. Clearshot Entertainment, the production company involved in the making of the film has not made any future distribution deals public.
Athis who was born in Port-au-Prince and now lives in Canada, used to work in film distribution and laments there are no functioning movie theaters in Haiti.
By David Adams
Cover : Robenson Lauvince, director of the film July 7: Who Killed the President of Haiti, surrounded by his team, with a portrait photo illustrating the former president Jovenel Moïse. Collage: Florentz Charles / ©AyiboPost | 09 mars 2025
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