The 29th “REEL” LATIN AMERICA(N) FILM FESTIVAL
";
Elena
Director: Michèle Stephenson, US/Dominican Republic, 2018
Length: 30 minutes
About the film:https://pragda.com/film/elena/
Rating: NR ()
Showtime(s) and location(s):
Thursday, October 13, 3:30 p.m., Cultural & Equity Center (@ UofL/120 E Brandeis Ave)
Introduction: Thomas Edison, Department of Classical and Modern Languages
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless.
Elena has lost her citizenship due to this ruling, and her family stands to lose their rightful access to legal residency in the Dominican Republic if they don’t manage to get their documents on time. Negotiating a mountain of opaque bureaucratic processes and a racist, hostile society, Elena becomes the face of the struggle to stay in a country built on the labor of her father and forefathers.
Director Michèle Stephenson’s documentary follows Elena and her family through their tribulations and small joys, as they fight to remain in the country they’ve called home for generations.
Synopsis from the Pragda site.
Elena ha perdido su ciudadanía debido a esta sentencia, y su familia se arriesga a perder su legítimo acceso a la residencia legal en la República Dominicana si no consiguen obtener sus documentos a tiempo. Negociando una montaña de procesos burocráticos opacos y una sociedad racista y hostil, Elena se convierte en el rostro de la lucha por permanecer en un país construido con el trabajo de su padre y sus antepasados.
El documental de la directora Michèle Stephenson sigue a Elena y su familia a través de sus tribulaciones y pequeñas alegrías, mientras luchan por permanecer en el país que llaman hogar desde hace varias generaciones.