Caribbean Activist Cinema
8 Episodes
Born from a period of intense political upheaval, these radical Caribbean films spotlight vital stories of workers’ movements, decolonial struggle, and liberation from economic exploitation and violent oppression. Including urgent, on-the-ground accounts of revolutionary movements (HAITI: THE WAY TO FREEDOM, GRENADA: THE FUTURE COMING TOWARDS US), dynamic portraits of women on the frontlines of resistance (WOMEN OF SURINAME, SWEET SUGAR RAGE), and a one-of-a-kind diasporic musical revue (WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY), they blend agitprop and grassroots pedagogy with living folk traditions to forge a collective counter-cinema built around the fight for freedom.
Guest-curated by Jonathan Ali of Third Horizon Film Festival, who presented a version of this program entitled You Don’t Get Freedom, You Take Freedom: Caribbean Activist Cinema 1978–1985 at THFF in 2025.
Featuring:
HAITI: THE WAY TO FREEDOM (Arnold Antonin, 1973)
THE TERROR AND THE TIME (Rupert Roonaraine, 1978)
WOMEN OF SURINAME (At van Praag, 1978)
WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY (Med Hondo, 1979)
BITTER CANE (Ben Dupuy and Kim Ives, 1983)
GRENADA: THE FUTURE COMING TOWARDS US (Carmen Ashhurst, Samori Marksman, and John Douglas, 1983)
SWEET SUGAR RAGE (Harclyde Walcott and Honor Ford-Smith, 1985)
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01:09Episode 1Caribbean Activist Cinema Teaser
Episode 1
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1:16:05Episode 2Bitter Cane
Episode 2
Directed by Ben Dupuy and Kim Ives • 1983 • Haiti
Filmed in secret under the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier, this incisive documentary explores the effects of foreign exploitation and oppression on Haitian society. From peasant coffee farms in the rugged tropical mountains to steamy U.S.-l...
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West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty
Episode 3
Directed by Med Hondo • 1979 • Algeria, Mauritania, France
Starring Robert Liensol, Roland Bertin, Hélène VincentMauritanian French director Med Hondo’s staggering WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY is a sui generis amalgam of historical epic, Broadway revue, Brechtian theater, and joy...
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1:31:19Episode 4Haiti: The Way to Freedom
Episode 4
Directed by Arnold Antonin • 1973 • Haiti
Often identified as the first Haitian feature film, this landmark documentary chronicles the centuries-long quest of the Haitian people for self-determination. Rooted in a fierce national pride, the film journeys through the defining events of Haiti’s hi...
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1:13:30Episode 5The Terror and the Time
Episode 5
Directed by Rupert Roonaraine • 1978 • Guyana
The Terror is British colonialism and Cold War imperialism. The Time is 1953. THE TERROR AND THE TIME tells the story of the Guyanese people’s fight for independence and self-determination, investigating the historical background of neocolonial condi...
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57:55Episode 6Women of Suriname
Episode 6
Directed by At van Praag • 1978 • Suriname, Netherlands
Through the stories of four women—Jetty, Sonja, Somai, and Sylvie—this incisive documentary explores the impact of Dutch colonialism and neocolonialism on their lives in Suriname, as well as in the Netherlands, where they face further discr...
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54:02Episode 7Grenada: The Future Coming Towards Us
Episode 7
Directed by Carmen Ashhurst, Samori Marksman, and John Douglas • 1983 • Grenada, United States
GRENADA: THE FUTURE COMING TOWARDS US examines the aims and accomplishments of the Caribbean New Jewel Movement and the reasons for the 1983 US military invasion of Grenada. The film puts these events ...
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56:15Episode 8Sweet Sugar Rage
Episode 8
Directed by Harclyde Walcott and Honor Ford-Smith • 1985 • Jamaica
The Sistren Collective, a popular Jamaican women’s theater troupe, uses performance and improvisation as consciousness-raising tools for both rural and urban audiences. Their performances speak directly to the daily experiences o...
