Rodado como um vídeo-clip num universo apocalíptico, o filme causou enorme polémica aquando da sua estreia nos Estados Unidos. Vários críticos perguntaram: "como é que o realizador sobreviveu à rodagem?".
O bairro de lata "Cité Soleil", no Haiti, transformou-se durante os últimos meses da turbulenta presidência de Jean-Bertrand Aristide no local mais perigoso do planeta. Asger Leth, filho do realizador Jørgen Leth, acompanha dois irmãos cujos gangs, financiados e armados por Aristide, controlam pelo terror toda a população do bairro. "2pac" tem o rapper americano Tupac como modelo e parece começar a questionar a sua lealdade a Aristide; Billy é um apoiante incondicional do presidente e tem mesmo algumas aspirações políticas. À medida que a posição de Aristide é posta em causa, a situação dos dois irmãos torna-se cada vez mais perigosa.

Asger Leth, Dinamarca, 2007, 88'


Two hours off the shores of Miami Beach, Haiti lies nestled next to the Dominican Republic, ignored by the rest of the world.
It is a country of poverty and despair and violence.
But to the vast majority of people who have never set foot in Haiti, "Hell" is the only word that can truly convey its condition of life.
This is where GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL takes place.

The reality of life today in Haiti unfolds before us as we get to know two brothers and their stories intimately. They are 2Pac and Bily, Haitian gang leaders who strive to make better choices in a world with no choices at all.
Through unprecedented access, we see the brothers' love and hatred for each other, their love triangle with Lele, a French relief worker, and their unsavory pact with President Aristide during his desperate grasp to maintain power in early 2004. Speaking the language of violence and knowing that staying alive in Haiti is a very day-to-day proposition, 2Pac and Bily struggle to find a better life for themselves and for their people.

GHOSTS OF CITÉ SOLEIL is the story of young armed men from the slum, being used for political purposes. It is a testament of desperate dreams in a ghetto world where dog eats dog.
It is the story of a brother's love and a brother's hate. Cain and Abel. With hip-hop and rap music as an existential part of there desperate hope for survival in Cité Soleil,- the most dangerous place on earth.




Two brothers are stuck in a system of political violence. They are gangleaders in President Aristide's secret army of slum gangs. One wants to fight for the president, the other wants out. They live in Cite Soleil. The most dangerous place on earth. A film about Haiti, where gangs, gun rappings, love and dramatic, political events, together, tell the true story of the last months of Aristide's presidency.


FOREWORD
Wyclef Jean


I remember running outside when it rained to catch drops on my tongue for drinking water. I remember running naked in the streets, laughing and dancing as the water splashed on my face. I remember eating mud to pacify the hunger in my stomach. I remember we didn't have money for basic needs; we didn't even have any clothes.

Yet...I remember being happy. I remember feeling joy in the midst of that poverty, a joy built on the spirit of Haiti, and I remember being OK.

These are my memories of a place called Croix-des-Bou-quets, Haiti. From there to New York City is a long way, but some things will always be a part of you. Every time I go back to Haiti, I have an almost physical reaction to my homeland. It is an indescribable energy that is unleashed even before the plane touches down. I gaze out at the striking, majestic mountains as the plane makes its approach. I brace for the inescapable heat that greets you upon landing. It hits me; I am home.

The people of Haiti, especially her kids, are my family. No matter how long I've been away, my people always welcome me back with open arms. When I look into their eyes, I see myself, and I am able to savor the connection that we share to a past that I have never really left.

That connection came calling unexpectedly on a stormy June night in the summer of 2004. On the advice of a friend, I sat down with my partners to watch raw footage of a documentary by a Danish filmmaker, Asger Leth and his Serbian cinematographer and co-director Milos Loncarevic. Set in a teeming, violent slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince,"Ghosts of Cité Soleil"tells the story of the Haitian 2pac, a gang leader.

I guess it was somehow fitting that it was raining that summer night. It was as if the lightning from the storm out¬side suddenly struck all of us inside. As I sat there in my studio, mesmerized by the images on the screen, my instinctive reaction was to hop on a plane for Haiti the next day. Why?

I needed to understand. I needed to see these kids with my own eyes and not through the lens of a camera. I needed them to tell me what had happened to that Haitian spirit from my childhood. I needed to understand why their lives had such potential, yet their eyes were filled with so much rage and pain. And I needed to figure out what I could do to change that.

2pac, and so many of the kids like him in Haiti, have been completely written off by the outside world. It's easy to discard those that seem so different, so less than. They make up faceless statistics in a far away land and seemingly have nothing to offer to the world. But this movie and the images in this book refuse to let you get away with that, challenging the way that we tolerate the misery around us. The faces on these pages tell you that something has gone horribly wrong in Haiti. But then you realize that there is more to the story.

After seeing"Ghosts of Cité Soleil", I couldn't shake the image of 2pac from my mind - or any of the other kids desperately trying to find a way out of the mess that was their lives. Of course, music is part of the reason that I identified with them so immediately. 2pac wanted to be a rapper. While living in the Brooklyn projects, my mom put a guitar in my hand. Adjusting to a new, hostile culture, learning a new language, living with the typical angst of a teenage boy - music became my refuge. It saved my life; 2pac looked to it for his salvation as well.

But this movie is about much more than a kid who wanted to rap. Whether you are a gang leader in the poorest country in the Western hemisphere or a successful executive in the richest, everyone has dreams, everyone feels pain."Ghosts of Cité Soleil"is about the dreams that we all have, the kind that you tuck away only to pull out in the most private of moments. It painstakingly lays bare all of the elements - love, hope, pain, despair - that make 2pac as human as you and I.

In some of the songs from the soundtrack of"Ghosts of Cite Soleil", I blend 2pac's music with my own. I work to bring his unique talent, his dreams, his distinctive vision to the world. In other tunes, I try to capture the power of the movie itself, creating tracks that mirror its chaos and serenity - the paradox that is Haiti.

This book does the same. You cannot help but to look at the searing, haunting images on these pages and not grasp the beauty and tragedy and potential of 2pac's life - you will never be able to dismiss these images as the faces of ex¬pendable human beings.

I may have shared stages with kings and presidents all over the world, a long, long way from Croix-des-Bouquets, but I will never forget my beginnings. I may have received awards and accolades at the highest levels, but I will always be able to look at anyone in the eye and connect at that fundamental human level. I may have some of the creature comforts of American fame and fortune, but my work will always reflect and pay tribute to what is uniquely Haitian and yet unmistakably universal.

Always reaching back for those who come after me, I choose to live my life in a way that proves worthy of the blessings that I have received.

How will you live yours?

Wyclef Jean - July 2005, New York City



POSTSCRIPT
Asger Leth

"Ghosts of Cité Soleil"would never have seen the light of day had it not been for the many, many people in Cité Soleil who risked their lives guarding ours. Who opened their door to our presence and our cameras. Opened their souls and invited us in to share their deepest fears and their brightest dreams.

If it hadn't been for the energy and devotion of my producer Mikael Chr. Rieks and Seth Kanegis who were the first to jump on board to this wild idea and throw everything aside to make it all happen. Without them the film"Ghosts of Cité Soleil"might never have been finished and you wouldn't be read¬ing this book. The heartbreaking stories of Cite Soleil might have remained untold. Better producers can't be found.

To the good people of Nordisk Film, Sak Pase Films and Cary Woods and his crew at Independent Pictures. All of whom worked their hearts out.
Thanks are not enough. Not nearly.

To Eleonore Senlis for her wild heart and devotion to Cite Soleil.

To Bily and Haitian 2pac and to all of your guys who are no longer here; Wish you could read this. Wish you could see your stories on the screen. Thank you so much from here to eternity.

-

Danish Documentary Film

Danish Title
Ghosts of Cité Soleil

English Title
Ghosts of Cité Soleil

Danish Release
09.11.2006

Country of origin
Denmark

Running time
1h26

Technical Data
35mm / 1.85:1 (widescreen) / 2451 m / 5 reels / colour / Dolby SR Digital

Language
Creole, English, French dialogue, English subtitles


Director
Asger Leth

Co-director
Milos Loncarevic

Director of photography
Milos Loncarevic, Frederik Jacobi, Asger Leth

Editor
Adam Nielsen

Sound
Hans Møller, Rasmus Winther

Composer
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Wyclef Jean

Producer
Mikael Chr. Rieks, Tomas Radoor, Seth Kanegis

Executive producer
Kim Magnusson, Cary Woods, George Hickenlooper, Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Wyclef Jean

Production
Nordisk Film

Coproduction
Sak Pasé Films Inc., Sunset Productions Inc., Independent Pictures

Finance
(DK) Nordisk Film Production A/S; (US) Sunset Productions Inc.; Sak Pase Films, Inc.; (DK) Danish Film Institute; TV2 Denmark

International sales
Nordisk Film International Sales / Mosedalvej 14 / DK-2500 Valby / t +45 3618 8200 / f +45 3618 9550 / contact@nordiskfilm.com / www.sales.nordiskfilm.com

Festivals
Danish Film Institute




Shot On: 16 mm +DV-Cam
Country of Origin: Denmark
Production Company: Nordisk Film Production
Domestic Release: 03.05.07

Year of Production : 2005



FESTIVALS / PRIX / AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS

CPH:DOX
[november 2006]

Ekko - Magasinet om Film og Medier
[september/oktober 2005]

Egmont
[august 2006]

Varity
[september 2006]

Philadelphia Film Festival
[april 2007]

Toronto International Film Festival
[september 2006]

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
[november/december 2006]

The New York Times
[2006]