Global FEST Returns to NYC with 13 Artists including Haitian Rasin RAM
Keen to find global performer -both veterans and newcomers – Global FEST throws one of the year’s best international music parties while expanding the horizons of musicians and audiences alike. This year’s Global FEST comes to New York City’s Webster Hall on January 9 at 7pm. This year’s festival performers include Chamber Music Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal, Creole Choir of Cuba, Diblo Dibala, Haitian Rasin group RAM, Red Baraat, Rhythm of Rajasthan, and others. Gobal FEST, the preeminent springboard for global music in North America, has been exploring and presenting a deeply rooted and diverse genres to influential North American arts professionals and avid music fans for eight years.
Jimmy Jean-Louis Presented his Documentary on the Earthquake in Haiti at the International Film Festival
The 28th International Film Festival took place at Cinema La Pagode in Paris and actor Jimmy Jean-Louis (who plays on NBC series Heroes) presented 15 minutes from his documentary titled ‘Haiti 4:53 p.m’. In January 2010, Jimmy Jean-Louis was filming for a documentary when he heard the news of the earthquake. He immediately embarked his cameraman to visit his homeland. Since then, Jean-Louis has put the final touches on editing his documentary with hundreds of hours of footage, sometimes unbearable (piles of burnt bodies in the street). The documentary was presented at the International Film Festival, and has received supports from almost every company that sponsored the event.
A New Singer Called Jayanti is Creating the Buzz in Europe
She has the best of both Surinamese culture, Hindu and Creole .Jayanti Bahadoersing is a .Monks, she explains that she grew up listening to the Jackson 5 and later, as a teenager, to female powerhouses like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Janet Jackson. She describes her music as a mix of pop, R&B, “with a bit of soul, funk flavor,” adding that most of her songs “have a spiritual angle.” According to her online blog, she is now performing in Los Angeles, California.
Haiti Popular Music ‘Katye Pam’ received 207 applications
The ‘Katye Pam’ project aims to foster youth involvement in defining the future of their neighborhoods, allowing them to address the majority. The participants, solo artists and groups have to create a song about their desired neighborhood, stating their views and proposals for the reconstruction and / or improvement of living conditions in the said neighborhood. According to preliminary statistics, all neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince participated in the contest. On December 4 pre-selected participants have been contacted for auditions, which will take place from 8 to 12 of December.15 finalists will go to the studio to record a promotional album and the winner will be decided at a show. The jury is composed of Ronald Blain (UN Habitat), writer Gary Victor and Fred Hype (Barikad Crew manager).
A Buddhist Institution Financed Vodou Theater
Funded in 2004 by a donation from a Buddhist institution in the Republic of Korea, UNESCO launched with the support of the company Lage Zhovie a series of theatrical performances for the five neighborhood affected by the January 12 earthquake. Lage Zhovie is a troupe of street theater with 14 actors and three percussionists. His show “Lage Zombie” evokes the earthquake through excerpts from the text of Haitian writer Frankétienne, an UNESCO Artist for Peace. These shows depict the great myths of Haitian culture, with references to Voodoo in particular, such as ‘Bawon Samdi’, master of the dead, or a character such as the zombie, undead slave.
The 5th edition of Film Contest Has Been Postponed
Haitian Filmmakers Association has postponed the fifth edition of the short film awards “Guilbeaud and Widmaer “. The awards, previously scheduled for December 14 will take place instead on January 25 of next year at Le Vilatte Restaurant. At the request of participants and to provide opportunities for all, the association decided to postpone the contest. The program is scaled as follows: January 5, 2011, deadline for the filing of the films, and 15 January 2011, will be the jury deliberation. This year’s theme ‘Haiti, which model’ was chosen to call Haitian producers to the arduous task of Haiti reconstruction and appeal to both their creativity and their collective conscience.