Meet Alexandrine Benjamin, an up-and-coming film creator who delves into the harrowing realities of inadequate healthcare services for pregnant women and pervasive violence in Haiti through her thought-provoking film, "N'ap Boule." Benjamin delves into the harsh realities faced by expectant mothers, shedding light on the stark disparities in healthcare access and the alarming prevalence of violence in Haitian society. “N'ap Boule” not only serves as a call to action but a testament to the resilience of those fighting against injustice in the face of adversity. Join us as we navigate the complexities of these pressing issues through the powerful storytelling of Alexandrine Benjamin.

Where are you based?
I am currently based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

What inspired you to pursue a career in filmmaking?
I grew up surrounded by a lot of injustice, so I learned to develop this ability to rebel against things that seem unfair to me or that seem unfair to others. So, very young, I began to campaign against injustice whether at home against my parents, in my neighborhood for children or battered women, at school or through the many social groups that I joined. And when, thanks to a documentary advocacy project I participated in, I finally discovered the power of cinema, I saw the perfect opportunity to take my complaints to the largest scale. So, a dear friend of mine helped me apply to the Artists Institute, formerly Cine Institute. And here I am, using my craft to tell my stories and those of others who can't or won't speak up.

We heard that they are coming out with a film called N'AP Boule. Can you tell us more about the film?
Well, “N’AP Boule” is a short film based on current issues affecting Haiti. It features a young couple trying to get to the hospital so they can safely have their first child. To achieve this, they must confront protests, insecurity and gang violence. This is an overview of the daily life of families giving births in times of #peyilòk in Haiti, which has for some time become the regular state of the country.

The film was made as part of my thesis project for the University of Greenwich in London, but it was shot in Haiti with help from a 100% Haitian crew. The film is about 20 minutes long and the dialogues are in Kreyol, for obvious reasons… with English and French subtitles, and Spanish soon.

What inspired you to create a film addressing access to maternal health and violence in Haiti?
If you ask any Haitian who has seen “N’AP Boule”, they will tell you that something from the film happened to them or someone close to them at some point in Haiti at least once in the recent years. Violence of all kinds, kidnappings, murders of people on the streets and inside their homes… we have seen it all. All this to say that, “N’AP Boule” is more like a compilation of short events experienced by families in Haiti. So, I wasn't inspired; I have witnessed horrible things and I needed to express myself to avoid being suffocated.

So, as a concerned citizen and a filmmaker, I had to use my only tool to raise public awareness around these events that are still happening today.

Can you share any personal experiences or encounters that motivated you to tackle these specific issues in your film?
Well, my generation has witnessed an amount of violence that many consider unprecedented in the entire history of Haiti. For the past three to four decades, we have turned it into a culture of self-destruction through violence that has brought us to where we are today. So, as a growing rebel, I wanted to understand why and how people protested. When I grew up and started to participate in and follow public protests, the way some of us protesters acted so violently triggered me. Threw stones at open schools, burned tires, set fire to public and private institutions, blocked access to roads and even prevented ambulances from crossing … All this without thinking or caring about the consequences.

So, I started thinking and discussing with other people why we always want to destroy things that are sometimes useful to us, to show how unhappy we are... And one of the conclusions was that it could be due to the major lack of education of many of our social class. It was at that moment that I realized how useful it would be to make a series of videos to educate people about behaviors that could have a negative impact on our lives and those of others, to the point of preventing the progress of our nation. I started shooting interviews and B-rolls for one of the videos in 2019, but had to stop because the country was on lockdown. I was never able to finish this specific project. But “N’AP Boule” was created in the same spirit: to try to educate people on how we can prevent harm if we act differently.

Another motivation was my stay in Port-au-Prince, a few years before leaving to study in London. Where I lived downtown, I could hear all the gunshots going on in Savann Pistach and Village de Dieu, two of the main neighborhoods where there was the most madness at the time, before spreading throughout the rest of the country. I remember how many times I had to crawl under my bed because the gunshots were so loud that I thought they were going to get to me through the wall. And the next day we heard on the news how many innocent people were killed inside their homes, or sick people who lost their lives because they couldn't get to the hospital due to roadblocks, and/or a pregnant woman who managed to get to the hospital, but did not make it because she did not have enough money, or worse, the hospital did not have a single syringe to give her the serum she needed...

So, I kept wondering why. Why must we be so unfair to innocent people when we seek justice for ourselves. I can assure you that violence is much more difficult to bear when it comes from within. What has happened in Haiti in recent years is nothing short of the self-destruction of the lower class. Even if we have been instigated by others, armed by others, or pressured by others, in the end we hold the weapons and kill each other, even though we know exactly what is the source of all our suffering. So, I created “N’AP Boule” as a mirror for us Haitians to look at ourselves and realize what we have become. N’AP Boule is cry from my soul, begging my fellow Haitians to stop killing each other.

What challenges did you face during the filming process, particularly in documenting such complex and often distressing subject matter?
The film was shot in my hometown Jacmel. If the situation was terrible in Port-au-Prince, there was still a certain calm in Jacmel. So, there wasn't much at stake in terms of safety during filming. However, one of the most difficult parts of completing the project was securing the necessary financing. I was also doing my research project for the university via crowdfunding, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I launched a crowdfunding campaign. It was my first, so I was learning in the process. The campaign results did not allow me to justify my research from the angle I was approaching, but it nevertheless allowed me to raise 85 to 90% of the funding from around the world. So, I'm grateful.

Another challenge was our inability to acquire the equipment needed for the project. As you may have noticed, around 90% of the film is shot at night. This meant that we needed good lighting equipment, as well as a camera capable of filming well at night... And since Haiti was full of insecurity, the university explained that it was not able to provide me with equipment for safety reasons. If it were not for my former film school, Artists Institute, who supported me all the way, as well as other partners like Muska Group, Jako Media, Sonartlive and Spira Film, “N’AP Boule”, wouldn't have seen the light of day.

But in a more general aspect, making the project was kind of a stressful experience because I was abroad during the development and pre-production phases, so keeping up with all the preparations for the film like castings, contacting potential partners, building a team in Haiti, remotely doing scouting, etc. while working on my research project at the same time almost drove me crazy. But nevertheless, the project almost was a great success thanks to my wonderful team on the ground who worked so hard, for free, really stepping up and making things happen before I was finally able to travel to Haiti just two weeks before filming began; and my cast who also did a wonderful job even though it was the first time on screen for almost them all.

The challenge of one particular scene that really stood out to me was the climax. The one with the last group of armed bandits where Jean and Rose were mistreated. We went on location for about two to three nights in a row to shoot that scene, but we couldn't. The first two nights were interrupted by heavy rain, and the third by the assassination of our former president, Jovenel Moise. After that night, I lost faith and told myself that this was the end of the project. We took a break. But a day or two later, in a meeting, my team reminded me that these events were exactly why we were doing “N’AP Boule”. And from there, we picked ourselves up and resumed production. This action once again confirmed the saying that “you can kill a man, but not the idea” by World War II veteran and American civil rights activist Medgar Evers. It made me realize that if I died, my team would finish the project and make sure it was seen. It was comforting.

Access to maternal health services and medical facilities is crucial for all individuals. What are your aspirations for the future of maternal healthcare in Haiti?
Maternal health in Haiti is a serious issue, but it is the health system in general that has always been neglected. There are a small number of government owned health facilities, and the ones that exist do not have the means and necessary equipment to offer adequate service. In Jacmel for example, electricity is very rare at the hospital, and most of the time, if a patient were to take an injection, they would need to buy and bring their own syringe. How can we expect health personnel lacking basic equipment to do their work?

Oftentimes, the personnel are frustrated too, because they are doing one of the least paying jobs in the country, and sometimes would go months without being paid. They are always on strike. The ones who are not on strike are working in the private hospitals and do not have time to work in public hospitals. The small percentage who do go to work in the public health facilities probably do it because they love what they are doing, but that does not eliminate their frustrations.

Many think that the reason for this neglect from our elected officials to invest in the health system is because they don’t go to hospitals in Haiti. The moment they have a headache, they fly abroad to get treatment. But it is our duty as citizens who elected those people, to force them to serve the country and do the job that we voted them to do. So, I am hoping that this film can help encourage discussion at all levels around the issue of how crucial it is to make a complete reform of the health system in Haiti.

How do you hope your film will raise awareness and provoke discussion about the issues of maternal health and violence in Haiti?
Haiti has become a kind of hell for Haitians and even foreigners. Many innocent people are missing, kidnapped or killed. And this situation is becoming “the new normal” for the Haitian people. So, it is more important for me to sound the alarm on a situation that has lasted too long. It needs to stop, and stop now! This is why it is extremely important to me to see “N’AP Boule” being distributed and viewed throughout Haiti. I hope that it can be used as a kind of mirror for us Haitians. A mirror that allows us to look inside ourselves, and realize how deep the bleeding is, and to commit to ourselves, to help get Haiti out of this hole.

I believe that we Haitians can help foster our own identity and a stronger sense of kinship with each other and the international community. And it is our duty to make Haiti a safe place for ourselves and others. I hope this short film will help Haitians understand that fighting the oppressors by killing the oppressed or making them suffer is not our best course of action to solve the problem.

What do you hope viewers will take away from watching your film, and what actions do you hope it will inspire them to take?
Trying to educate people while they are being entertained has proven to be effective, but mostly over time. And time is something that we do not have right now in Haiti. So, I am not expecting that “N’AP Boule” will change people's mindset like a magic wand. But, since the film is about the little things, I am hoping that, after being viewed by a protestor for example, it can at least slightly modify their behaviors. Maybe inspire them to think twice before blocking the streets that provide access to a hospital…, or make concessions when needed, by maybe agreeing to let the ambulance in while demonstrating on the streets. It is about inspiring health personnel to find the best way to help a pregnant woman in need, even if it’s the middle of the night…

I also hope that this film can remind our current government and the ones to come, as well as our diasporas and friends in the international community, that pulling Haiti from this hole will take more than a ton of rice or money transfer. It will take good education for all, a street free from illegal guns, investment to help provide work so that the population can take care of itself. But more importantly, keeping Haiti out of the hole will take good psychological support, because the body is nothing without a soul.

We heard that you donate the funds allocated to organizations that address maternal health. Can you tell us more about these organizations and why you chose to donate to them?
Since we started working with New York City based Street Team Productions to help us independently create our own screenings, we decided to try and donate some of the funds generated from paid screenings to maternal health organizations in Haiti. Midwives or Sage Femmes as they are called in Haiti are very important in the birthing process. Since the film follows a couple trying to get to the hospital in Haiti, we wanted to do our part to try and help these organizations do their work. Organizations like:

We are keeping an eye out for other good ethical organizations in Haiti that are in the maternal health space.

You're also affiliated with The Artists Institute and are an alumnus. Could you elaborate on the ways they've supported you and your plans for helping them?
Artists Institute, formerly Cine Institute, is the film school where I studied cinema for two years. It is based in my hometown Jacmel and is also the place that taught me about how to survive in this fierce world. They started in 2008 with a series of seasonal workshops following a film festival and began a fully funded training school after the earthquake.

I joined Cine Institute in 2012 right after I finished high school. Most of the teachers were from abroad, very nice, passionate and reliable people. It was a very intense experience as we had class five days a/week from 8am-5pm, but it was worth it. I am still in touch with some people from the staff, and two of them are still mentoring me by guiding me in my career.

They have a post-graduate department that they call Cine Support. This section is the go-to for all graduates the moment they are doing a project and need a way to support it. Whether with a van to transport my film crew, a generator, equipment landing sometimes with even a technician to help operate them, Artists Institute always supported me with my projects. From the short documentaries I directed in the past, to “N’AP Boule” and my first feature film “O Negatif” (O-) currently in post-production. It is a shame that the school has been in limbo for the past few years because of funding, and that they have very limited means to help young people in Haiti in the time they most need it.

Artists Institute is like a home for all of the graduates, some of us have made a commitment to do whatever is in our power to help bring the school back on its feet. And we are hoping that after reading this article, your readers will join us in rebuilding hope in Jacmel and its surrounding by making a donation to Artists Institute.

Are there any upcoming projects you would like to share?
I am now producing my first feature film “O Negatif”, promoting the full emancipation and inclusion of people living with HIV around the world.

It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
I try to stay away as much as possible from the bad news from Haiti, (it's not like there is much good news anyway). But being Haitians and staying positive during these times is not possible at all. My heart bleeds every-time I get to hear the horrible things that are happening. I had to move out of the country recently, because it was becoming dangerous and almost impossible to live in peace there. But I am doing my best to help every way I can from where I am, while working on myself. I hope to be able to see my Ayiti cheri soon.

What is your motto in life?
Believe in your own abilities, work hard, do what you think is right and the rest will fall into place.

To learn more about Alexandrine, please follow the links below:
N’AP Boule:
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Artists Institute

Alexandrine Benjamin - Telling Stories Through Film