JEAN GENTIL

Jean Remy Genty is Haitian, speaks several languages and trained as a bookkeeper. In Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, he looks for work that matches his training and meets rejection: doors stay shut, applications lead nowhere, work on a building site lasts only a few days. When that too ends, he leaves the city and tries his luck in the countryside. “Jean Gentil” by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, Dominican Republic/Mexico/Germany 2010, tells this journey after the true story of the man who plays it himself.

It was shot in Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince before the earthquake of January 2010; a few shots were made afterwards. The film observes more than it explains, and grants its central figure the dignity the city denies him. The premiere took place in 2010 at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where the jury under Shirin Neshat gave a special mention. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2011.

Shown at the 2011 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2011 · Film Archive