Dear Catherine

The Haitian-born director Raoul Peck made this award-winning gem of a film while being Minister of Culture on Haiti under Prime Minister Rosny Smarth (1996-97). However, the film Chère Catherine is about more than just this period. It is strongly political yet transcends this, reflecting upon themes like freedom, democracy, history and art. Chère Catherine succeeds in balancing the personal with the universal. It emphasises that history and its events consist of individual destinies. The film alternates between Raoul Peck’s camera eye, topical TV reports and old photographs. Its thematic diversity and richness is brought to us by a poetic voice that reminds the audience about the fact that there still in our age exist tyrannical regimes and people who live without freedom. tlå