To begin the Island Lecture Series for 2025, the Institute of Island Studies will be screening the short movie N'AP Boule (Through the Barricades), including a facilitated virtual conversation with the filmmaker Alexandrine Benjamin. This is a big birthday year for us--the Institute turns 40 years old in June--so please come out and join us for our first event!

FILM SYNOPSIS: In the midst of the treacherous social protests that have paralyzed Haiti for months, a modest couple must face blocked roads and murderous gangs in the hope of finding a place to give birth safely.

BIOGRAPHY: Alexandrine Benjamin is a Haitian filmmaker and holds a master's degree in film production from the University of Greenwich in England. Her works mostly focus on social justice issues such as human rights, gender violence, and insecurity. She recently directed N'AP Boule, an award-winning short film that tells the heartbreaking story of a pregnant Haitian couple looking for a safe place to give birth in the midst of the Haitian socio-political movement “peyilòk”. For more than five years, Ms. Benjamin acted as project manager for Lakou Kajou, an engaging media program produced by the small American media company Blue Butterfly, which raises awareness among Haitian children about literacy and maths, but more importantly about how to solve problems. The filmmaker is now producing her first feature film, “O Negatif”, promoting the full emancipation and inclusion of people living with HIV around the world. Alexandrine believes that education is the path to a better future for her home country, Haiti; and if her art can be a tool to this end, it is the way to go.