Events & Experiences

Creating meaningful experiences that celebrate Haitian culture and bring communities together.

About This Program Area

Events & Experiences instead of Film & Media

Haitian culture is rich with music, food, art, and tradition, but for too many in the diaspora, that culture lives only in memory or in stories passed down secondhand. Distance, displacement, and time pull families away from the gatherings, celebrations, and shared spaces that once kept Haitian identity alive day to day.

Sons and Daughters of Haiti (SNDhaiti)’s Events & Experiences program exists to close that distance. We host screenings, concerts, festivals, and community gatherings that bring Haitians and friends of Haiti together, whether that’s in a packed auditorium in Florida or a courtyard celebration in Cap-Haïtien. These are spaces built for connection, not just attendance.

What We're Working Toward

Objectives

Host screenings, concerts, festivals, and networking events

Provide direct financial and logistical support to Haitian filmmakers, from short films to feature-length documentaries and narrative features.

Showcase Haitian talent

Secure international distribution and festival premieres for Haitian work — making sure these stories reach the audiences who most need to hear them.

Promote cultural tourism

Train emerging Haitian creatives in craft, production, and distribution — creating a sustainable ecosystem of storytellers rooted in Haiti.

Counter Dominant Narratives

Actively challenge and reframe the media images of Haiti that dominate international coverage — with stories of beauty, complexity, and resilience.

Build Creative Partnerships

Forge co-production deals with diaspora filmmakers, international broadcasters, and cultural institutions who share our commitment to Haitian storytelling.

Archive Haitian Stories

Preserve oral histories, photographs, and cultural media that document Haitian life across generations and geographies, before they are lost.

Current Initiatives

Projects in This Area

No projects have been assigned to this area yet.

Measuring What Matters

Impact Goals

Expand cultural awareness

Fund, co-produce, or fully produce at least 5 original documentary features or series, each led by a Haitian or Haitian-diaspora creative team, with international distribution secured.

Increase participation

Bring Haitian film and media to audiences in at least 10 cities — including both diaspora hubs and international film festival circuits — by 2026.

Generate support for Haiti-focused initiatives

Through workshops, mentorship, and the Haïti Maintenant Media Lab, build a cohort of 50+ trained and supported Haitian storytellers ready to work professionally.

Archive 500 oral history recordings from across Haiti

Preserve 500 long-form recorded testimonies — audio, video, and photographic — from communities across Haiti, housed in a publicly accessible digital archive.

Launch the Haitian Shorts Festival with 40+ films submitted

Hold the inaugural Haitian Shorts Festival in 2026, with a minimum of 40 films submitted from Haitian filmmakers worldwide and simultaneous screenings in three cities.