Maswife: Life in Camp Pinchinat

Ever since January 12, 2010, students at the Cin\'e9 Institute, Haiti's only film academy, have been documenting the aftermath of the devastating Haitian earthquake and the ongoing recovery efforts. The earthquake destroyed both of the Cin\'e9 Institute's buildings. Following the earthquake, homeless people from the Haitian town of Jacmel were placed in Camp Pinchinat, on a soccer field in the center of the city. The Venezuelan military managed the camp, the UN World Food Program supplied cooked meals, and American aid organizations provided medical assistance. A group of committed Cin\'e9 Institute students lived in Jacmel's largest camp for four months and filmed the lives of its residents. The earthquake left an estimated 1.5 million homeless, and most of them are still living in tents and under tarps in the more than 1,200 camps for the internally displaced. The students encountered many people suffering in the heat and mud of the camp. Their solidarity is challenged by the total lack of coordination between relief agencies. One boy describes the disaster as "the end of the world." Made with support from the IDFA Fund, this collective short film is being developed into a feature documentary.