Ouvertures

An improvised theater company pays tribute to the 18th-century revolutionary François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, who successfully led a slave revolt and later, as the first Black general, brought about Haiti’s independence.

The young Haitians rehearse passages from Edouard Glissant’s play Monsieur Toussaint, about the last days in the life of this Haitian hero. After the French army recaptured the island in 1802 under Napoleon, Louverture was imprisoned in a castle in the Jura in France until his death almost a year later. The actors reflect on the play and its dialogues, still topical today with themes such as colonialism, identity, racism, slavery, and collective trauma.

Their musings are aesthetically filmed against the background of the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince, or the snowy landscapes of the Jura mountains. A whispering voice-over, mesmerizing music, and scenes of mystical rituals create a dreamlike atmosphere, where the characters in the play increasingly seem to take possession of the young makers.