About the film

The film tells the story of Haiti’s history - from Columbus to the earthquake - through the music and memories of the country’s oldest and best-known big band Septentrional. For six decades this 20-piece band has been making beautiful music - a fusion of Cuban big band and Haitian vodou beats - that turns out thousands of fans each time it plays. At 65, Septentrional has already survived fifteen years longer than the expected Haitian lifespan, its trumpeters, drummers, sax players and guitarists making music through dictatorships, natural disasters, coup d’états, and chaos. They embody a particular Haitian trait - the ability to find beauty in places of darkness.

Wybrane nagrody i festiwale /Selected festivals and awards: 2011 - FF Tribeca/Tribeca FF, 2011 - FF Global Peace/ Global Peace FF, 2011 - IDFA / International Documentary Festival Amsterdam