Thus Spoke the Sea

The Haitian Sea, as you’ve never seen or heard it before... In this documentary, the Sea tells its story with the Haitian people. Wave after wave, the Sea showcases its riches, reveals its mysteries, and raises the alarm.

From the excessive use of its resources to the consequences of climate change and pollution, the Sea tells its own adventures through its different shades of blue. The Sea gives a frank and candid depiction of the challenges and opportunities to seize before it’s too late. Voodoo priestesses, fishermen, merchants, entrepreneurs, urban planners, historians, biologists, climate experts -- as the children of Haiti, stand together with their Sea. They also voice its tale.

This film is an invitation to travel, discover, and also to raise awareness. Haiti’s fate will be linked to the coasts, or not at all.

  • Arnold Antonin
    Director
    Haïti, le chemin de la liberté (1975), Un Tonton Macoute peut-il être un poète ? (1981), Le Président a-t-il le Sida ? (2007), Les Amours d’un Zombi (2011)
  • Gary Victor
    Writer
    À l’angle des rues parallèles (2003), Je sais quand Dieu vient se promener dans mon jardin (2004), Les cloches de la Brésilienne (2008), Le sang et la mer (2012)
  • Centre Pétion-Bolivar
    Producer
  • Haitian Ministry of Environment
    Producer
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
    Producer
  • Gessica Généus
    Key Cast
    "The Sea"
    Cousine de Richard Sénécal, Douvan jouka leve
  • BIC Tizon Dife
    Original Soundtrack
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Ainsi parla la mer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    49 minutes 26 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 4, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    70,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Haiti
  • Country of Filming:
    Haiti
  • Language:
    English, French, Haitian, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD, 1920x1080 Apple ProResW
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Haitian Grande Premiere
    Port-au-Prince
    Haiti
    March 4, 2020
    Haitian Grande Premiere
  • Rencontres Cinémas Martinique
    Fort-de-France
    France
    March 20, 2020
  • Terra Festival
    Sainte Rose - Guadeloupe
    France
    March 27, 2020
Distribution Information
  • Arnold Antonin / UNEP
    Distributor
    Country: Haiti
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Arnold Antonin

Through a multi-faceted career, Arnold Antonin is well-known for his social, political and cultural commitment, nationally and internationally. With more than 60 films done, he directed the very first haitian full-length feature film.

He’s been honoured for his career achievements, receiving the Prix Djibril Diop Mambety at the Cannes International Cinema Festival in 2002. He’s a three-time award winner of the Prix Paul Robeson du meilleur film de la Diaspora africaine at the FESPACO in Ouagadougou in 2007, 2009 and 2011, and received many other distinctions in various festivals for his documentaries and feature films. He has been President of the Association Haïtienne des Cinéastes (AHC) from 2005 to 2009.

He founded in 1986 the Pétion-Bolivar Centre, primarily to foster democratization in the TV and filmmaking industry in Haiti. Through this organization, Arnold Antonin also produces his own documentaries and feature films.

His productions include:

1974: Duvalier accusé
1975: Haïti, le chemin de la liberté
1976: Art naïf et répression en Haïti
1981: Un Tonton Macoute peut-il être un poète ?
1981: Le droit à la parole
1996: La troisième guerre mondiale a déjà eu lieu
2004: GNB contre Attila ou une autre Haïti est-elle possible ?
2007: Le Président a-t-il le Sida ?
2009: Jacques Roumain, la passion d’un pays
2011: Les Amours d’un Zombi

And more than 60 films up to 2020.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Shooting this film, I understood that there were no words to describe such beauty and aggression towards the marine environment. I felt that only images would illustrate this radical contrast and that we were doing what we ought to: a film on the complicated and ambiguous relationship between the Haitian people and the Sea.