Haiti / 1983 / 75mins / Documentary / Haitian Creole and English

Filmed clandestinely under the Duvalier dictatorship, Bitter Cane is an award-winning documentary classic about the exploitation and foreign domination of the Haitian people. From peasant coffee farms in the rugged tropical mountains to steamy US-owned sweatshops in the teeming capital, the film takes the viewer on a journey through Haitian history to a deeper understanding of the country's political economy.

Jacques Arcelin

Jacques Arcelin is a Haitian filmmaker. His 1975 feature-length documentary, Bitter Cane / Canne amère, is noted as an important film in Haitian cinema of denunciation and struggle against the Duvalier dictatorship. Bitter Cane won awards at the Cannes, Antwerp and Chicago film festivals, among others. Learn More