Stateless

Shining a light on official racism in the Dominican Republic, Michèle Stephenson’s film is a highly topical look at a little-discussed topic. In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin were slaughtered by the Dominican army solely because they were Black. Decades later, in 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of any person with Haitian parents, retroactively to 1929, making 200,000 people stateless at the stroke of a pen. Stephenson documents the work of a young lawyer, Rosa Iris, who is fighting for the right to citizenship and the reunification of separated families. Iris is a true force of nature, waging an epic struggle with boundless and inspiring energy. (Charlotte Selb)

Presented in collaboration with Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and Montreal International Black Film Festival

competition : National Feature Competition

Apatrides