Ghosts of Cité Soleil Asger Leth Denmark, USA, Haiti Documentary, 2006, 86 min, 35mm, Color Creole, English, French with English subtitles Metropolitan 14 Wednesday, April 25, 9 PM Mature Audiences Co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society

An epic portrait of a family and a culture torn apart by poverty and violence, Ghosts of Cité Soleil is a powerful and unsettling documentary that takes us inside the lives of the notorious gang leaders who dominate the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil, one of the most desperate communities in the Western hemisphere. Set to a score by Wyclef Jean, who also executive produced the film and serves as an inspiration to the young men of Haiti, the film follows two of the gang leaders, who happen to be brothers, and are also aspiring rappers. The foot soldiers of these gang leaders are known as chimeres (or “ghosts”) and it was those ghosts whom former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is said to have employed to silence his opponents. Filmed in the months leading up to Aristide’s overthrow in 2004, the film captures the smoldering tensions between the two rival gang leaders, and their love for the same woman, set in a city the United Nations has declared the most dangerous place on Earth.

Asger Leth was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1970. He is the son of film editor Ann Bierlich and renowned film director Jorgen Leth. He was the second unit director on Lars von Trier’s The Five Obstructions. Ghosts of Cité Soleil marks his directorial debut.

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Executive Producers: Jerry ‘Wonder’ Duplessis, George Hickenlooper, Wyclef Jean, Seth Kanegis, Jørgen Leth, Kim Magnusson, Cary Woods

Writers: Asger Leth

Original Music: Jerry ‘Wonder’ Duplessis, Wyclef Jean

Cinematographers: Frederik Jacobi, Asger Leth, Milos Loncarevic

Editing: Adam Nielsen

Cast: Winson ‘2Pac’ Jean, Wyclef Jean, James ‘Bily’ Petit Frère, Éleonore ‘Lele’ Senlis