Serenade for Haiti

Director Owsley Brown's documentary begins in 2007, four years before the earthquake that would devastate Haiti. After establishing the particulars of Port-au-Prince's Sainte Trinité Music School and introducing several of the students and teachers, he returns twice over the next seven years to check in. Built in 1913, the school has been providing children with a musical education since the 1950s. Many students hail from low-income households, like 9-year-old Marc Valens Louis Charles, whose home lacks electricity. A large number also come from one-parent households as a result of political violence. Brown films the students singing in the choir, taking drum lessons, and playing in the band. School director Father David César, percussion department head Pierre Jean Jeoboham, and cello teacher Bernadette Stella Williams all began as students themselves. Once the quake hit, the school was destroyed and six teachers died. Altogether, approximately 300,000 Haitians perished and 1.5 million were displaced. During the rebuilding process, teachers continue to teach and students sing and play in makeshift classrooms. When Brown catches up with 13-year-old Marc, the boy says that he feels alive when he's on stage. As the film comes to an end, the school has been rebuilt, the music continues, and now-16-year-old Marc looks forward to passing on his knowledge to the next generation. Although Brown doesn't push the analogy too hard, Sainte Trinité obviously symbolizes Haiti itself, working to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds while preserving its best qualities, including a passion for musical expression. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)