SERENADE FOR HAITI: A Benefit for Engineers Without Borders

Filmed over a seven-year period in Haiti, this documentary feature film captures a rare look at a country scored with poverty and a history of political violence and finds a story of transcendence and great humanity as the children and faculty of the Sainte Trinité Music School turn to music to unlock the power of their own lives.

When a catastrophic earthquake completely destroys the school in 2010, a stunned and devastated faculty and student body must pick up the pieces and find a way to adapt. Devotion to each other and to the possibilities that the future still holds for them are expressed in the footage of children rehearsing in the rubble and in the rich musical heritage they have inherited.

Journeying into Haiti’s beautiful and diverse rural regions and venturing deep into the streets of Port-au-Prince before and after the 2010 earthquake, Serenade for Haiti brings to the screen an unforgettable and vivid tableau of this widely misunderstood country. The soundtrack features the stunning music of Haiti’s great composers who until this time have been largely unknown to international audiences.

Directed by Owsley Brown. In Haitian Creole and French with English Subtitles Not yet MPAA rated. 70 mins.

View the trailer here:

About Engineers Without Borders

Engineers Without Borders harnesses the skills of engineers to tackle the challenges that keep the world’s poorest people from living healthy, productive lives. The San Francisco Professional Chapter Haiti Team is a group of professionals who are donating their time and expertise to help build essential infrastructure with the rural community of La Couleuvre of about 80,000 people in the Bayonnais Valley. We have partnered with a OFCB, a community group in Haiti and have already successfully completed the building of a clinic building.

This fundraiser is to raise money to build the first of two bridges to connect a rural community to schools, healthcare and other essential services during the rainy season. These bridges will help the population have safe passage during daily life in the rainy season when these rivers swell to impassible conditions. They will also serve to provide essential connections in times of emergency as we are seeing occurring more frequently due to the increasing severity of hurricanes.

SERENADE FOR HAITI: A Benefit for Engineers Without Borders: Upcoming Showtimes