Francis Ford Coppola Joins “Freda” as Executive Producer | Loop Haiti

Five-time Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola joins “Freda” as executive producer.

American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, 5 times Oscar winner, has decided to join the first feature film of Haitian actress and director Gessica Géneus as executive producer. In an article that appeared in Deadline Hollywood on Monday, December 6, it was reported that Francis Ford Coppola will spearhead an awards campaign in favor of this film.

“Freda is the kind of cinematic experience that I enjoy the most: a journey into a way of life that is not normally accessible to me, and a glimpse of the real people who live there. Gessica Géneus’s film is a gem. unforgettable told with simple eloquence, beautifully memorable performances and an authentic feeling that few films achieve, “said Coppola, according to Deadline Hollywood, a site specializing in scoops related to the world of cinema particularly Hollywood.

“This glimpse into contemporary life in Haiti shows a people who refuse to be defined by their tragic moments and who prosper with good hearts and the best of intentions,” he continued. And the filmmaker, who has already received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival twice, did not hide his enthusiasm for supporting Freda and his director.

“It is a humble honor for me to be the executive producer of Freda in support of Gessica and Haiti’s wonderfully creative and artistic film community,” he said.

This first fictional feature film by Gessica Géneus, selected in this year’s Oscar race, tells the story of a young lady called Freda who lives with her family in a popular district of Port-au-Prince. They survive thanks to their small street shop. Faced with the precariousness and the rise of violence in Haiti, everyone wonders whether to leave or stay, while Freda, she wants to believe in the future of her country. It is a topical film insofar as Haitians in the throes of chaos and political instability in this current context do not know which way to turn. Screened in preview in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival on July 14, Freda was awarded the Special Mention of Discovery Prix François-Chalais alongside Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi for his film Un Héros.

Francis Ford Coppola took the opportunity to point out that he is a long-time supporter of Haitian cinema.

“I had long had faith in the creative community of Haiti, because I was one of the first to support the cinema school of the Ciné Institute in 2008,” he recalled. “While the country has had a very difficult year, Freda showcases the wealth of talent that exists there and I am proud of them and what they have accomplished with this beautiful film, ”he said.

Let us recall that Ford is one of the patrons of Artist Institute and has not stopped supporting the Ciné Institute, a structure which aims to educate young people in the cinematographic arts in Haiti.

Joubert Joseph