STATELESS, from Michèle Stephenson, the critically acclaimed filmmaker of American Promise, looks at the complex politics of immigration and race in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, using a combination of magical realism and hidden camera techniques.
Dominican Republic | 2020 | 96 minutes | Color | DVD | Spanish, Haitian Creole | Subtitled | Order No. W201265 |
SYNOPSIS
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, based on anti-black hatred fomented by the Dominican government. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929. The ruling rendered more than 200,000 people stateless, without nationality, identity or a homeland. In this dangerous climate, a young attorney named Rosa Iris mounts a grassroots campaign, challenging electoral corruption and advocating for social justice. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary Stateless traces the complex tributaries of history and present-day politics, as state-sanctioned racism seeps into mundane offices, living room meetings, and street protests. At a time when extremist ideologies are gaining momentum in the U.S. and around the world, STATELESS is a warning of what can happen in a society when racism runs rampant in the government.
Filmed with a chiaroscuro effect and richly imbued with elements of magical realism, STATELESS combines gritty hidden-camera footage with the legend of a young woman fleeing brutal violence to flip the narrative axis, revealing the depths of institutionalized oppression.
PRESS
“Wonderful storytelling.”
"The covert cinematography one sees throughout STATELESS illustrates the personal risks that subjects like Rosa and Juan Teofilo assume while bringing such stories to light"
“A chilling and important look at how hate speech can lead to outright violence and a populace that’s fearful of speaking up against outright injustice."
"A fascinating, often infuriating work of non-fiction, Stateless is a richly textured piece of filmic revolution."
“Stateless shows how easily systemic racism and political power can erode a society like a virus... It is a cautionary reminder of how easily one can become a stranger in your own home."
“Stateless is yet another example of the xenophobia and racism that plagues the world.”
"Stephenson’s nonjudgmental approach, cross-cutting between the two women, exposes the hypocrisy of nationalism, and the toll on those who fight it."
“Stateless points out universal themes of access to citizenship, migration and systemic racism.”
"A taut, scarifying portrait of a Haitian population under siege."
"Stephenson’s film is confronting and even radical as it points to corruption and systemic abuse."
"The use of both visual and thematic chiaroscuro beside the folk tale and the use of dramatic editing create a strong narrative that keeps the viewer watching until the very end...highly recommended."
SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
- Best Feature Documentary, BlackStar Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature, Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival
- Best Feature Film Audience Award, Boston Latino International Festival
- Tribeca Film Festival
- Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
- Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM)
- DOC NYC Film Festival
- DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Vancouver
- Haiti International Film Festival
- Toronto Black Film Festival
- Calgary International Film Festival
- FIN Atlantic Film Festival
- Ottowa Black Film Festival
- Third Horizon Film Festival
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Michèle Stephenson
Emmy award-winning filmmaker, artist, and author Michèle Stephenson draws from her Haitian and Panamanian heritage and experience as a social justice lawyer to transform non-fiction storytelling. She creates emotionally powerful narratives of resistance and healing that emphasize the lived experiences of communities of color across the Americas and the Black diaspora. Through a Black Atlantic perspective, Stephenson reimagines storytelling to provoke thought and inspire action against systemic oppression, weaving together fiction, immersive, experimental, and hybrid forms. In 2023, her films Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games were Oscar-shortlisted, with Going To Mars winning the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the prestigious Emmy Award for Outstanding Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Black Girls Play received significant accolades, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Video and Best Short Doc at Tribeca. Her feature American Promise earned three Emmy nominations and won the Jury Prize at Sundance, while Stateless was nominated for a Canadian Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. Stephenson co-directed The Changing Same, a magical realist VR trilogy that premiered at Sundance’s New Frontier XR Program, won the Tribeca Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive Narrative, and was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Interactive Media. In 2024, she received the NYWIFT Nancy Malone Muse Directing Award and is currently in post-production on a feature on the Black Power movement in Canada. She is a Guggenheim Artist Fellow, Creative Capital Artist, and member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (9/23)