Indianapolis International Film Festival 2009

The Road to Fondwa tells the powerful story of a rural Haitian community poised to change the future of Haiti one University student at a time.When Haiti is not forgotten or ignored, it is seen through a tinted lens. The small, impoverished nation shares an island with the Dominican Republic just 500 miles from the shores of Miami. It is Haiti's proximity that brings it into our national conscience in short, periodic bursts. When a dictator is overthrown, a group of 'boat people' is lost at sea, or a coup is staged, it gets our attention. Reporters rush to the scene, horrific tales are told, and we feel sympathy... or is it pity? And then, as quickly as the news cycle churns, the moment disappears.From the very beginning of the film, it is clear that The Road to Fondwa does not follow this pattern. The first interview introduces Sandelwi, a farmer and a mystic, who is riding on top of a bus that is speeding around the treacherous curves of the mountainous road to Port-au-Prince, mindless of the precipitous drop to the valley below. 'When you're in Haiti, I consider you Haitian,' he says. 'It's up to us, we have to put our heads together to do development.' From that point on, there is no turning back. It becomes evident that The Road to Fondwa is not a one-way street, but rather a conduit between two very different, yet intricately connected nations.