Edward R Murrow award winning doc, Haiti: Where Did the Money Go? screens in Brooklyn, NY

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - March 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Edward R. Murrow award winning documentary, Haiti: Where Did the Money Go? screens in Brooklyn, NY on March 11, 2014. Congresswomen Yvette D. Clarke, who is featured in our film, wil be represented by her Press Secretary, Patrick Rheaume, who will say a few words on her behalf.  We really hope you will be able to join us to hear what is happening in Haiti from our panel and pick up where the film left off, led by our dynamic moderator, Victoria C. Rowan.

Film at Eleven and Ideasmyth present "Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?" film screening and panel.

March 11, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.

After the screening of "Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?" Victoria Rowan will moderate an engaging panel with director, Michele Mitchell and Haitian experts, Jocelyn McCalla and Melinda Miles. Panelists will also be on hand to sign books and DVDs.

61 Local
61 Bergen Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201 (on Mezzanine)

Tickets: $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
Tickets maybe purchased online via the Filmmakers Collaborative website or at the door.

Doors open at 6:30, film runs 7:30-8:30, Q&A, book / DVD signing 8:30-9:30 p.m.

After a 7.0 earthquake brutalized Haiti in January of 2010, Americans donated a stunning $1.4 billion to major charities. Ten months later, filmmaker Michele Mitchell went to the Caribbean nation to observe and record conditions there, with a follow-up trip ten months after that. She and her production team found that half a million people still lived in squalid camps or worse settings, with malnutrition and cholera on the rise. The resulting documentary asks several pivotal questions: Where exactly did the donations go? Why are so many still suffering? Are they victims of not just the earthquake but also the big business of emergency aid? Through visits to dysfunctional and poorly funded camps, as well as interviews with Red Cross authorities, Catholic Relief Services officials, health experts, human rights activists, and others, viewers learn about how disaster relief really works and why often it doesn't. The film lets Haitians tell their own stories, too, from weary aid workers to parents agonizing over how to protect their children. But this story isn't just about Haiti – tragically, it's about what happens in crisis zones around the world when good intentions, bad organization, and inscrutable greed combine. Contains disturbing imagery and mature themes. Portions with English subtitles. (51 minutes)

Join us for a screening of "Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?", the award-winning documentary that "sparked a much-needed debate" according to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's Isabeau Doucet. Screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the film's writer and director Michele Mitchell, Haitian Studies Association founder Jocelyn McCalla, and social and economic rights expert Melinda Miles. Screening will take place in 61 Local's mezzanine, and beer, wine and food is available for purchase at the venue.

Meet the Panelists

Michele Mitchelll is the executive editor of Film at Eleven and the filmmaker behind the PBS special "Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?" which won the national Edward R Murrow Award for Best Television Documentary, the Gracie Award for Best Investigative Documentary, the CINE Special Jury Award for Best Investigative Feature and the CINE Golden Eagle for Investigative Feature, among other honors. Previously, she was the investigative correspondent on "NOW with Bill Moyers" (PBS), where she won a Gracie Award and an honorary citation at the Overseas Press Awards, and political anchor at CNN Headline News. She is the author of three books and has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and "All Things Considered" on NPR. A graduate of Northwestern University, she began her career on Capitol Hill. Currently she is working on a documentary feature about how rape became a crime of war.

Jocelyn McCalla served as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, and of the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network. He is a founder of the Haitian Studies Association and has served on the Board of the National Immigration Forum, the NY Immigration Coalition, and the Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch/Americas. Mr. McCalla has long campaigned in favor of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Haiti, and for the rights of Haitians abroad. He consults regularly with a wide range of leaders, governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations of various ideological persuasions and interests. Mr. McCalla was born in Haiti and resides in the United States.

Melinda Miles is an expert on Haiti and social and economic rights who has spent the last fifteen years working with Haitian grassroots groups, civil society and international organizations on a wide sphere of issues including environment conservation and food security; human rights and gender-based violence; capacity building; economic justice, accountability and labor rights; and much more. Melinda has a history of bringing together diverse stakeholders around shared challenges and coalition building including the Let Haiti Live coalition in 2000-2004 and the Haiti Response Coalition only days after the January 2010 earthquake. As Program Director at TransAfrica in Washington, DC, Melinda maintains relationships with Members of Congress and policymakers and represents TransAfrica at events around the country and the world, including the African National Congress's International Solidarity Conference in South Africa in 2012.

Ideasmyth is a holistic creative communications, coaching and branding consultancy founded by Victoria C. Rowan whose previous professional lives included founding the multi-million-dollar education division of Mediabistro.com, artistic programming of the greatest living writers for the 92nd Street Y, writing for dozens of publications, websites and public radio including: Time Out NY, New York Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times, The Moscow Times and NPR. Through personalized coaching and workshops, Ideasmyth mentors and supports clients in creating and cultivating their endeavors, increasing their brand exposure and achieving their most important personal and professional life goals. Since 2000, her Independent Project workshops and coaching practice have helped nearly 1,000 writers produce many critically acclaimed books, theater, websites and other multimedia projects.