"Moloch Tropical," a feature narrative film directed and produced by Haitian-born Raoul Peck, will be shown during a special benefit screening for Handicap International at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Friday, April 23, at 3:00 p.m.
The 107-minute film was inspired by the kingdom of 19th-century king Henri-Christophe, one of the revolutionary leaders who won for Haiti its independence from French colonial rule, but set in a modern milieu, "Moloch Tropical" presents a fictionalized portrait of the final days marking the collapse of a regime. The hot air is thick with a tightly coiled tension at President Jean de Dieu's palatial fortress outside Port-au-Prince. His security force rattles with civil unrest and international diplomats one by one turn their backs on the president's summit invitation. Hobbling around his quarters, de Dieu erratically exerts scraps of control as his authority rapidly disintegrates into humiliation.
The special screening is being co-presented by Human Rights Watch. Representatives from Handicap International will be in attendance.