Les Enfants Perdus: Looking Into the Soul of a Culture

If you want to see the soul of a culture, look at its art. You will see traditions passed on from generation to generation. You will see their natural resources, their unique hand. Most importantly, you will see the beauty of the culture's history and the hope of its future. This is truly what Haiti is for me. The artisans of Haiti paint an exquisite picture of what is possible, of endless potential, of a limitless future.

My work with artist and photographer Russell James to preserve indigenous cultures has only amplified through our work in Haiti. Our travels to Haiti started in response to the devastating 2010 earthquake, but what we found in the midst of the rubble was beauty rising through the eyes and hands of Haitian artisans.

This film is a window into that beauty. As a co-producer, I was thrilled to work with Russell, David Belle, Mark Anton Read and a host of additional creative talents to create a way for others to experience the sensuous and visually stunning story of Haitian artisans and their craft. The result is this extraordinary film, which opens a window into the world of Haitian creativity, beauty and resilience.

UrbanZen.org

 

Comments

[gutenmorgen]

07:15 PM on 10/15/2011

"Enfants Perdus" was actually a French movie made shortly after the end of WW2 in which a few children that had been evacuated from Paris to the French countryside where they began to build miniature cemeteries in backyards perhaps because they had seen so much death and mayhem during their flight with their parents from the German troops. I am afraid Donna that "Les Enfants Perdus" is therefore a plagiarism.

[FearlessFreep]

10:33 PM on 10/16/2011

Is it also known as FORBIDDEN GAMES?

[jenncalifornia]

05:00 PM on 10/15/2011

I disagree with the condemnation of the first commenter, who apparently begrudges Ms. Karan her success. I wish more people of means would use their wealth and talents to support and encourage others with fewer resources; that said, I am yet again confounded by the contradiction that is Ms. Karan. On one hand, she is broadminded and philanthropic, and on the other, her use and marketing of fur in her designs belies a callousness and sense of superiority of gargantuan proportion. While she can look at Haitians, people of color and poverty, and recognize their value and dignity, she sees none in the lives of the poor animals she exploits. I don't condone the use of any animal for any purpose, but the use of fur is particularly cruel and egregious for reasons I know have already been enumerated to Ms. Karan. While heralding the creativity of the Haitians, I wish she would challenge her own creativity and skills to find if she is capable of creating beauty without sacrifice. I wish that she would search her soul and find out if there is any true depth to her humanity and compassion. It shouldn’t matter whether an animal is of the companion-variety, sentient, cute, or otherwise valuable to humans, an animal’s life (its actual life, not just its fur), has value to the animal itself. The vastness of human intelligence, and the ability to perceive pain and suffering, is a responsibility as much as it is a gift.

[amymarlene8]

07:22 PM on 10/15/2011

I'm with you, jenncalifornia, on the fur issue. I would also like to see some Haitian influenced/sponsored fashion from Ms. Karan.

[dataslave]

04:27 PM on 10/15/2011

"If you want to see the soul of a culture, look at its art."
Um, most of the activities shown are not art, they are manufacturing. I'm sorry, Donna. Your commercial seems to have left out the portions of the Haitian soul responsible for the true state of the Haitian people. After decades of colonial economic rape ('reparations') and tribal leaders who also learned to strip the wealth from Haiti, the society is still tribal in nature. Opponents (economic and political) kill each other regularly, Haitians have no idea what a democratic state is and their leaders are easily bought off. Add to that a devastating earthquake and you have a failed state.
Any leader will follow the path of his predecessors- it's how he got to be leader in the first place.
Donna, you worked hard to get to where you are, in the US where it is possible to do so. If you were born Haitian in Haiti, it would never have been possible. The culture cannot support it, and doesn't need commercials saying it can.
Danielle, I encourage you and other Haitians to return to Haiti and rebuild it along parliamentary and democratic lines. But of course, you won't.

[Danielle Le Roy]

03:22 PM on 10/15/2011

This is a beautiful video. I am Haitian-American and I look forward to sharing this with my Haitian book club. And don't let any haters (Ken Clements) get to you. Success in your field doesn't bar you from being a force for good.

[Ken Clements]

01:45 PM on 10/15/2011

Thank our lucky stars we have bare shouldered millionaire fashionistas to save the indigenous cultures around the world...what would we do without them?

[Donald Shaeffer]

07:44 PM on 10/15/2011

Do you know the definition of the word "indigenous"?

[Ken Clements]

08:14 PM on 10/15/2011

I think "Native American" is an example of an indigenous culture...am I wrong?