Papa Machete

"Papa Machete" is a glimpse into the life of Alfred Avril, an aging subsistence farmer who lives in the hills of Jacmel, Haiti. He also happens to be a master of the mysterious martial art of Haitian machete fencing, also known as Tire Machèt. Teaching about the practical and spiritual value of the machete—which is both a weapon and a farmer’s key to survival—Avril provides a bridge between his country’s traditional past and its troubled present. The film documents his proud devotion to his heritage and his struggle to keep it alive in the face of contemporary globalization.

A Third Horizon Film
In Association with Borscht Corp
Co-Produced by Coffee and Celluloid and Four Bent Corners

Directed by Jonathan David Kane
Executive Producers / Writers: Jason Fitzroy Jeffers & Keisha Rae Witherspoon
Director of Photography: Richard Patterson
Co-Producer: Joey Daoud
Sound Design: Joel C. Hernandez

papamachete.com
haitianfencing.org
thirdhorizonmedia.com

Toronto International Film Festival '14 (Toronto, Canada)
Borscht Film Festival '14 (Miami, FL, USA)
Sundance Film Festival '15 (Park City, UT, USA)
Sheffield Documentary Festival '15 (Sheffield, UK)
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival '16 (Clermont-Ferrand, France)
Miami International Film Festival '15 (Miami, FL, USA)
Blackstar Film Festival '15 (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Traverse City Film Festival '15 (Traverse City, MI)
Maryland Film Festival '15 (Baltimore, MD, USA)
Zanzibar International Film Festival '15 (Awarded "Best Documentary") (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival '15 (Awarded "Best Documentary Short") (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)
New Voices in Black Cinema '15 (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
Nashville Film Festival '15 (Nashville, TN, USA)
Treefort Film Festival '15 (Boise, ID, USA)
East Oregon Film Festival '15 (La Grande, OR, USA)
Indie Grits Film Festival '15 (Columbia, SC, USA)
Little Rock Film Festival '15 (Little Rock, AK, USA)
Haiti Film Festival '15 (New York, NY, USA)
Regard sur La Court Film Festival '15 (Saguenay, Quebec, Canada)
Key West Film Festival '15 (Awarded Best Florida Short) (Key West, FL, USA)
Minneapolis Underground Film Festival '15 (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Ambulante Film Festival '15 (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Rooftop Films Summer Series '15 (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
Brooklyn Museum '15 (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
International Festival of New Latin American Cinema '15 (Havana, Cuba)
FEMI Guadeloupe International Film Festival '16 (Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe)

Cast: Third Horizon

Tags: haiti, martial arts, machete, fencing, caribbean, africa, revolution, 1804, racism, black lives matter, film, sundance and tiff