Director of the Documentary "Down to the Root" Speaks with OBMICA

March 30, 2017-- The social documentary "Down to the Root" premiered on March 23 in room 7 of Cinemacentro. The film frames the struggle of descendants of Haitian migrants born in the Dominican Republic who are denied nationality.

"Down to the Root" is led by three women who individually recount how this problem has affected the normal development of different aspects of their lives, compared with any other Dominican citizen who has documents. In addition to these testimonies, the documentary shows the various mobilizations of civil society seeking to be heard by decision-makers so that their situation of lack of documentation may be resolved.

It took several years for its director and producer, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, who is also a sociologist and an associated researcher at OBMICA, to complete "Down to the Root". He recently gave an interview to OBMICA to explain the documentary in greater depth.

The film received very positive comments from the audience, and it is expected to be shown in communities throughout the country and to compete in festivals.

Where did the idea to create this documentary come from?

Between 2011 and 2013 I followed the struggle of Dominican persons of Haitian descent, accompanying them in their process of organization and empowerment. The strength of their leadership and the irrefutable justice of their demand were powerful ingredients for insisting on the need to tell this story.

What is the documentary intended to achieve?

The documentary's main objective is to honor the people who have suffered this problem in the Dominican Republic by offering them an account of the path they have traveled and motivating them to reorganize in order to continue the struggle. A further objective is to present it in various community, cultural, and academic spaces in the country and abroad as a tool for raising awareness and contributing to the debate on the right to nationality in the Dominican Republic.

Let's talk about the title "Down to the Root".

The title responds to two searches: the family roots of the leading women, who proudly embrace their Haitian origins so as to live without shame in a society that often questions them because of their parents' origin, but also the search for the root of the problem faced by the affected people, which is nothing less than an anti-Haitian ideology built by the Dominican state and reproduced by most media outlets.

How did you choose the documentary's protagonists? What do you seek to show through stories told by women?

I chose Ana Maria because she represents the leadership of the political movement of affected persons. Deisy because her profile is that of a young journalist who suddenly finds herself without nationality and embarks on a journey until she reconnects with her mother's story, while Virtudes represents the almost always hidden group of people who, despite being born in the Dominican Republic, have never had identity documents.

The testimonies of each of the protagonists are told in a different way. What does that mean?

The subject is complex and the way it affects people is also complex. I wanted the three protagonists to be women because the condition of undocumentedness and statelessness is "transmitted" through them. Their stories are diverse, and I wanted those differences to be expressed in the documentary.

What were the obstacles to making the documentary?

I did not encounter obstacles either from the State or from people in the street in making the documentary. The only thing I regret is that, despite having requested an interview several times with the then president of the JCE, Roberto Rosario Marquez, my request was never answered.

How long did it take to make the documentary and how did the image-gathering process work?

From the moment I began filming the documentary, 5 years passed, and from the moment I decided to shape it by telling the political struggle through the stories of the 3 protagonists, nearly 3 years passed. Since I worked in civil society organizations that supported the struggle, it was easier to get in touch with the protagonists. It is worth saying that the entire pre-production and filming process was self-financed, and I was only able to carry it out thanks to the decisive support of selfless and supportive friends.

What are the plans for distributing the film?

That it go to the bateyes, that it be shown in all possible places in the Dominican Republic, and that it also compete in documentary festivals and in spaces organized by the Dominican diaspora anywhere in the world.