Haitian filmmaker Samuel Chouffran’s feature debut, “Job 1:21,” was released in the In-Progress section of Switzerland’s leading documentary film festival Visions du Reel and has already garnered attention in the industry, winning one of the top awards at the Market Forum.
The project denounces the Haitian justice system through the story of a woman who was imprisoned for years without trial and later judged by scripture rather than law.
The film, shot in Port-au-Prince from 2019 to 2021, follows a group of former female inmates who perform a play that denounces the country’s prison system. At the center of this is Natalie, who is fighting for the release of her sister Aline, who is being held in Haiti’s widespread long-term pretrial detention.
Alain was unexpectedly released as authorities released detainees accused of minor crimes to free up overcrowded prisons during the coronavirus pandemic. But her ordeal doesn’t end there. After being imprisoned without trial for five years, she is tried in absentia, a scene from which the film takes its title.
“The main character is judged using texts from the Bible,” Safran told Variety. “Instead of using the law, the judge uses the Bible, Job 1:21. There is no legal text. There is nothing. He bases his judgment on that verse.”
At the scene, a verdict is handed down without any legal basis, and Aline is ultimately accused of being a “Loup Garou.” Rooted in local mythology about cannibal wolves who kill children, the film emphasizes its depiction of a system where superstition, religion, and unchecked authority intertwine. “The verdict becomes more theatrical than the play itself,” Mr. Suffran said.
The film takes place against the backdrop of the escalating crisis in Haiti, where armed groups have taken control of large parts of Port-au-Prince. Safran left the country in 2024 because the violence made it impossible for him to continue working. His film production collective was forced to shut down, and his daily life became increasingly difficult. Recalling one incident, he said that while he was filming, armed men stopped him at gunpoint and warned him: “If you were slow, we would have killed you.” Soon after, he put the film on a hard drive and took it home.
Suffran, now based in France, describes his departure as a personal rupture rather than a formal defection. “When you feel like you don’t have a home anymore, that’s when exile begins,” he says. “You can seek asylum even if you are in your own country.”
For producer Eugenie Michel Villette, the project’s strength lies in both its immediacy and its construction. “We are directly in this disturbing and chaotic reality of Haiti through the power of cinema,” she said. “I knew right away that we had a very powerful and important film, because the women Samuel photographed were incredibly powerful, and so was their journey.”
She also highlighted the film’s central contrast, saying, “There is a parallel between former detainee theater and a kind of judicial ‘performance’: one fails to serve justice, while the other, in a sense, becomes a kind of catharsis that saves these women.”
This feature represents a change in Sufrens’ style, with his short film trilogy “Agwe”, “Des Rêves en Bateau Bleu” (“Paper Boat Dream”) and “Coeur Bleu” (“The Blue Heart”) premiering at Locarno, Sundance, and Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, respectively, to critical acclaim. Here he moves towards a more direct, observational form while maintaining a strong visual character.
Much of “Job 1:21” has already been filmed, and some of the locations featured in the film, such as prisons and theaters, no longer exist, so the footage is effectively archived. This project is currently seeking post-production partners.
Additional sound work needs to be done, especially to capture the singing voices of the central characters. Since Souffran is unable to return to Haiti, the recording will be made locally by a longtime collaborator.
Les Films du Bilboque, which is producing the project, has also had strong successes in vision du reel, with Hassen Ferhani’s “Alea Jacarandas” winning the Burning Lights Competition Award and Elsa Amiel’s “Dentro” winning the Interfaith Award.
The outfit will also head to Cannes with Marie-Clémentine Desabe-Jumbo’s “Ben’imana” (Un Certain Regard) and Martha Karampour’s “Dans la gueule de l’ogre” (ACID).
Vision du Lille will be held in Nyon, Switzerland until April 26th.
