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Lift Up - a documentary film by Philip Knowlton & Huguens Jean.

Synopsis:

In Haiti, the wind comes in the spring, and everywhere on the rooftops there are people of all ages flying kites, some made out of plastic, others covered in a mass of thin colored paper. Kite flying in Haiti is more than just a hobby undertaken only by the young and those few hard-core fanatics; it is a deep-seated tradition. On Good Friday it becomes difficult to make out the sky behind the sheet of colors bobbing to and fro in the air. For this resilient and indomitable people, kite flying has come to signify hope, and the many colors as the plumes of the phoenix, reborn from the proverbial ashes.

In the aftermath of the recent earthquake, however, the ashes are no longer proverbial; they are now real. This documentary follows two young brothers, Clifford Muse and Huguens Jean, as they return to Haiti, the country of their birth. They have returned home to pay their final respects and fulfill a promise to their grandfather, Andre Torchon, who passed away shortly after the quake. The stories they tell in this documentary assign faces and souls among their fellow countrymen and before the world to the 200,000+ dead as a result of the earthquake.

Clifford and Huguens bring with them a kite to memorialize and lift up the memory of their grandfather. The survivors they visit and interview will provide pieces of the kite that Clifford and Huguens are fashioning. When their memorial kite is finally flown at the the 44th Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival in Washington, D.C., it will become evident that the hands which hold the string could be the hands of any of these survivors, and the string they pull close to their chest could represent the tie that binds those down below to their loved ones up above.

It is important to remember, just as Andre Torchon suggested, that there is not only sadness in death but there is also joy – joy in celebrating the life that was lived and those touched by it. The documentary recorded many moments of the two brothers laughing and joking amongst themselves and with the people. They devoted time volunteering to help attend to the basic physical needs of their fellow Haitians but also helped to lift the spirits of those within that culture that, for no matter how long and how far they roam, will always be theirs as well.

About the Filmmakers:

Philip Knowlton / Co-director
In a very short time, PHiLLYK has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of music video and film editing. He has worked with directors such as Little X and edited videos for artists such as The Beastie Boys, Mobb Deep and clients like Marriott and Converse. With ADVENTURES FOR THE CURE, PHiLLYK’s first feature length film as well as his directorial debut, he proved that he not only can provide the viewer with a slick, innovative style of editing, but also tell a story in a powerful and compelling way (The film won the “People’s Choice Award” in its first film festival appearance). He is now represented by Greenpoint Pictures in Brooklyn, NY.

 

Huguens Jean / Co-director
In 1997, at the age of 16, Huguens Jean immigrated to the United States from Haiti to live with his father and continue his secondary education. He attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country (UMBC) where he excelled both academically and athletically; he received numerous awards, including the Verizon District II Academic All-American (2002 and 2003), UMBC Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year (2003), NCAA Division I All-American Track & Field Athlete (2003), and USA Track & Field Pre-Olympic Scholarship Recipient (2004).
Huguens is currently pursuing his PhD in Electrical Engineering. When choosing his doctoral research topic, Huguens combined his longstanding interests in filmmaking and technology and began working in the field of opto-electronics systems for computer vision. Specifically, his dissertation focuses on the use of a 3D camera paired with a 2D camera for unassisted object recognition in robots. Huguens presently works at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as an electro-optics engineer. Lift Up is his directorial debut.

 

Andrew Bly / Producer
Born and raised in Milton, PA, Andrew Bly is one of the youngest producers in the entertainment industry. At the age of 19 he moved to NYC to pursue his dreams of being a producer. In New York he began an internship with HSI productions where he was able to work on countless high profile commercials and music videos. This quickly lead to Andrew working with the Beastie Boys, coordinating all the videos from their hit album “To The Five Boroughs” and their feature film “Awesome I Shot That.” Later that year, he partnered with four other industry professionals to form The Molecule, a visual effects and motion graphics studio in Manhattan. Under The Molecule, Andrew has been the visual effects producer for tv shows like Rescue Me, Canterbury’s Law, Damages, American Experience and numerous independent films.

Needs:

Kylti is looking to raise $15,000 for the first phase of this project to work on the editing and music of the film. If you are interested in having your name credited to the film, please contact us for sponsorship opportunities.

 

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