Malia Bruker

Today no society is immune from the effects of capitalism. In Haiti “Batay La,” or the struggle, has been ongoing since the slave revolution that founded the Caribbean nation. Batay La examines the current anti-imperialist movement in Haiti, led for decades by grassroots workers’ rights organization Batay Ouvriye. The movement is committed to worker-led solutions as they confront the Haitian government, Haitian factory owners, international brands whose products are fabricated there, and the foreign nations who support this system of exploitation in the name of profit. Batay La was made in co-creation with leaders of Batay Ouvriye.

Lychgate reimagines the selection of The Chosen One in the iconic ballet The Rite of Spring, depicting a community of women performing a ritual, not to sacrifice, but to honor the unknown and empower one member to envision it. This 360º dance film blurs the boundaries between terrestrial and ethereal planes, sweeping the viewer up in the fervor of bodies moving in ceremony and synchronicity.