Screening: AIDependence + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Alice Smeets.

After many years of receiving a considerable amount of foreign aid, Haiti remains an impoverished and politically fragile state. AIDependence tells the story of the controversial relationship between the people of Haiti and international aid organisations, and exposes the negative side effects of the aid industry, including dependency, corruption, and the corrosion of solidarity and the economy.

Alice Smeets‘ documentary follows Robi, a young Haitian from the poorest slum in the western hemisphere, Cité Soleil, and Sabina, his American girlfriend and former aid worker. Together they work to change the traditional system of aid and are partisans of “Konbit Soley Leve”, a movement which aims to mobilise Haitian communities in solving issues related to healthcare and access to resources.

Through interviews with aid workers, economists, and Haitian activists, AIDependence breaks down stereotypes about non-governmental organisations, aid and poverty in order to shed light on the various models of international aid, and why some seem to work better than others. Using the example of Haiti, the country with the most NGOs per capita, Alice Smeets presents a well-informed analysis of how development projects can give rise to cycles of dependence rather than long-term solutions.

Directed by Alice Smeets
Duration: 90′
Year: 2014