Exploiting Eden, Île-à-Vache

(Explotando el Edén, Île-à-Vache)

Raquel Gómez-Rosado / Haiti, Spain / 2023 / 92 min
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  • Transhumant

    Special Jury Mention

  • Impact Docs Awards

    Merit Award for Best Documentary, Best Female Filmmaker

  • Cinefem

    Best Documentary

  • Gully Int'l Film Festival

    Best Documentary

  • Caribbean Tales Int'l Film Festival

  • Cannes Int'l Pan African Film Festival

  • Madrid Film Festival

  • Environmental and Animal Int'l Film Festival

  • Semaines de L'Amerique Latine et de Caraïbes

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Haitian Creole, French, Spanish with English subtitles

This is the story of Île-à-Vache, a small island in the south of Haiti, with less than 20,000 inhabitants and not even 45 Km/17 miles square, considered by many as one of the last virgin beaches in the Caribbean. An unexploited paradise. This is David and Goliath’s story.  A country looking for an economic rebound, a tourist development project and its consequences, but above all, it is the story of those inhabitants who, seeing themselves threatened, separated from the decision-making, unite to take destiny into their own hands.

Tourism is the Caribbean’s main economy and Haiti is seeking to secure its share of the market. However, Haiti is shaped by historical and socio-economic challenges and it faces significant hurdles. The limited resources, competing private interests, and the ongoing social and economic crisis present obstacles to progress.

This documentary is the result of a collaborative effort to gain insight into Haiti’s current situation and amplify the voice of its people.

Press

“A beautiful film, a model of research and a miniature account of the current Haitian reality.” – F. Mauriès, French Ambassador to Haiti, X

“Special mention to the universality of the subject treated, which supposes the expropriation of the land from the native populations for speculative purposes, in this case, tourism. And for the look where the different points of view on the same problematic are exposed.” – Transhumant Jury

“A great documentary that shows the predatory interests of tourism in these poor countries.” – Gerardo Pédros Perez, Filmin

About the Director
Raquel Gómez-Rosado is a director and audiovisual editor whose career has been marked by the world of promotion and advertising. She has combined these functions with theatrical activity, teaching, and cultural management.

From 2013 to 2015, she was the Cineinstitute’s chair of curriculum. Haiti’s only film school was initiated by Artist for Haiti and supported by Hollywood professionals such as Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller, and Paul Haggis. There, she began the production of her debut movie, “Exploiting Eden, Île-à-Vache”.

She currently teaches filmmaking and Production at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). Since 2019, she has been collaborating with the Colombian training and community film project HEK (Historias en Kilómetros).

Notes on Film

“This documentary is the result of years of work and dedication, and an intimate connection with the community of Île à Vache, where my husband, a local fisherman, and his family have experienced this threat firsthand.

What initially started as an exploration of tourism’s impact in the Caribbean evolved into a powerful narrative about resistance, community, and the fight for self-determination. Île-à-Vache is not just a picturesque island; it is a microcosm of the broader struggles faced by many developing nations as they navigate the complexities of economic development and cultural preservation. Through this film, we aim to give a voice to those who are often marginalized in these global conversations, shedding light on the personal stories behind the statistics and headlines.

The shoot was born from a personal need in the face of the injustice we were witnessing. It shows the abuses committed by the Haitian government to create a tourism project on the island and how they failed due to the critical socio-political situation in the country, which ended up with the assassination of its former president in July 2021.

The film deals with a very specific situation, on a small island in a small country, but highlights a wide range of universal issues: violation of human rights, right to property, tourism development and industry, corruption, international interference, class conflict, and rural exodus.

We hope that this film will ignite a conversation about the true cost of economic progress and the importance of valuing every human being, regardless of their financial status.”

– Raquel Gómez-Rosado, Director

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