In 1937 the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo issued orders to kill Haitians living on the Dominican Republic's northwestern border. Driven by anti-Black racism, Trujillo's dictate ultimately caused the deaths of tens of Dominicans of Haitian descent. Decades later, in 2013, the Dominican Republic's Supreme Court passed legislation stripping the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents retroactive to 1929, rendering over 200,000 people stateless.
Michèle Stephenson's newest documentary Statelesstakes place in the aftermath of the 2013 ruling, exploring the complex history of the two countries' politics while following a young Dominican attorney named Rosa Iris as she launches a grassroots campaign, taking on electoral corruption and advocating social justice. Stateless broadcasts Monday July 19th at 10pm on PBS (check local listings) and streaming at pov.org.
Events & panels featuring the filmmakers in conversation with artists, scholars and activists
On July 19th at 7pm ET join WQED, Dir. Michèle Stephenson, Rosa Iris and Andrés Franco, Director of City of Asylum, for a sneak peak and discussion of Stateless before it makes its national television debut. Register here.
On June 26th Stephenson joined a panel put on by Blackstar Projects centered around which aesthetic, practical, and ethical concerns they find themselves grappling with politically and personally as filmmakers.
In The News
Select press coverage, interviews and related stories
"Dominican Republic's enduring history of racism against Haitians explored in 'Stateless'" - feature in NBC News
“Speaking of titanic works, the top spot on this year’s Tribeca preview goes to one of the year’s best films.” - review in Criterioncast
Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Open Society Foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from Nancy Blachman and David desJardins, Bertha Foundation, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Charitable Trust, Park Foundation, Sage Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Abby Pucker, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.
