Baldwin resident Alain Martin, 45, never set out to become a filmmaker, but a decade-long passion project, his documentary “The Forgotten Occupation,” is now reaching national audiences and reshaping how Haiti’s history is understood.
By day, Martin, who grew up in Jacmel, Haiti, before coming to the United States at age 13, works in finance, which makes filmmaking a nights-and-weekends pursuit for him. The documentary explores the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. Seeking a way to engage audiences while presenting complex history, Martin framed the film as a personal letter to his late grandfather.
“I uncovered such horrible facts about the U.S. occupation that I just wanted to share that with people,” Martin said.
He described an early version of the film as “bland and boring,” saying it failed to “move the needle” dramatically, creatively or artistically, leaving him stuck as he searched for a stronger narrative approach. After stepping away from the project for nearly three years, inspiration struck.
“I was asking myself, ‘How can I be honest?’ when it comes to this film,” Martin recalled. “My grandfather was always someone I was thinking about, and I said, ‘What if I just write a letter to him?’”
Even after he settled on the film’s structure, completing the project remained difficult. At one point, Martin said, the film went through 19 cuts and several editors as he struggled to shape the story. “The editing was the hardest part,” he said. “We just couldn’t get the story right for a long time.”
Following the assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in July 1915, President Woodrow Wilson sent U.S. Marines into Haiti to “restore order” and “maintain political and economic stability” in the Caribbean, according to the Office of The Historian. The occupation lasted nearly two decades, but Martin said accounts of it remain largely absent from mainstream American history. He added that many Haitians are also unfamiliar with the period because of their limited access to historical records.
“I had a hard time getting information for the story because a lot of literature on the occupation is out of print,” Martin said. “It might be difficult to get a book on the occupation, but I’m hoping it’s never difficult to look this film up, rent it or buy it, and learn about the occupation.”
Asked what reclaiming the narrative means to him as a Haitian immigrant, he said it was simple. “We get to tell the story and get to frame our own stories, as opposed to waiting for third parties to tell it for us,” he said. “That’s been the history of Haiti and the national consciousness of this country.”
During the occupation, there were negative stereotypes in American media, including portrayals of “Haitians eating human beings, eating live animals, and black magic,” Martin said.
“The Forgotten Occupation,” was made entirely by Haitians, allowing them to tell the story that the media has neglected. Now, as the film screens across the country, audience reactions have reassured him that the long journey was worthwhile.
“Every time I show it, I get nervous,” Martin said. “But afterward, people come up and tell me how much it moved them. That makes me feel like maybe I did something right.”
The film is premiering in New York on Feb. 20, at the Brooklyn’s Children’s Museum in Brooklyn. Asked what it means to introduce the film in New York during Black History Month, Martin said, “It means the world.”
“I consider myself as much Haitian as I am a New Yorker, because although I grew up in Haiti, I spent all of my summers in New York,” he said. “New York has always been a part of my identity … that’s home.”
As the film continues its national rollout, Martin hopes Long Island audiences will also come away with a deeper understanding of Haiti and the people who call it home. “I hope this film raises their awareness, and perhaps cautions them on how they talk about Haiti going forward, to be able to resist the narrative,” he said. “So maybe if they’re watching the news or listening to the radio and there’s some sort of slander about Haiti, they can say, ‘I saw this film and that’s not what it is.’”
For Martin, the documentary also represents a personal milestone — and a way to give something back to his homeland.
“I left Haiti a long time ago, and I didn’t know if I would ever be able to give something back,” he said. “This film feels like my gift to Haiti.”
