Wozo (2021) - full transcript

Dad?

Wake up.

Dad, wake up.

Get up, Dad.

It's too early.

No.

Let me sleep.

I'm as hungry as an ogre.

I'm warning you, if I catch you,

I'll eat you!

Where are you?



Nina?
Where are your clothes for today?

They're on my bed!

I'm changing your shirt.
This one's dirty. OK?

OK!

Good morning, it's eight o'clock.

First up this Tuesday in Haiti,
UN peacekeepers

are once again caught up
in a sex scandal.

According to a study published
by the New York Times,

hundreds of children have been born
by rapes committed by UN peacekeepers

and subsequently abandoned.

Honey? We're leaving in five minutes!

Can you help me with my pants, Dad?

EDITORIAL BOARD

You put them on backwards.



Hello?

Yeah, I heard.

What? You mean, go there?

No, I can't do that.

Ask Julie.
She knows the region well, too.

Yeah.

I have to take my daughter to school.

See you later, Arnaud.

There we go.

And Mrs. Aurore taught us
to count to 100.

That's great!

Let's go.

You all right?

Yes, Dad.

OK.

Shit.

ARNAUD EDITOR

THINK ABOUT IT, PLEASE. IMPORTANT

UN PEACEKEEPERS RAPE HAITI

HUNDREDS OF UN PEACEKEEPER BABIES

IN HAITI,
HUNDREDS OF BABIES ABANDONED

THE UN FACES ANOTHER SEX SCANDAL

HAITI

MAP OF PORT-AU-PRINCE

All these memories.

I'd stopped dreaming of them,

but they always end up
floating to the surface.

My darling, these words are for you,

for the day you'll want to know
your story, our story.

Back then, I didn't have any idea
what to do with my life.

I never imagined that you would be
born on the other side of the world.

Excuse me. Have a nice day.

-Hello.
-Hello.

ID, please.

-Here.
-Thank you.

-Mr. Vanhoestenberghe?
-That's right.

Window number six.
We'll call your number.

-Have a nice day.
-Thanks.

-Hello.
-Hello.

I see you've turned down
several offers,

the last one being

a communications and marketing job
for Nexius Bank.

Communications and marketing
is up your alley, right?

Not quite.

I studied journalism,
and marketing is different.

And I don't really know anything
about banks.

I understand, but it would help you
pay the bills...

Temporarily, anyway,

until you can figure something
else out.

I'd love to find you a
journalist job, but I don't have one.

Do you know the rules?

If you don't find anything in a
month, you'll lose your insurance.

Yeah.

How did I hear about that volunteer
program for the UN?

I'm not sure anymore.

There were lots of former students
looking for adventure.

Any job would do.

So I figured, why not?

It's pouring out there!

Mom,

what are you doing here?

I was in the neighborhood.
I saw that the door was open,

so I figured I'd pop in.

Coffee?

Please.

I have an envelope from your auntie.

She's been insisting I give it to you
for months now.

That's nice, Mom,
but I don't need any money.

Then do it for your auntie.

How's the job search going?

Honestly, it's rough.

They keep offering me stuff
in banks or communication...

It's not what I want to do.

I didn't study for five years
to end up at a bank.

I understand.

I feel like they mix everything
together these days,

but you'll find something.

You're going to find something
you like.

Take care of yourself,

and...

It's not good to be alone
all the time.

Now that you have the time,
go out, do things.

Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine.

OK.

Dear Mr. Vanhoestenberghe,

we are pleased to inform you
that you have been selected

for a journalist position
with the United Nations in Haiti.

Congratulations.
The UN Volunteers programme.

Yes!

You don't want your aunt's money?

No, it's not that.

I just heard about Haiti.

I got the UN job.

In Tahiti?

In Haiti, in the Caribbean.

-Do you realize?
-I heard! In Tahiti.

It's far, but great!

Will you be here for Christmas?

No, I won't.

-Bon voyage.
-Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen...

It was a new world to discover,

and there was so much good work
to be done.

I was 30 years old.

Life was finally giving me a chance

to play my part,
to contribute something.

WOZO
A FILM BY THIBAUT MONNIER

Papa to base. Papa to base.

Papa 2k139 here.

Regarding transport of cooperation.

As you know, we have
three security levels in this zone.

The first, Level One, is the lowest.

Level Three is the most dangerous.

Here in Port-au-Prince,
you're at Level Three: the red zone.

We have 15 contingents
of UN personnel in 14 countries.

That's about 2,000 soldiers total.

We also have 600 UNPOL.

That's the United Nations Police.

And we have 1,500 civilian personnel.

There are also 21 UN agencies
working in this country.

In total, that comes to nearly
7,000 people.

Haiti is unpredictable.

If you are in danger, say "emergency"
three times on your radio.

If you hit someone with your car,
you drive away

and go to the nearest police station.

I've saved the best for last:
the evacuation plan.

It could be a hurricane,
an earthquake, or a political crisis.

And in this charming country,
anything can happen.

So you have to have a 30-pound bag

with all the necessities
with you at all times.

OK. Thanks for your attention,

and welcome to this charming corner
of the Caribbean.

This is where my office was:
the Log Base,

a fortress where UN peacekeepers

rubbed elbows
with sunglass-wearing expats.

Every day, I heard the ballet
of UN helicopters and planes.

Peter.

How's it going?

You must be Boris?

That's right.

-Welcome to Communications.
-Thanks.

We've been impatiently awaiting you.

Dieubon, communications manager,
and Frantz, the webmaster.

-Welcome to Haiti.
-Thank you.

-Here's your desk.
-OK.

OK? I'll be brief.

Besides the peacekeeping mission,
we deal with cholera, AIDS,

communitarian violence,
and the fight against poverty. OK?

For each one, we have projects

that are financed

by France, the US, and Japan.

So your job is to write about those
projects and make them visible. OK?

-Sure.
-You're with me?

We need photos that show
not only progress

but also the problems
with the projects.

-OK?
-OK.

Your weapon.

Your ammunition.

Don't waste any bullets.

Everything you shoot
is for this office.

OK.

Fire at will!

I had so awaited this moment,

but it was even better
than I had imagined.

I had access to the entire country.

My heart would pound

every time I climbed aboard
one of those old Russian helicopters.

We're here at an important
commercial intersection

between Haiti
and the Dominican Republic.

Every Monday and Friday,
thousands of Haitians and Dominicans

meet here, in the town of Darabones,

to do business that greatly benefits
the national economies.

This market brings hundreds
of millions of dollars a year

to each side of the border.

So...

Since the start of the program,

we've planted about 300 hectares.

OK.

We're hoping to be able
to double that,

and what's even more important
is that we've created 400 jobs.

And just with women
and disabled folks.

Make sure you put that
in your article.

OK. Can I get an interview
with that lady?

Sure. No problem.

-No problem.
-OK.

OK, we can start.

Frantz, can you first thank her
for receiving us at her home?

He thanks you for welcoming him.

So, first of all,

can you explain how you joined
this reforestation program?

She's a charcoal saleswoman.

One day, she was working in her field

when a white man came
and told her about the program.

That's how she got involved.

And how has this work
changed her life?

She says that when she sold charcoal,
she made more money.

But you know that it's illegal
to make charcoal?

The program only lasts two months.

She says the program
is only for two months.

OK, but if there's no more trees,
you can't make charcoal.

We'll leave it there. Thank you.

I'm just going to take a photo
for the interview, OK?

He wants to take a photo.

Nice photo.

It's not too much?

A good photo should hurt.

Healthy folks are for shampoo ads.

You know the project
is only for two months?

Yeah, unless we get more financing,

and that's the kind of photo
we need to get it.

And then?

Then, what?
They'll go back to their old lives.

They'll go back
to cutting down trees?

Did you think it would be for life?

Presenting these people
as saviors of the forest,

when they're responsible
for deforestation, is nuts.

Can't we find something long term?

Thanks for your input,
but we do communication here.

So focus on what you know how to do.

You're working for the UN, Boris.
This is serious.

-So you want that photo?
-Yeah.

Did you do the border project?

Yeah, it's good to go.

OK.

FROM CHARCOAL TO REFORESTATION

Hello. Can I help you?

Hi.

I have an appointment
with a Dr. Medgine Seraphin.

Let's go to my office.
We will be more comfortable there.

So, firstly,

you can go over the
current cholera situation in Haiti.

As you know, cholera
is a serious intestinal infection

that can be fatal within days
without treatment.

Cholera was almost non-existent
in Haiti

until there was an outbreak in 2010
caused by Nepalese UN peacekeepers.

Today,
it's a huge public-health issue.

But the anti-cholera program
you work with here at the hospital

is funded in large part by the UN.

How does this partnership help you?

This partnership, as you call it,
brings us financing

to fight against the problem
that was imposed on us.

Contamination can occur
orally or through fecal matter,

transmitted in drinking water
or unclean food.

That's how the Nepalese peacekeepers
brought cholera to Haiti:

by defecating in our rivers.

Do you honestly think

that this center would be having
such a big impact

without international backing?

Of course not.

But I can assure you that
we wouldn't need all this money,

since we wouldn't have
a cholera problem in Haiti

if your peacekeepers
hadn't brought it.

I think that the United Nations
should at least

acknowledge their responsibility
for this situation.

Look, Doctor, I'm not here to argue.

I'm just trying to document
the situation.

Were you at the Secretary General's
press conference last year?

Because I was.

In a fifteen-minute conference,

you know how much time
he spent on the cholera issue?

Two minutes. Two little minutes.

Meeting your mother was a shock...

because of her character
and her commitment.

She'd seen her fair share
of idealists like myself

who had come to advertise
for humanitarianism.

She wasn't fooled.

But deep down, I knew she was right.

I just need my eyes to be opened,

and she's the one who opened them.

She worked in the only functioning
hospital in the city,

with very few qualified personnel.

Thank you.

She handled both emergencies
and day-to-day injuries.

An all-terrain doctor.

Can you tell me
about the peacekeeper cholera issue?

You don't know?

About what?

Shit happens.
What do you want me to say?

10,000 deaths, and all you can say
is "shit happens"?

If you must know,

no, the peacekeepers
didn't shit in the rivers.

Yes, they had the virus,

but this wouldn't have happened
if the Haitian company had done

its job and not dumped the waste
in the river.

Shit.

They couldn't check
the wastewater pipe?

Do you realize what it would mean?
The compensation,

the real victims, and all that
just for some money?

Your project on the border
is going to committee next week,

and I still don't have your report.

So spare me the sentimentality
and finish the video.

OK.

Hello, can I speak
to Dr. Medgine Seraphin, please?

Yes, tell her
Boris Vanhoestenberghe called.

Thank you.

My videos brought in financing
for these projects.

This job gave meaning to my life.
I couldn't question it.

I couldn't face another failure.

Hi, Jaina.

Feeling good, Mr. Boris?

Not bad, yeah.

HAITI PAP PERI

5-2, dude, I'm wrecking you!

White man.

White man, give me money.

Boris, it's Mom. Can you see me?

Hi, Mom, I know it's you.
Yes, I see you.

OK.

How are you making out?
You look a little...

I'm good. It's good.

I work a lot, but it's good.

I have good people here.

All these stories we hear
about kidnapping and voodoo

have us worried.

Are you being careful?

Everything's fine here, Mom.

I found a nice little house
in a quiet neighborhood.

What about you?
The grandkids, yoga...

I got a new yoga teacher.

He trained in India.

It's really something else.
Incredible.

Dad wants to know, as usual,
when you're coming back.

I'm sorry, Mom.

I have to go meet some people.

I'll call you later.

Wait, Boris.

Are you sure your health insurance
is all in order?

They call me every week.

I'll take care of it. Promise.

I love you.

Bye.

Bye.

I started to lose touch with reality

when your mother and I
started seeing each other.

Always seeing things through a lens

led me to stop seeing
with my own eyes.

I had lost my critical faculties.

I thought I was a journalist,
but I was just a communicator.

Hey.

How's it going?

Good.

See you.

I have seen the report, and trust me,

you will love it.

We keep getting financing offers.

You did a great job.

HAITI AND D.R.
HEADED FOR RECONCILIATION

Hello.

Can I take a photo?

Thank you.

Asshole!

Hey, asshole!

Bastards!

-Bastards!
-Take him.

Bastards!

Let me go!

Anika?

How's it going?

I'm starting with the markets,

and then I'll do interviews later.

We need images of harmony.

We need to show that
the countries are reconciling.

The US worked a long time on this.

We don't want to lose them.

Yeah, don't worry. No problem.

Let me go!

Let me go!

No!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

You like this, huh?

How you feel now?

How you feel now?

You like this, huh?

Taking this dick, huh?

You like it?

Take it.

Crap!

Hey, guys!

Usually, a screen puts distance
between you.

You see, you hear,

in films, on the news, online.

You find it horrible,

you turn the TV off,
and life goes on as before.

I should have intervened,

shouted, screamed.

Instead,

I watched a life be extinguished

without doing anything,
without saying anything,

not right away, and not afterwards.

To think I'd wanted
to make truth my vocation.

White man, give me money.

I love you forever

Haiti, Mama darling

This is the land where I want to die

I was born in a beautiful country

That bathes in the Caribbean

How I love this land

It's so sweet and calm

Haiti, such is my name

It's pretty and charming

Made of gold and diamonds

I could never leave it

Haiti, Haiti

I love you forever

Haiti, Mama darling

This is the land where I want to die

Haiti, Haiti

I love you forever

This is the land where I want to die

Foreigners appreciate Haiti

When they come here

They don't want to leave

They love it so much

Haiti, Haiti

I love you forever

Haiti, Mama darling

This is the land where I want to die

I have big news.

Your photos did their job.

The US is signing on
for another five years.

Nika, you're being transferred
to headquarters for multimedia.

You're being promoted.

Boris,

I'd like you to be the new
head of communications here in Haiti.

Me?

OK?

Sure, of course.

-Congratulations, guys.
-Thank you.

Hi.

Hey, how are you?

Pretty good. How are you?

Not great.

What's wrong?

I'm having problems at work.

What kind of problems?

Ethical.

Well, go on, spit it out.

You know the project I mentioned
last week, at the border?

Yes.

It didn't go as planned.

It's a crisis there.
People are fighting,

and my boss wants me
to come up with an ad

showing how Haiti and the
Dominican Republic are getting along.

OK. What are you going to do?

I don't know.

It wouldn't be a lie
to say there's been progress.

But that'd be focusing
on just one part of the frame

and ignoring the essential.

What happens if you don't do it?

I miss out on a great promotion.

But the UN isn't the only employer
on the planet, Boris.

You're talented.
You'll find something else.

If I do this job,
I'd get 10,000 dollars a month,

with a 25,000-dollar bonus.
Can you imagine?

It's pornographic,
but how can I not think about it?

I could do it for three years

and buy myself a place in Brussels
instead of taking out a mortgage.

You think it's normal
to make 10,000 bucks a month

in a country where the average salary
is 200 a month?

You don't even pay taxes here, Boris.

Come back down to Earth.

You're better than this.

And don't give me, "I work far
from home, in difficult conditions."

No one's forcing you.

The UN is the taxpayer.

Open your eyes.

It's not that simple.
Put yourself in my shoes.

"Put yourself in my shoes"?

Have you ever put yourself in mine?

Or the people you're supposed
to be working for here?

Do you remember Kish Paul?
The people at the bottom,

the people who benefit
from your "projects."

You don't know anything
about their lives.

The poverty here is what
the wealth elsewhere is founded on.

The UN believes they're helping
like Haitians believe in God.

It's ridiculous.

Medgine?

Patricia? I can't do it.

The problem with UNICEF is
we always wind up high and dry.

I don't know. Figure something out.
Check with your supplier.

Hang on a second.

Hello.

Is this communications?

Yes, what's it about?

I'm the new volunteer.

-Oh, shit. Thomas, right?
-Yeah.

I was expecting you next week.

Hang on.

Let me introduce you
to your new colleagues.

Dieubon, in charge of media.

Nice to meet you.

And Frantz, the webmaster.

What's most important for me
is images, OK?

This is your weapon.

OK.

And here's your ammunition.

Everything you shoot
is for the office, OK?

-OK.
-Don't waste any bullets.

Frantz, put him on the report
this afternoon.

Good luck.

Excuse me, guys.

I don't know what to start with,
but I need coffee first.

How's it going?

Antonio!

-How are you?
-Good, you?

Great.

How are you?

See you.

The Prince of Monaco
is coming to inaugurate two schools.

If we want him to be generous,
we need to make his trip memorable.

Put the whole team on it, OK?

For tomorrow, confirm the meeting
with the Brazilian ambassador,

and don't forget to write the speech.

Ah, Boris.

I need you to represent me
tomorrow morning at 9:00,

at a meeting with the government.

Sure. What's it about?

Debriefing
the newly elected officials.

The new head of the ministry
for the mineral project in Reunion.

The goal is to lay out the main range
of our future collaboration.

-Anything particular to bring up?
-It's all in there.

Be polite. They're sensitive, and the
ministry is under our supervision.

We have to maintain
a good relationship with them.

We'll go over it later.

I need the speech in 30 minutes.

MINISTRY MANAGEMENT

Out of the 5.35 billion US dollars

promised for reconstruction
in the wake of the earthquake,

between 2010 and 2012,

just 56 percent, or three billion,
was actually disbursed.

The earthquake generated a lot
of support around the world, yes,

but what came of it?

Our needs have only increased.

Whose fault is that?

It's not 2010 anymore,
and I can guarantee you

that my colleagues and I

are ready to move on
from the emergency phase

if you move us into a phase
of sustainable development

but one that is self-managed.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

It's time to reverse the roles here.

Mr. Vanhoestenberghe,
if you want to work with us,

then invest in our policy
instead of trying to do it for us.

Who do you think I am?

The white guy here to teach a lesson?

I can't help it if your colleagues
in the government are more interested

in fancy cars and cell phones
than the good of the whole,

or if being the cousin of a senator

gets you a cushy job.

We're past colonization here.

Maybe it's time to move on.

I tried to put it out of my mind,

to convince myself
that it was too late,

to look the other way.

Then I made a choice.

The time comes
when the choice is clear,

when all that's missing is courage.

For once,
your mother and I were in agreement.

She's the one
who gave me the courage I needed.

Thanks for coming.

I hope this isn't about
what's weighing on your conscience.

Not this time.

I'm leaving, Medgine.

I don't know to where,
but I'm leaving.

You're leaving, or running away?

I wanted to become someone
when I came here.

I had it all wrong.

We're all in the same boat.
Your struggle and mine are the same.

What's your advice, then?

Stop doing propaganda.

I can't anymore anyway.
They fired me.

What? Why?

At a meeting with the ministry,
I don't know what got into me,

but I flipped out.

What'd you say to them?

You don't want to know.

But it won't be long
before it gets back to my boss.

You know, I'm just a nobody
in the system.

Then write about what you've seen.

Pull back the curtain.

I, the undersigned,
Boris Vanhoestenberghe,

communications supervisor
for the UN in Haiti,

declare that I witnessed a gang rape

committed by four UN peacekeepers
in the town of Manama,

as the attached video shows.

I would have liked to aid the victim,

but it seemed impossible at the time.

It is my hope that sharing this video
will help justice be done.

YOUR VIDEO IS UPLOADING.
PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE THIS WINDOW.

HAVE A NICE TRIP!

News from Haiti, where a rape
committed by UN peacekeepers

has just been reported
by a UN employee,

right as the peacekeeping mission

has been faced
with violent demonstrations

against its responsibility
for the cholera epidemic.

This scandal has reignited the debate

over the collateral damage
of international aid

on this Caribbean island.

Haitians continue to call
for reparations from the UN

for their responsibility
in the cholera breakout.

You can count on us, Minister.

Great.

In late 2016,

the UN officially apologized
to the Haitian people

for its role in the cholera epidemic,

which has killed over 10,000 people
and infected over 800,000 since 2010.

However, the UN continues to refuse
to take legal responsibility,

by hiding behind diplomatic immunity.

Other than a bit of indignation,

sharing my videos
didn't lead to much.

Cholera and rape by UN peacekeepers
still shows up in the news in Haiti.

I still believe
that filming means something.

I hope that these words
will bring you strength

every time you hesitate to stand up.

Your mom fought to the bitter end.

She would be so proud of you today.

You are like the reed.

Even though you may bend,
what matters is to not give in.

Hey, darling!
How was your day at school?

Good. My friend and I played soccer.
It was so cool.

You played soccer?

Yeah. And I play forward.

Forward? I had no idea.

Lina, I was thinking...

What if we went away for summer?

Do you want to go anywhere
in particular?

You don't know?

What if went someplace sunny,
where it's beautiful and warm,

with water everywhere.
That'd be cool, too.