Kite Zo A: Leave The Bones

The new film by Kaveh Nabatian

World Premiere at Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma on October 8, 2022

On the night of August 14, 1791, a Vodou ritual took place in Bois-Caïman that became the precursor to a mass uprising against slavery and led to the birth of Haiti, the world’s first Black independent republic. Since then, ceremonies of artistic and religious expression have been a mainstay of Haitian culture and its resistance to external oppression, poverty, and natural disasters.

Working hand in hand with local dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and priests, this documentary feature provides a sensory immersion into these sacred rites. Set to the rhythms of the Lakou Mizik group and Joseph Ray and the poetry of Wood-Jerry Gabriel, KITE ZO A: Leave the Bones is an intoxicating creative and spiritual experience.

70 minutes, HD/16mm, Haiti/Canada, Language: Haitian Creole

Producers: Kaveh Nabatian, Zach Niles, Joseph Ray
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Kaveh Nabatian
Writer/Narrator: Wood-Jerry Gabriel

Film Contacts

Kaveh Nabatian: info@kavehnabatian.com
Zach Niles: zachniles@gmail.com

Canadian Distribution

Serge Abiaad: serge@ladistributrice.ca
PRESS PACK
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OFFICIAL SELECTION
Miami Film Festival 40
OFFICIAL SELECTION
SXSW Film & TV Festival 2023
Winner: 2022 Peace Award & International Panorama Audience Award - Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (Montreal)
WINNER
2022 Peace Award & International Panorama Audience Award
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (Montreal)
WINNER
Outstanding Feature Film Cinematographer
Reelworld Festival (Toronto)
  • Nomination for Best Feature Documentary
    Canadian Screen Award
  • Nomination for Best Cinematography in a Feature Documentary
    Canadian Screen Award
  • Prix de la paix (Audience Award)
    Festival du nouveau cinéma (Montreal)
  • Best Editing
    BendFilm
  • Outstanding Cinematographer
    Reelworld Film Festival
  • Best Feature Documentary
    Cinema on the Bayou (Louisiana)
  • Prix des lycéens
    FIFAC (French Guiana)
  • Cinematic Achievement
    Thessaloniki ISFF

Festivals

  • International Premiere: SXSW
  • World Premiere: Festival du Nouveau Cinéma
  • Reelworld Film Festival (Toronto)
  • DOXA (Closing Night Film)
  • Miami IFF
  • Rooftop Films Summer Series (NYC)
  • Jecheon Int'l Music and Film Festival (Korea)
  • Trinidad & Tobago FF (Closing Night Film)
  • Cinedans (Amsterdam)
  • DC Caribbean FF
  • FIFAC (French Guiana)
  • BendFilm (Oregon)
  • WOMEX (Spain)
  • Pop Montreal
  • Caribbean Tales (Toronto)
  • Les Percéides (Quebec)
  • Festival Afro-Urbain (Montreal)
  • Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma
  • Gimli FF (Manitoba, Canada)
  • Big Ears (Tennessee)
  • Choreoscope (Barcelona)
  • Bucharest Int'l Dance FF
  • Cinema on the Bayou (Louisiana)
  • Ashland IFF (Oregon)
  • 3 Rivers Film Fest (Pittsburgh)
  • Rencontres du documentaire en Haïti (Port-au-Prince)
  • Festival int'l du film documentaire de Jacmel (Haiti)
  • Cámara Corporizada (Buenos Aires)
  • Thessaloniki ISFF
  • Tropiques Atrium (Martinique)
  • Canadian Film Festival (Toronto)
  • Nouveaux Regards (Guadeloupe)