Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones)
Synopsis
In 1791, in Haiti, Dutty Boukman presided over a Vodou ritual in Bois-Caïman that led to the creation of the first Black republic. Since then, rituals of transformation and artistic expression have been at the core of a thriving culture as the country faces oppression, poverty, and natural disasters. "Kite Zo A” (Leave the Bones) is a sensorial film about rituals in Haiti, from ancient to modern, made in collaboration with poets, dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and Vodou priests, set to poetry by Haitian author Wood-Jerry Gabriel.In 1791, in Haiti, Dutty Boukman presided over a Vodou ritual in Bois-Caïman that led to the creation of the first Black republic. Since then, rituals of transformation and artistic expression have been at the core of a thriving culture as the country faces oppression, poverty, and natural disasters. "Kite Zo A” (Leave the Bones) is a sensorial film about rituals in Haiti, from ancient to modern, made in collaboration with poets, dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and Vodou priests, set to poetry by Haitian author Wood-Jerry Gabriel.
Festivals
AWARDS
Peace Prize (Public Prize)
Montreal Nouveau Cinema Festival, Canada, 2022
Outstanding Cinematographer for Feature Film
Reelworld Film Festival, Canada, 2022
Best Editing
Bend Film Festival, USA, 2023
Best Documentary Feature
Cinema on the Bayou, USA, 2024.
Nomination for Best Feature Lenght Documentary
Canadian Screen Awards, Canadda, 2024.
Best Cinematography in a Feature Lenght Documentary
Canadian Screen Awards, Canada, 2024.
SELECTIONS
Montreal Nouveau Cinema Festival, Canada, 2022.
Reelworld Film Festival, Canada, 2022.
Rendez-vous Quebec Cinema, Canada, 2023.
SXSW, USA, 2023.
Afro Urban Festival/ Afro Urban Fest, Canada, 2023.
Miami Film Festival, USA, 2023.
DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Canada, 2023.
DC Caribbean Festival, USA, 2023.
Gimli International Film Festival, Canada, 2023.
Rooftop Film Festival, USA, 2023.
We Are One Festival, Canada, 2023.
Trinidad and Tobago International Film Festival, Trinidad and Tobago, 2023.
Les Percéides, Canada, 2023.
Bucharest International Dance Film Festival, Romania, 2023.
Choreoscope, Spain, 2023.
Quebec City Film Festival, Canada, 2023.
Thess International Short Film Festival, Greece, 2023.
Bend Film Festival, USA, 2023.
FIFAC Festival, France, 2023.
Womex Festival, Spain, 2023.
Festival Internacional Cámara Corporizada, Argentina, 2023.
Caribbean Tales Film Festival, Canada, 2023.
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, South Korea, 2023.
Pop Montreal, Canada, 2023.
Three Rivers Film Festival, 2023.
Rencontres du documentaire en Haïti, Haiti, 2023.
Cinema on the Bayou, USA, 2024.
Canadian Film Fest, Canada, 2024.
Nouveaux Regards Film Festival, Guadeloupe/France, 2024.
Cinedans, Netherlands, 2024.
Big Ears Film Festival, USA, 2024.
Ashland Independant Film Festival, USA, 2024.
Festival Des Corps, France 2024.
Festival International du documentaire de Jacmel, Haiti, 2024.
Festival Cergy, Soit !, France, 2024.
Lost Weekend Film Festival, USA, 2024.
Bucharest Photofest, Romania, 2024.
Director: Kaveh Nabatian
Script: Kaveh Nabatian And Wood-Jerry Gabriel
DOP: Kaveh Nabatian
Sound: Sacha Ratcliffe, Joseph Ray
Editing: Kaveh Nabatian
Music: Lakou Miziik/Joseph Ray
Production: Kaveh Nabatian, Zach Niles, Joseph Ray
Performers: Sanba Zao
Version
Original: Haitian creole
Subtitles: French and English
Format
16:9/Color, b/w/5.1
DCP, ProRes, H264
Kaveh is an Iranian-Canadian artist whose evocative filmmaking has brought to life stories from the margins of society and across the world: Cuba, Haiti, Nunavut, India, and beyond. His film work ranges from "A Crack in Everything", a feature doc about Leonard Cohen, to masterminding the Rotterdam-premiering, experimental, seven-director anthology feature "The Seven Last Words", to his award-winning feature narrative debut, the Cuba-set and shot "Sin La Habana".
