Children of Shadows

In Haiti, many poor families are forced to give away their children. The children then go to live and work for other families as unpaid servants. This film follows the children throughout their day as they do all the housework and also interviews them where they speak freely for the first time on camera. The film also interviews the “aunts” (adoptive caretakers) who speak proudly of all the work that their little slave does for them. The cameras go deep into the countryside to interview the parents who were forced to give away their children and we see he circumstances that led them to do this. Interviews with Haitian priests and social workers round out the picture. Narrated entirely by the people themselves in their native Creole (Eng. subtitles), the film is both emotional and informative.