Director Alain Martin and Executive Producer & NYT Bestseller Roxane Gay Premiere The Forgotten Occupation in Los Angeles on January 10th. The film’s premiere is presented by Haitian Spotlight LA.
WHAT: “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti,” a revealing new indie feature documentary about the U.S. occupation of Haiti, opens January 10 for a special one-week theatrical run at Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills. From Haitian filmmaker Alain Martin and executive producer and New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay, the film blends personal and political history to reexamine a buried chapter of U.S.–Haiti relations. The Los Angeles premiere is in partnership with Haitian Spotlight LA, an impassioned and quickly growing organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting Haitian culture while embracing the richness of the wider Caribbean, African, and global Black diasporas through engaging events, cultural showcases, and networking opportunities. To watch the trailer, visit: The Forgotten Occupation Trailer.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Through a letter to his grandfather, a Haitian filmmaker revisits the U.S. occupation of Haiti, unraveling the paradox of a man who longed for American rule and a nation scarred by it. Blending intimate memory with sweeping history, the film confronts exile, love, and the uneasy truths at the heart of freedom.
WHO:
- Alain Martin, Director/award-winning filmmaker
- Roxane Gay, Executive Producer, New York Times bestselling author
- Monkey Wrench Films, Distributor
- Los Angeles-based cast, crew, and invited Haitian community leaders (select talent available for interviews; details upon request)
WHEN:
- Premiere Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026
- Showtime 7:30 pm PT with a Red carpet and Q&A
WHERE:
- Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall 3, 9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
- Intersection of Wilshire Blvd & Doheny Drive
SHOW RUN: One-week engagement at Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills (January 10–16, 2026; daily showtimes)
TICKETS: lumieretickets.com/theforgottenoccupation
WHY IT MATTERS: “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti” spotlights a rarely examined period of U.S. intervention in Haiti, through the lens of an immigrant filmmaker’s striking family photos and a visceral collective memory. The documentary offers urgent resonance for conversations about empire, migration, and democracy today as Haitian migrants and refugees are once again being targeted in U.S. political speech and media coverage.
Recent election-cycle rhetoric has leaned on racist tropes and disinformation about Haitian communities, portraying them as a “threat” and fueling hostility and fear. At the same time, debates over Temporary Protected Status (TPS), deportations, and border enforcement continue to determine whether Haitians fleeing gang violence and political collapse will find safety or be sent back into danger. Advocacy groups and lawmakers have urged the administration to extend protections and halt removals, underscoring how U.S. policy and perception remain deeply entangled with Haiti’s crisis.
By tracing the roots of that power through an intimate family story, “The Forgotten Occupation” reclaims the narrative of Haitian memory, love, and resilience, inviting Los Angeles audiences to see today’s immigration flashpoints not as abstractions, but as part of a long history of occupation, anti-Blackness, and extraordinary Haitian resilience.
MEDIA RSVP / INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
For press RSVPs, screener links, interviews with Alain Martin, representatives of Monkey Wrench Films, or other principals, and final showtime details, please contact:
Cydney Schiller Prentice
Publicist, The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti
Email: cydneysppr@gmail.com
Phone: 805-660-9778
ABOUT MONKEY WRENCH FILMS
Denver & LA-based, with distribution partners in more than a dozen countries, Monkey Wrench Films is making literal and metaphorical waves in the indie film world with multiple award-winning acquisitions and a plethora of feature films in recent distribution. As self-proclaimed “industry disruptors”, Monkey Wrench Films specializes in bringing well-deserved indie films (narrative and documentary) to the big screen and creating post-show buzz in the entertainment industry. Their current feature film slate includes, Chris Benchetler’s “Mountains of the Moon”, Red Bull Studios’ “Girl Climber”, “The North Face Presents: First Descents”, “Preserved”- unveiling the conservation and regenerative success of Ted Turner’s 568,000 acre Vermejo, and “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti”. Recent releases include “Who Is Stan Smith”, from Lebron James’s Uninterrupted studio, the BAFTA Award-winning feature, “The Hermit of Treig”, and “The Dark Divide”, starring David Cross and Debra Messing. See their full release lineup at monkeywrenchfilms.com.
ABOUT ROXANE GAY
Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, The New York Times-bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and The New York Times-bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. She also has a newsletter, The Audacity, and once had a podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda. For more information, please visit roxanegay.com.
ABOUT HAITIAN SPOTLIGHT LA
Haitian Spotlight LA (HSLA) is a Los Angeles based cultural platform dedicated to uniting and elevating the Haitian, Caribbean and American diaspora across the Pacific West Coast. Through thoughtfully curated, community centered events, Haitian Spotlight is building a vibrant cultural hub that bridges grassroots community across industries. HSLA has hosted and honored prominent leaders and creatives, including Wanda Tima, founder of the major publication L’Union Suite; philanthropist Marguerite Lathan; human rights advocate Guerline Josef; and film producer Dominique Telson, whose work includes The Best Man: Final Chapters and Good Girl Jane. By amplifying powerful Haitian narratives and spotlighting high profile voices and cultural leaders, Haitian Spotlight LA drives national visibility, meaningful connection, and lasting cultural impact.
