Port-au-Prince---It's been nearly three decades since Haiti's Triomphe cinema shuttered its doors, but the storied theater is back -- and with a bit of Hollywood swag to boot.
With the red carpet rolled out and an official photographer in place, some of Haiti's top entertainers celebrated Triomphe's grand reopening, a sign for many that things might finally be turning after the devastating earthquake in 2010.
The theater closed its doors in 1987, and like so many iconic Port-au-Prince buildings, was destroyed in the massive quake that killed more than 250,000 people and shattered much of the country's infrastructure.
No films have been publicly screened anywhere for six years, in a country where access to basics -- such as clean water and electricity -- are a daily struggle, let alone film projectors and screens.
The symbolic re-opening of Triomphe, which means "triumph" in English, is an important turning point for the impoverished island nation.
"It gives us the feeling of being somewhere very normal on Earth," said Emmelie Prophete, director of Haiti's copyright office.
"We've missed this."
The audience filed into the refurbished theater -- newly outfitted with classic velvet seats, spotlights and a heavy curtain on stage in front of the big screen.
The theater, on the main Champs de Mars square, was rebuilt with funds from the government, which took over the crumbling structure.
The reopening marks a new chapter for the cinema, whose ruins had been occupied by squatters, homeless children and merchants for several years.
Now, Haiti's leaders hope the space will usher in a new era of cultural production, artistic creativity and, above all, hope for Haiti's young people.
"We are very happy to return this space to the people of Haiti, a country where young people are looking for entertainment and safe spaces where they can have fun," President Michel Martelly, a former pop star, said at the inauguration.
Many hope Triomphe's rebirth will allow for a return to its heyday, when it was the largest theater in the Caribbean and attracted big-name entertainers such as French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour and Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias.
AFP
