HRF's The Sugar Babies at the University of Miami

MIAMI (November 06, 2009) - The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami will screen The Sugar Babies on Thursday, November 12, as part of its Latin American Film Series. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with filmmaker Amy Serrano. On November 13, Serrano will also lead a round table discussion about the film and the current situation of Haitian laborers in the Dominican Republic.

The Sugar Babies: The Plight of the Children of Agricultural Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic is an award-winning, feature-length documentary that explores the human costs of sugar production in the Caribbean island. With gripping field testimonies and hidden camera footage obtained during 18 months of documentation, the film also features interviews with Ambassador of Haiti to the United States Raymond Joseph, then-U.S. Department of State Ambassador John Miller from the Office of Human Trafficking, and a number of other experts and activists.

The film has received much critical acclaim and, in 2008, a segment of the Spanish-language show “Maria Elvira Live” featuring The Sugar Babies won an Emmy award. The show included a discussion of the documentary and its impact with Serrano, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission Armando Valladares, and Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen.

In September 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor included sugarcane from the Dominican Republic on its list of products believed to be made from forced child labor. The announcement came after numerous screenings of The Sugar Babies before members of Congress and representatives from the departments of Labor, State, and Justice as well as the Office for Human Trafficking. 

The film has stirred controversy and exposed the inhumane practices of the Dominican sugarcane industry to such an extent that the Fanjul and Vicini families – owners of the largest sugar companies in the Dominican Republic, including the Domino Sugar brand – have tried to silence Serrano and others connected to the film. Their attempts have included removing the film from festivals, a bribery scandal involving a Dominican diplomat in Miami, and a series of other intimidation tactics that forced Serrano to relocate from her home in Florida to Louisiana. 

The 99-minute documentary is in Spanish, Creole, French and English. The Sugar Babies was produced through Siren Studios in association with the Hope, Courage, and Justice Project and the Human Rights Foundation.

HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights in the Americas. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF does not support nor condone violence. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

Contact: Thor Halvorssen, Human Rights Foundation, (+212)246.8486, info@thehrf.org

For more information regarding the upcoming film screening at the University of Miami please click here.

To visit The Sugar Babies website, click here.