Haitian filmmaker Gessica Généus has just received the Best Film Award at the Villa Medici Festival in Rome for “Marie Madeleine.” This feature film, shot in Creole and set in Jacmel, opens in France on October 21. The award, which includes a 5,000-euro prize and a residency, is the latest achievement in a career that has taken her to Cannes and Cabourg.
“The film isn’t even a distortion of reality it is reality.” Gessica Généus made this statement about the brothel in Jacmel where her film is set, in an interview published by the Cannes Film Festival in May. She also says she wants to explore “our relationship as a people with morality, in Haiti.” Four months later, a jury in Rome recognized this perspective with an award.
The sixth edition of the Villa Medici Festival took place from September 16 to 20, 2026. The jury consisted of actress and director Zar Amir Ebrahimi, artist Rosa Barba, and director Radu Jude. It selected “Marie Madeleine” for the Best Film Award, which comes with a prize of 5,000 euros and a residency at the Villa Medici. According to the festival, the jury praised the film’s exploration of what happens when faith becomes both a refuge and a prison, as well as the courage of its vision and the extraordinary humanity of its cinema.
Jacmel, a sex worker and an evangelist
The film is set in Jacmel, on Haiti’s southern coast. Marie Madeleine works there as a prostitute. She meets Joseph, a young evangelist, and a relationship develops between these two people who are polar opposites. Gessica Généus plays the lead role herself, alongside Béonard Monteau, who plays Joseph. The feature film runs 104 minutes and alternates between Haitian Creole and French.
It is a co-production between France, Haiti, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Canada. The French company Sanosi Productions is the lead producer. The Haitian company Ayizan Productions is one of the co-producers.
Gessica Généus, a filmmaker who started at age seventeen
Gessica Généus grew up in Port-au-Prince. She began her acting career at age seventeen in Richard Sénécal’s “Barikad.” She went on to direct documentaries. “Douvan jou ka leve” earned her the Grand Prize at the first FIFAC, the Amazon-Caribbean Documentary Festival, in French Guiana. In 2021, her first feature-length fiction film, “Freda,” was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.
According to the Washington Post, “Freda” was the first Haitian film selected for Cannes since 1993. The American newspaper adds that the director had difficulty financing the project, in part because she insisted on using dialogue in Creole. The film was also submitted by Haiti for consideration for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film. Both feature films are set in Haiti and follow women.
Cannes, Cabourg, Rome: The Journey of “Marie Madeleine”
“Marie Madeleine” premiered at Cannes on May 14, 2026, in the Cannes Première section. It went on to win the Grand Prix at the Cabourg Film Festival in June, the festival’s 40th edition, which Le Nouvelliste describes as its first major award. The film was also screened in Toronto as part of the Centrepiece program, and then in Calgary on September 28. Namur will host a screening on October 3.
Gessica Généus now has two films at Cannes, in 2021 and 2026. The Haitian media outlet Chokarella describes her as the first Haitian female director to win the Villa Médicis Prize.
What This Award Means for Gessica Généus and Haitian Cinema
The actual impact on Haitian cinema remains to be seen. However, some signs are already evident. A film set in Jacmel, spoken in Creole, and directed by a Haitian woman who also plays the lead role is making the rounds at festivals in Europe and North America. It will be distributed in theaters in France by Pyramide Distribution. The residency at the Villa Medici also offers the director a period of time to work in Rome, though the festival has not yet specified the dates.
French audiences will be able to see “Marie Madeleine” in theaters starting October 21. On October 6, the FIFAC kicks off its eighth edition in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana, a festival that Gessica Généus knows well, having won an award there and later served as jury president in 2024. One question remains unanswered by this journey. After “Freda” and “Marie Madeleine,” which other Haitian films in Creole will in turn make their way to Cannes and Rome?
Frequently Asked Questions
It won the Best Film Award at the Villa Medici Festival in Rome. The prize includes 5,000 euros and a residency at the Villa Medici. The sixth edition of the festival took place from September 16 to 20, 2026.
The film is set in Jacmel, on Haiti’s southern coast. Marie Madeleine works there as a prostitute and meets Joseph, a young evangelist. A relationship develops between these two people who are polar opposites. The director plays the lead role alongside Béonard Monteau. The film runs 104 minutes and alternates between Haitian Creole and French.
The film opens in theaters in France on October 21, distributed by Pyramide Distribution. It was presented at Cannes on May 14, 2026, in the Cannes Première section, and then screened in Toronto and Calgary on September 28. Namur will host a screening on October 3.
