“The wealth of Haiti is its people. If you miss the people, you miss the wealth. ”
— Paula Hyppolite

Born in Cap-Haïtien, Paula Hyppolite is the director of Ciné Institute, Haiti’s only film school. After 25 years living in the United States, Paula returned to Haiti in 1997.  In 2003,  she and APJ CEO David Belle launched the Jacmel Film Festival,  a massive screening hundreds of international films, all free of charge. The annual film festival was such an extraordinary success that they decided to offer workshops to local Haitian youth who were eager to learn. What she and David discovered was that what audiences really hungered to see were local films showcasing Haitian culture.  “We want to give Haiti a voice—its own voice—in cinema.” A strong, artistic, female role model and leader in the traditionally male-dominated film sector, Paula is constant source of inspiration to our students and a model for what is possible when we unlock creativity, inspiration, and education.

I’m an artist for:

positive changes.

I’m driven by:

Love

I’m inspired by:

the need for awareness and knowledge.

I hope Haiti:

can educate it’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders with a good sense of who we are as a people, what our goals are as a nation and how to achieve them.

I believe education can:

change a nation and empower it’s people.