Making its world premiere at the 39th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) earlier this month is Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck’s latest work, titled "Murder in Pacot" – a feature film loosely inspired by Italian director, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 drama/mystery "Teorema," which starred Terence Stamp as a mysterious stranger who injects himself into the home of a wealthy Italian family, and seduces everyone in it, including the maid, which leads to each of them reaching some unique epiphany, leaving viewers (and the characters in the film) wondering who this enigmatic, nameless visitor is: Christ, or the Devil?
The film is co-produced by ARTE, the World cinema Fund (France) and the European ACP.
It was shot in what was described as an exceptional location in Haiti: a three level Villa in a neighborhood already totally rebuilt; "A neighborhood I drove through everyday while shooting my documentary “Fatal Assistance,” is today hardly recognizable, and is the location of one of the most styled and selective Haitian hotels," said Peck. That hotel being The Inn at Villa Bambou.
"Murder in Pacot" was a "TIFF Masters" selection for this year’s installment of the festival, one of the top movie showcases and a favored platform to unveil Oscar contenders, which ran from September 4-14.
Needless to say, I’m most certainly intrigued, and I’m looking forward to what Monsieur Peck has been cooking up for us next!
A first trailer for the film has surfaced and is embedded below, followed by a few still images from the upcoming film.