Island on Fire: Passionate Visions of Haiti from the Collection of Jonathan Demme

 Edwidge Danticat and Jonathan Demme.

Published by Kaliko Press, 1997.

Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (1944-2017), known for directing the films The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004), was also a Haitian art curator and collector. He developed a particular appreciation for Haitian art and culture after acquiring a Haitian painting from a gallery in New York in the 1980s. It prompted him to visit the country, where he learned Creole and met local artists and musicians. Two documentaries, Haiti Dreams of Democracy (1988) and L'agronome (2002), about the life of prominent Haitian journalist and activist Jean Dominique, are the fruit of his past time. His art collection represents a culmination of these experiences, featuring rare works by Haiti’s most famous painters. Demme has organized many exhibitions. For example, in his 1997 exhibition "Island on Fire", which presented more than 100 Haitian paintings in the Equitable Life building in Manhattan, Demme presented lesser-known Haitian artists alongside renowned masters.