MIAMI — For decades a neighborhood in Miami known as Little Haiti has been the center of the Haitian community. But what’s made the area so unique now has the attention of developers.

A filmmaker wanted to document the changes and highlight the struggles of people living there — and it’s all part of a film released this month.

The film Mountains tells the story of a family that’s experiencing the changes firsthand in Little Haiti. It’s shot with a Haitian American cast with dialogue in Haitian Creole and is being released nationwide this month.

Little Haiti is a neighborhood known for the colorful storefronts of convenience stores, restaurants and botanicas lining Miami’s Second Avenue. People sit on chairs outside the stores and their homes as the occasional rooster struts by. Haitians fleeing poverty and political repression began coming here in the 1970s and ’80s. It wasn’t until 2016 though, that Miami officially designated the neighborhood “Little Haiti.”

It’s the setting for the first full-length feature by Haitian American filmmaker Monica Sorelle. At Choublak, a coffee shop and visitor’s center in Little Haiti, Sorelle told NPR in an interview, “We actually shot here. The scene where Esperanza’s on her walk and stops at the vendor. It was here.”

Sorelle spent a lot of time in Little Haiti when she was growing up. Developers have long been eyeing this area. But redevelopment moved into high gear over the last decade after they transformed an adjacent neighborhood, Wynwood, into a wealthier arts and nightlife district.

Sorelle saw it happening in Little Haiti when she returned to Miami after film school in 2014. “I started realizing and noticing the changes in the neighborhood,” she says. “And started seeing a lot of the same developers that were working in Wynwood were buying up properties in Little Haiti.”

Sorelle’s film opens with scenes of crews using heavy machinery to demolish buildings in the neighborhood. It’s the kind of thing she was seeing daily there and in Wynwood where she was working at the time.

One day, Sorelle noticed demolition workers ending their day and one crossing the street as he walked back home. She says, “The question came up, like what if he lives over there and he crosses the street to demolish his own neighborhood and redevelop his own neighborhood?”

That idea grew into the script for Mountains. A Miami nonprofit, Oolite Arts, provided important funding for a microbudget film with a Haitian American cast.

Shooting it in Haitian Creole made it difficult to find financial backers. Robert Colom, who co-wrote the script and produced the film, says, “A big production company that we met with in New York said, ‘We can make this together for $2 million and in English and with stars.’ It just wasn’t the idea that we had for this film. To be able to tell an authentic story about an experience of Little Haiti, I think we had to do it in the way that we did.”

The film’s title, Mountains, is taken from a Haitian proverb, “Behind mountains, there are more mountains.” It’s a nod to the challenges the story’s main character, Xavier, and all immigrants face as they adapt to a new country. Sorelle says, “That looks like, if I work hard, I will be able to provide. And I will be able to climb. And he has worked hard and he has been able to provide. And he has a house, you know. But the minute he wants more, that’s when he starts to realize that it’s not as accessible to him as he thought.” In the film, Xavier becomes frustrated with his inability to move his family into a bigger home.

An important part of the movie, and Haitian culture, is rara, an impromptu street parade with music that harks back to the revolution that brought Haiti its independence. Sorelle says raras used to happen almost every Friday. “You would be in your home. And then you would just hear the distant sound of a drum or a horn,” she says. “And all of a sudden, there’s like this beautiful, spontaneous street parade that a lot of Haitians would join in on.” Rara parades are less common in Little Haiti now, another sign of the changing neighborhood.

Little Haiti’s days may be numbered, but the Haitian American community has long since established a strong presence in several other neighborhoods and cities in South Florida. Sorelle is philosophical about the changes, saying: “These are just buildings after all. But I think what concerns me is that it’s a disrespect of what the Haitian community has given. And the minute it’s economically viable, there’s no use for these people anymore.”

Sorelle’s film, Mountains, opened in Miami and is playing at independent theaters this month and next in Florida and other areas around the country.

Copyright 2024 NPR

MIAMI (WSVN) – The polls have closed in the Florida primary as voters voiced their choice in several different contests.

South Florida voters made clear who they wanted for key positions such as county mayor, sheriff, and school board.

Miami-Dade Mayor

Incumbent Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava easily won re-election with nearly 60% of the vote, defeating her five challengers in the election and avoiding a November runoff.

Levine-Cava held an election watch party in Little Havana where she celebrated her victory with supporters.

“I’m so very proud to have earned the support of the majority of the voters today, decisively. I am a mayor for all people. It does not matter to me whether you voted for me or not, I’m going to continue to do everything in my power, work day and night, to solve our problems, to build better opportunities, to be future ready and we have so many things that are underway and people can feel good that someone is leading this county in a way to make sure they can all benefit and that the rising tide can lift all boats,” said Levine-Cava.

Following the race call, Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, who many saw as Levine-Cava’s strongest opponent, conceded the race in front of his supporters.

“Although we weren’t victorious tonight, I think the plight of the middle class, we’ve shone a light on that more than ever here in Miami-Dade County. Working families and small businesses must endure their dreams and aspirations have become my dreams and aspirations. If you look at the vote totals, we received over 60,000 votes. Daniella Levine-Cava, while I wish her family and herself well, they received about 59, 58% of the vote, but it goes to show you, there’s an entire portion of Miami-Dade County that feels that they are left out,” said Cid.

Cid said he is unsure if he will run for office again in four years.

Miami-Dade Sheriff

Voters also decided a major showdown for the county’s first sheriff in decades.

Democrat James Reyes will face off against Republican Rosanna Cordero-Stutz in November.

Reyes is the current Chief of Public Safety in Miami-Dade County, During the campaign, Reyes cited his years of experience at the Broward Sheriff’s Office as critical preparation for this role. He managed the Broward Sheriff’s Office budget and believes this experience is crucial in the new role of sheriff.

“Truly honored to gain the support of this wonderful community, a community that received me with open arms when me and my family came from Cuba and gave us all the opportunities under the sun, so to speak, to achieve the American Dream,” said Reyes.

Cordero-Stutz has served with the Miami-Dade Police Department for 27 years. During the campaign, she vowed to not let politics get in the way of the department’s job. She also had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Cordero Stutz aims to become the first female sheriff in the county’s history.

“The fight is not over. This is not the finish line. The finish line is down the road. Join me as we move forward together,” said Cordero-Stutz.

Miami-Dade School Board

In the District 3 school board race, Joseph Geller and Martin Karp will head to a November runoff to decide who will win the open seat.

In District 7, incumbent Mary Blanco will head to a November runoff to face off against Maxeme Tuchman.

In District 9, incumbent Luisa Santos cruised to re-election as she garnered over 60% of the vote.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A Miami Gardens woman accused of beating her 3-year-old daughter with a clothes hanger in an incident caught on video is now facing criminal charges.

Aaliyah Shantrelle Herring, 25, was arrested on charges of child abuse and neglect on Monday, online records show.

The video was taken by a man the woman identified as the child’s father.

In the video, the mother, appearing to be filled with rage and holding a clothes hanger, is seen moving toward her daughter, who was heard crying in the background.

“You want to sit down and lay down and have a [expletive] baby and not be able to take care of it after you know my [expletive] health conditions?” The mother was heard asking the father in the video.

Miami Gardens police said the video shows the woman “repeatedly beating a young child,” with an agency sergeant telling Local 10 News, “It was very, very hard for us to watch.”

Police said she was Baker Acted.

According to an arrest report, Herring claimed in a police interview Monday that she was disciplining her child for “throwing a remote at her.”

Herring was booked into Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and was being held on a $7,500 bond as of Tuesday afternoon.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the suspect’s age.