Director's Cut

May 10, 2025, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Light Refreshments

Durham County Main Library Auditorium - 300 N. Roxboro St

Join us for an intimate conversation with Haitian filmmaker Vanessa Beletic, in dialogue with Kenia Thompson, host of Black Issues Forum. Together, they’ll explore the triumphs and challenges Vanessa has faced as a woman in the filmmaking industry, as well as her vision for the future of Haitian cinema. This inspiring discussion will offer a behind-the-scenes look at resilience, creativity, and the power of storytelling.

With Award-Winning Director

VANESSA BELETIC

Moderated by

KENIA THOMPSON

Host of Black Issues Forum

In collaboration with NC Haitian Women's Society

Sponsored by the Durham Library Foundation

BIO:

Vanessa Beletic is a director and writer from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Her first narrative short Catching Spirits won the Jury Award Live action Short in 2022, and has screened worldwide at 23+ Academy & BAFTA qualifying fests and genre favorites Telluride Horror and Brooklyn Horror.  She was recently named a 2024 fellow of the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women+, where she wrote and directed her second short, the supernatural thriller, Evil, I. She is 1 of 7 filmmakers selected this year for the Sony Pictures TV Director Program. 

Moving to the U.S. with her family at 13 years old, Vanessa studied dance and education at New York City's Hunter College and launched herself into an esteemed career as a professional dancer. It was in Los Angeles working with commercial and music video directors that Vanessa decided to pursue her life-long passion for filmmaking.

Vanessa is an acclaimed commercial and music video director herself now. She is repped by Radical Media. Her music video for Run The Jewels "Ooh-La-La" was nominated for the 2020 MVPA, UKMVA and the 2021 Libera awards and her commercials have crossed platforms from television to digital spaces, being featured during the Emmy’s and outlets like Conde Nast Entertainment, Fast Company Magazine, Rolling Stone and Complex - with ads for Levi’s, Walmart, Estee Lauder, Nikon and a multi-year campaign starring Regina King for Vaseline.

Bio:

As a 20-year veteran in her industry, Kenia Thompson aids professionals and leaders in discovering their authentic selves and identifying their most effective communication style. These methods include the art of storytelling, public speaking & media coaching as well as workshop training for large groups.

Kenia is the owner of WordCrumbs, founded in 2015. She has authored the book ‘Conversations Beyond the Screen’, a quick read designed to re-educate readers on how to reignite conversations outside of a chat or social media posts.

You can watch Kenia on PBS NC every Friday evening as the host of Black Issues Forum. The show is designed to push Black led stories about people and issues shaping the lives of Blacks in North Carolina. Her mission is to provide content that is relevant, uplifting, informative and instructive, engaging diverse audiences and communities toward these efforts in collaboration.