Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 20: SWEET MICKY FOR PRESIDENT
Ben Patterson’s chronicle of a musician’s bid for political office had its world premiere at Slamdance this year, where it won the best doc award. The doc’s fest circuit has included Hot Docs, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Reykjavik, and Documentary Edge, among others.
After Haiti’s devastating earthquake, the island nation and its ineffective government comes under scrutiny. Taking special note are Haitians living abroad, such as Pras Michel, the celebrated Grammy Award-winning musician who was a founder of the acclaimed group The Fugees. Pras believes his homeland is in need of a drastic change in leadership to help its recovery, and puts his energy behind a most unlikely candidate: Michel Martelly, otherwise known as the local pop star Sweet Micky. Despite no political experience between them, the duo sets out on an underdog journey that seems to be making unlikely strides – until Wyclef Jean, another former Fugee, enters the race. Pras functions here as a too-present but not unlikeable narrator, moving the story along its familiar election countdown trajectory at a good pace. While presenting few surprises given how the Haitian election was covered due to its celebrity sensationalism, Patterson does offer candid behind-the-scenes access to the main players that makes the proceedings worthwhile.
what (not) to doc 