After setbacks and plot twists, this Haiti-made dark comedy is finally coming to theaters
The crime caper and satirical dark comedy “Kidnapping Inc.” opens during a bathroom break at the side of a desolate Port-au-Prince mountain and a hostage locked in the trunk of a dilapidated car.
Doc and Zoe, two hapless kidnappers, have only one job: to deliver a hostage to Fritz, a high-ranking corrupt police inspector operating a for-ransom kidnapping mill.
Of course, the kidnapping quickly goes awry when their hostage, the son of a wealthy senator and current presidential candidate, is accidentally killed. “If we bring the senator’s son’s body, we’re dead,” Doc says to Zoe, portrayed by Jasmuel Andri and Rolaphton Mercure.
What follows is a wild heist as Doc and Zoe, who were first introduced to audiences in the 2017 film “Kafou” by the same group of talented young Haitian filmmakers, try to escape a rifle-wielding assassin through the crowded streets of Port-au-Prince, while trying to deliver a doppelganger to a ruthless Fritz.
But the high-speed chase in Haiti, where the United Nations documented 1,494 cases of kidnappings last year and more than 5,600 killings, never gets as serious as the real-life gambit and behind-the-scenes gang negotiations director Bruno Mourral and his co-filmmakers with Muska Films, found themselves in during production.
In 2021, while on their way back from a location shoot in the southeastern port city of Jacmel, three of the film’s crew members were abducted by armed gang members as the group’s police-escorted convoy crossed gang-controlled Martissant on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The incident set off tense negotiations as the kidnappers demanded a $2 million ransom for the two Dominicans and Haitian in their custody.
The three were eventually released, but only after Dominican President Luis Abinader called then-Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and demanded his citizens’ release. Soon, a ransom drop was made, and the men were rescued by a cohort of Moïse in what one of the abductees would describe as the same white Toyota Hilux pickup with a government plates that ambushed them a week earlier.
If the high-stakes abduction raised unsettling questions about the entanglement of gangs and politicians in Haiti, then “Kidnapping Inc.” brings to life the blurred lines between governance and crime. It does so through a series of surprising, and chaotic plot twists rooted in a political conspiracy, and of course, humor. The film is in Haitian-Creole and French with English subtitles.
“This film is a testament to who we are as Haitians —funny, resilient and passionate,” said Gaëthan Chancy, 43, one of the film’s producers, along with Samuel Chauvin, founder of the French production company Promendes Films, and Yanick Létourneau of Canada. “We hope Haitians will see themselves and our country in this movie, and it can help us endure our collective trauma together and find joy and laughter in spite of the darkness.”
Six movie theaters around the U.S. will show the film for about a week, beginning this Friday. They include Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood. Regal South Beach will host a special grand premiere, 8:30-11:30 p.m. on Friday with some of the cast and crew. Tickets are $35 on eventbrite.
Not easy getting film to the screen
The last action film to be totally shot in Haiti between 2019 and 2021, the journey of “Kidnapping Inc.” from Port-au-Prince’s streets to U.S. movie theaters mirrors Haiti’s current reality—one marked by chaos, tragedy and challenges. Some of its leading actors have either been kidnapped or lost family members after they were abducted. Both supporting actor, Ralphe “Sexi” Théodore, and set decorator, Jimmy François, were killed as a result of gang violence.
Mourral’s own father was tragically killed during a gang turf war in 2005 in Cité Soleil.
“Haiti’s crisis isn’t just a headline—it’s a daily nightmare for millions, where corruption, violence and impunity have turned kidnapping into an industry,” said Gilbert Mirambeau Jr., 41, one of the writers. “This film is our way of resisting, using dark humor and raw storytelling to expose the harsh truth.”
Mirambeau, who has also emerged in recent years as an anti-corruption activist, said they made the film because, “Haiti isn’t just held hostage by gangs; it’s trapped in a web of political greed, orchestrated by a local and international mafia, and sustained by global indifference. Through this story, we give a voice to the silenced and a face to the forgotten.”
Mourral and Andri, the actor who portrays Doc, are the film’s other writers. During filming they were forced to navigate not just the kidnapping of their crew members, but political tensions and social unrest, and an environment where Haiti was listed as having the highest per-capita kidnappings in the region.
At least three times production was halted due to security, bureaucratic obstacles, the pandemic and of course a presidential assassination. After Moïse was killed in July 2021, the film’s foreign crew became nervous and French actress Anabel Lopez abruptly left because of safety concerns.
“We took another three months talking to her, trying to convince her to return,” said Mourral. “I was driving around the city sending her video clips showing her the country was still standing and functioning.”
Filming finally resumed in October for two weeks. But then the filmmakers were out of money and the person who was supposed to start editing, a Canadian, suddenly died, leading Mourral to start the process on his own.
“It wasn’t until the end of 2022 that we finished the editing,” said Mourral. “We still had to do the visual effects, sound, mix and there was no more money. Canada was going to finance it and they said there were no more funds.”
“Most people don’t understand that even if Haiti is a country that has difficulties, things are expensive and often you pay a premium price,” added Mourral, who was raised in Cap-Haïtien, studied film in Paris and directed dozens of commercials before transitioning into film in hopes of changing the narrative on Haiti.
He eventually found Pascal Chinarro and his Vietnam-based Bonjour Saignon post-production house, which Mourral said, “saved us.”
“There were a lot of visual effects and we spent all of 2023 working,” said Mourral.
In late 2023, “Kidnapping Inc.” was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival for the following year. After critical feedback, Mourral returned to Haiti to redo two of the scenes before finally finishing the film in April of last year.
“Throughout we were always running out of money but we were fortunate to find investors to come to our rescue,” he said, noting that the final investor came from The Bahamas and they plan to premier the film there in April.
More than anything, “Kidnapping Inc.,” is a labor of love. Its final price tag was about $2 million, which requires millions of people to go see the film if the group even has a crack at breaking even, they say, after cobbling together the financing through personal loans, foreign investments and Haitians.
A window and a mirror
“Kidnapping Inc.” isn’t just a dark comedy and political thriller. It’s a biting satire of one of the country’s most traumatizing industries resulting in an epidemic where corruption and violence often intersect with the pursuit of profit.
The film offers a unique perspective on Haiti’s ongoing security challenges by drawing from its vexing reality: political and police corruption, foreign election interference, colorism, homophobia and the cynicism of those who are vying for political power.
In much the same way the 2002 classic “City of God” gave audiences a gritty glimpse into Brazilian culture and of life in the country’s favelas, “Kidnapping Inc.” introduces audiences to Haiti’s thorny social and political landscape. It serves as both a mirror and window for Haitians—those born inside the country, and those in its diaspora, for whom the complexities of daily Haitian life aren’t always so visible.
“We are filled with problems,” Mourral said, “and I wanted to present them in a humorous way so that people don’t feel like I am giving them a moral lesson.”
What he wants, is to provoke conversation.
“As Haitians we are good at blaming the government but we forget —we are all Haitians and bear responsibility; the country is the way it is because we haven’t done what we’re supposed to do,” Mourral said. “The idea was to create a conversation that perhaps would provoke us to reflect on certain solutions.”
Samuel Dameus, who saw the film at a recent downtown Miami screening for media and influencers, said the film’s narrative “touches on, with brio, one of the most sensitive topics in the Haitian community, blending it with delightful humor.”
Even with the extended runtime of 107 minutes, he said, one is never bored “especially with the well-placed twists.”
“As a filmmaker myself, primarily focused on documentaries like ‘BOYO’ for Faces of Haiti, I truly welcome this level of achievement. It sets a new bar and will undoubtedly inspire more creators to invest in quality Haitian storytelling,” Dameus said.
Mourral and his fellow producers’ objectives with the film appear to have become even more urgent as Haiti edges even more toward anarchy.
“There are people who were born in the United States and they don’t know anything about Haiti,” he said. “A film like this allows you to see Haiti, and perhaps help you to understand why your parents felt the need to leave; why you’re unable to live in the country today. It allows you to see the degree of the insecurity and perhaps hope for a better Haiti.”
Haitian music and the country’s obsession with soccer is also featured prominently.
“I wanted for our culture to travel by way of our language, our humor, our music, which is featured a lot in the film, and our gastronomy,” said Mourral, 41, who now lives in Miami because of the crisis back home. “And the vibrancy. The way the colors come across the screen, the way the people have energy, the architecture…Even though the subjects we raise in the film are difficult ones, and can make some people uncomfortable, I also wanted to transmit humanity, the reality of the country.”
But Haiti is a country of many realities—and many complexities. Both the plot and production of the movie illustrate how hard it is to navigate life in a country that is facing crises from all directions, and social and class tensions.
One particularly important and tense scene is in which actress Gessica Généus gives birth on a crowded street. Her character is kidnapped by the duo and instead of trying to negotiate her freedom, she tries to get them to drop her off at the airport to catch a flight to Miami because she insists she doesn’t want to give birth in Haiti.
The scene was actually filmed on the streets of Jacmel because the crew was forced to relocate filming when the security situation in the capital made shooting difficult. It was on their return that the crew was abducted. The film also serves as a harsh reminder that only a few short years after it was produced, many of the streets of Port-au-Prince where the movie was filmed are no longer accessible due to violence.
Subtle messages
The film takes place against the backdrop of a presidential election, and one key scene acts as a reminder that Haiti’s fate is often out of Haitians’ control.
The election is thrown into chaos, the electoral board has suspended campaigning and the presidential candidate— portrayed by former Haitian military officer and actor Ashley Laraque — is at a TV interview. He is joined by Fritz, the corrupt cop, and the ambassadors of France and the U.S. When the credibility of the election is questioned, the U.S. ambassador, named Pamela Merten, defends the process. In English-accented French, she tries to defend the Haitian people and democracy, saying “fok le peuple haïtien... fok la démocratie.” But instead, she comes across dismissive as her pronunciation of “for” in French, sounds instead like an “F-bomb” in English.
It’s a subtle moment Mourral admits you may miss, if you don’t pay close attention to the dynamics of Haiti’s elections and external relations.
IF YOU GO:
What: “Kidnapping Inc.” premier and red carpet
When: 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Regal South Beach, 1120 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.
Cost: $35, for tickets go to eventbrite.
For more information and other national screenings visit https://linktr.ee/kidnappingincmovie
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM.
