Photo credit Leslie Gabaldon

Rachelle Salnave is a seasoned filmmaker and cultural leader with over 20 years of experience in Black Global storytelling. Her career highlights include documenting subjects like Harlem’s gentrification, the Haitian Guantanamo Bay experience, and agricultural experiments in Guatemala.

Rachelle was a Sundance Institute Screenwriters Fellow (2015) and received the "Beacon of Hope and Achievement" award from the Consulate of the Republic of Haiti. Her second feature documentary, LA BELLE VIE: THE GOOD LIFE, earned an Emmy nomination in 2016. A 2017 "Knight Arts Champion" recognized for her advocacy, she also co-founded Ayiti Images and Black Lounge Films.

Former Executive Director at the Artists Institute in Haiti, Rachelle developed a multi-country art advocacy campaign using her documentary ART: By Any Means Necessary to spotlight the struggles of artists in Haiti, Guadeloupe, and Miami. She continues to use the film to foster global conversations on preserving art spaces and cultural autonomy. Rachelle’s documentary MADAME PIPI is airing on PBS' REEL SOUTH season 7. She is currently in post-production on her third feature documentary, DUAL CITIZEN.

Presented in partnership with ART: By Any Means Necessary, presented in partnership with FIU Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, iWitness: IPC Institute for Visual Journalism, Jorge Perez Foundation CreARTE, and ART: By Any Means Necessary, a film by Rachelle Salnave.