MOUNTAINS Trailer: A Haitian Immigrant Family Lives Through Change in Festival Winner

How do you hang onto your values while everything around you is changing? Monica Sorelle’s touching and observant feature debut Mountains centers on a Haitian immigrant family living in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood trying to pursue their dreams, while gentrification begins making its way and pushing out their fellow expats. It had its world premiere at Tribeca 2023 where it won a Special Jury Mention before making stops at TIFF and the AFI Fest. Haitian-American filmmaker Sorelle, who co-wrote the film with Robert Colom, won the “Someone to Watch” Award at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards while star Atibon Nazaire was nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance. Ahead of its theatrical release in August, Music Box Films has just released the official trailer.

In its review from Tribeca 2023, HtN wrote “[Mountains] explores firsthand a city’s own changing dynamics as they start to creep in and how its protagonists try to come to terms with their changing reality while hoping for a future of possibilities. Sorelle captures these lives with a sensitive and caring eye, and heightens the story with a proud sense of culture… Sorelle, who worked in background casting for Moonlight, has plenty to say about both her city and the lives of her characters who are trying to get further ahead in life while holding onto their traditions… Atibon Nazaire brings a lot to the table here with his quietly heartfelt and profound performance that might just tug on your heartstrings. Monica Sorelle has made a tender and poignant feature debut that straightforwardly sheds light on a grim reality in America. Mountains may not be entirely hopeful, but it’s nevertheless full of love, authenticity, and joy.”

As the official synopsis reads:

In Miami’s Little Haiti, Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) makes a living as a demolition worker while his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier) holds down two jobs to sustain their cozy household. Their routine is tested when their son Junior (Chris Renois) returns home after dropping out of college. Xavier and Esperance struggle to relate with Junior, who is no longer interested in speaking Creole with them and harbors ambitions of an artistic career path they do not understand. Xavier aspires to buy a more spacious house for his family, but still wakes up every morning, goes to work, and dismantles his neighborhood brick by brick. Yet even as construction vehicles rumble down the block, Little Haiti remains a vibrant community with traditions and rhythms distinctly its own. Monica Sorelle’s tender feature debut is a multigenerational drama that deftly explores the relationships between immigrants and their children, the looming threat of gentrification, and the pursuit of the American dream.

Mountains will open in Miami on August 16 before expanding to NYC August 23 and nationwide August 30.

See the trailer and poster below.

Liked it? Take a second to support Hammer to Nail on Patreon!