With Ti Blan, NYU Tisch School of the Arts senior Noah LaForest steps boldly into the role of showrunner and creator, bringing to life a powerful pilot that delves into Haitian-American identity. The story offers a rich exploration of intergenerational relationships, tradition, and the ties that shape us. Inspired by his own experiences, the narrative follows Junior, a teen sent to live with his estranged grandmother after a troubled past. Through this journey, he reconnects with his roots, discovering the strength of cultural heritage amid family expectations and self-discovery.
Against a backdrop of persistent misrepresentation of Haitian culture, Ti Blan celebrates heritage and challenges stereotypes, highlighting the significance of family, language, and cuisine in Haitian life. Now in production, Ti Blan invites support through a crowdfunding campaign, calling on backers to help bring this vision to the screen with authenticity and impact. Each contribution brings the team closer to sharing Ti Blan with audiences worldwide, with plans to submit the pilot to festivals after post-production.
In the following Q&A, LaForest shares insights into the creation of Ti Blan, reflecting on the challenges of authentically representing Haitian culture and his hopes to inspire audiences with a story of resilience, identity, and belonging.
What inspired you to create Ti Blan, and how much of Junior’s story reflects your personal experiences?
I’ve actually been working on Ti Blan, or at least the idea of it, for a few years now. It all started during a summer I spent working at my family’s restaurant, and the title actually comes from this moment in the kitchen when one of the chefs, who only spoke Creole, started calling me 'Ti Blan.' I remember at the moment I didn’t get it at first, so I asked my cousin what it meant and why he kept calling me it. She explained that it was because I didn’t speak Creole and was seen as more “Americanized.” That moment really stuck with me, and I remember thinking, ‘This could be a great show. Then, even after that whole summer, I remember I kept getting judged or teased by customers and the staff for not speaking Creole and or not being 'Haitian enough.' It really made me start thinking about the idea of the show being what it would be like for someone to reconnect with their culture while working at their family’s restaurant. That idea eventually became Ti Blan.
The relationship between Junior and Mama will seemingly play a pivotal role in the show. Can you discuss the importance of intergenerational relationships in Haitian culture and how you plan to portray them?
Respecting your elders is a huge thing in Haitian culture. Whether they’re right or wrong, you always have to show respect for them and what they have to say. With the relationship between Junior and Mama, I drew a lot from my relationship with my grandparents. Mama is inspired by both of my grandmothers. My dad’s mom only spoke Creole, so there was a language barrier between us. While that drastic of a language barrier doesn’t exist in the show because Mama speaks both English and Creole to Junior, it was the regret I felt for not being able to really communicate with her that inspired the cultural estrangement or divide in their relationship. And then with my mom’s mom she’s always been a constant presence in my life, and her love language is food. She's always cooking for me and just being there, guiding and supporting me. Our dynamic really speaks to the intergenerational relationships in Haitian culture, the older generation is always trying to guide the younger ones, using their values and pride in the culture to encourage us make good choices.
Haitian culture is rich with traditions, language, and values. How are you planning on incorporating these elements into the show, and what do you hope the audience learns about Haitian identity?
One of the core Haitian values I wanted to highlight is the importance of family and sticking together, and that’s what led to the story being centered around a family being reunited. There’s a rightful pride Haitians have about being Haitian, and also, with any immigrant story, the power of language and the barriers that it can cause is such a universal theme. I wanted to weave that into the narrative as well. But I think my favorite aspect of Haitian culture is and what is another big part of the show is the food. I might be biased, but I believe Haitian food is one of the best if not the best, cuisines and is truly the heart of the culture because when a Haitian person cooks for you, they put all of their heart and love into it, which is why it also plays a central role in the show. With that, I hope audiences learn more about what Haitians actually eat, especially since there appears to be a lot of hurtful misinformation out there about that, but I also hope that audiences walk away recognizing that the Haitian identity is beautiful, complex, and much more real than how it’s often shown in the media.
The story includes surreal twists. What inspired you to use elements of fantasy, and how does it serve the overall narrative?
Growing up, I was obsessed with shows that incorporated elements of fantasy, and I have always loved how those elements were used to reflect or make sense of real-world issues or traumas. It kept the shows entertaining but also relatable, and that's something that has always inspired me as a creator or writer and I knew that I wanted to incorporate that aspect in my show. Also, there are parts of Haitian culture that, while I don’t personally practice, can be perceived as kind of mystical or surreal, so I thought it would be interesting to subtly weave that into the narrative and acknowledge its presence in an interesting way. Without giving too much away, in this story, I believe that the use of fantasy serves as a way to add another layer or highlight the complexity of human emotions and help make sense of things that might not make sense while also trying to keep it entertaining, and adding a fun twist to the story.
The show will deal with themes of cultural identity and expectations. How do you hope Ti Blan sparks conversations about these topics within the Black and Caribbean communities?
Being first-generation or the child of an immigrant comes with a ton of pressure. From day one, there’s this expectation or necessity to make your family proud because of the sacrifices that were made for you. On top of that, I think the older generation often has their own firm take or idea about what your life and future should look like whether it's the career you choose or who you spend your time with. I think this is something that occurs in a lot of Caribbean households and even just in general, Black households as well. From experience, I think these expectations can build up a lot of pressure and sometimes create trauma. And unfortunately, in our communities, having open conversations about that trauma is still pretty taboo. So, with Ti Blan, I hope the people who see it are inspired to have those conversations with their families and hope to inspire some sort of healing. If people walk away from the show feeling seen or inspired to talk about these issues, that would be a major win for me as a creator.
What are some of the challenges or surprises you've faced bringing Ti Blan to life as both a representation of Haitian culture and a personal story?
I think the biggest challenge I’m still facing, even in pre-production, is making sure I represent the Haitian community properly. With everything going on in the media, politically, the timing of this project adds even more pressure. It’s really important to me that I’m not making a mockery of the culture or presenting something inauthentic. To deal with that, I’ve focused on drawing from my own experiences and what I know to be true, and that’s been the best way for me as the writer to approach it. For the characters, I drew a lot of inspiration from the people in my life, not just one person, but multiple family members and friends of my family to create characters that feel complex and truthful. What really surprised me, though, was how much I learned while writing. I found myself going on a similar journey as Junior, the main character, and discovering more about my culture while writing his story, and that’s what has been the biggest blessing I believe throughout this creative process.
What message do you hope audiences walk away with after watching Ti Blan?
I hope that audiences are moved by the love within the family, even though it might seem complicated at times. I also want people to understand that there’s no one way to define Haitian culture, it's so vast, and no single story can capture every aspect of it. With Ti Blan, although there are universal themes, this is a very specific story about a very specific family and their troubles. So I hope that through watching their experience, audiences can walk away with a better understanding of and appreciation for the culture, and maybe even an eagerness to learn more about it.
With production underway, LaForest and his team continue to seek support to bring Ti Blan to life. You can donate here to support the project.
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