“Liberty in a Soup” was conceived when Alexis struck up a conversation with a taxi driver, on his way to the airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The West African cabbie was very intrigued by “Soup Joumou” -a dish Alexis had eaten since childhood - but did not quite understand the depth of its meaning or origin. The unassuming cabbie had questions about the Soup Joumou and its significance as a Haitian tradition. These questions challenged Alexis to explore this custom and tradition, giving birth to “Liberty in a Soup”.

The filmmaker traveled back to Haiti to the city of Gonaives where the tradition started. On January 1st, 1804 Jean Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence from France in the city of Gonaives. Gonaives is located 88 miles North of Port-Au-Prince, with a population of approximately 300,000. Known as the city of independence, it is one of the most culturally and historically important cities in Haiti and is considered the birthplace of voodoo.