Orlando Rodríguez

The Monster of the Shadow

First Sergeant Emmett Bell faces off with Apache chieftain Kamiakin in this nuanced portrayal of racial tensions between Native Americans and white settlers in 1860s Oregon Country.

Mom and Pop Aguilar and their two boys tour the island.

It tells the story of a slave rebellion on a sugar plantation in the days leading up to the official abolition of slavery on the island on March 22, 1873.

A cautionary film about what were thought to be rural superstitions and practices in Puerto Rico.

In a small rural town, everybody lays eyes on Maruja, the most beautiful woman there. After the son of the mayor comes back from France, he also notices Maruja, setting forth events of love, jealousy, guilt, and anger.

A selection of three short stories by Puerto Rican writer Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (“Don Procopio”, “Peyo Mercé enseña inglés”, and “Bagazo”), portraying typical characters of the Puerto Rican social and economic classes in the 1940's.

Andrea is a young journalist who feels her professional and personal life have come to a halt. But the return of Lorenzo, her former college flame she once dumped, now turned rock star, will give her a new perspective on life, love, and being true to herself.

The spectacular beauty of María awakens the most hot and crazy passions among all the men of the island, including Jorge and Roberto. The two fishermen will vie for her love, by any means necessary.

Relates the life of one of Puerto Rico's most loved and revered composer and songwriter, Rafael Hernández.

Rosina is frustrated by her engagement to millionaire John Johnson III, a fussy, domineering, control freak. The night before her wedding, she goes out dancing with her maid María, María's husband Tomás, and their friend Gordillo. When Rosina learns Gordillo is a sailor on the yacht owned by Mexican film star José María Beltrán, she decides to stow away and sail to Mexico to be with her grandmother.

Businessman Carlos meets Ana María in a Mexico City nightclub. He escorts her home, and makes a date for the next day. Ana María is actually a prostitute whose pimp, Arturo, thinks Carlos would be a good client, and urges her to be nice to him. They fall in love, and Carlos proposes marriage to her, indicating he must return to Puerto Rico soon.

Jíbaro Machuchal inherits a piece of land in Condado Beach. When he arrives, he finds a hotel has been built on his land.

In a New York hospital, a man is cured of heroin addiction after a grueling three-month treatment. Although no longer an addict, he has complete amnesia: the only clues to his past are an expensive ring he was wearing when admitted, and a book of matches from a Puerto Rican nightclub. He pawns the ring and buys clandestine passage on a boat to Puerto Rico in search of his identity.

A comedy narrating the adventures of ten Puerto Ricans looking for a better life. The film centers on an airplane trip to New York during 1960's. It relates in a comical, yet poignant manner, the array of reasons each of the passengers has for leaving Puerto Rico and the challenges they face as suggested by the interactions of the Anglo crew and the passengers.

Follows a struggling family man whose day-to-day work is never enough to provide. Driven into the fast cash business of infringement, this easy-come, easy-go lifestyle of crime sadly holds true that no crime is too little of a crime.

A women on death row is offered a way out of her sentence. There is only one condition... she must survive a test.

Santo is called in to stop robot terrorists from sabotaging oil supplies in Puerto Rico.

Exotic dancer with a masochistic streak can't decide which of two boyfriends treats her more thrillingly badly.

A widower arrives in Puerto Rico with his son Angelito. The father dies and the boy goes to live with his grandfather who plays guitar in the streets. Angelito accompanies him singing and earns good money, but a political uncle accuses the grandfather of exploiting the boy and takes him to an orphanage.

The film, which is an ode to Rafael Hernández's song "Lamento borincano", is a social commentary of the political and social policies of the 40's and 50's which led to the abandonment of what was seen by many as the "pure", "virtuous" life of the finca (farm) for the "corrupting" influence of urban centers like San Juan and New York City.

Based on Miguel Meléndez Muñoz's novel.

Based on Enrique A. Laguerre's novel.

Explores the history of the island of Vieques, also known as Isla Nena.

Features the life of feminist Luisa Capetillo in late 19th and early 20th century Puerto Rico.

Raised in New York, Marilyn Morales returns to Puerto Rico to claim an inheritance. Her obsession with Marilyn Monroe, dressing and acting like her, creates a clash of acceptance with the residents of the neighborhood. The new surroundings and clash will lead her in search for her identity.

Carl the Gardner grows odd plants for a rich Yankee woman Ellen Bennett living in South America while exercising a mental hold over her. All his previous employers died mysteriously.

A small town celebrates the triumph of their revolution. Under the euphoria of the moment, the town's founder is declared a traitor and the destruction of his statue is decided by the people. A journalist buys the statue before it is destroyed. Later, the townspeople discover that the statue isn't from who they thought it was and they decide to retrieve it. The journalist, however, doesn't want to give it back, giving rise to the dilemma.

Self-hating mixed-race woman denies her African heritage.

Rider Kelly Cobb travels to county rodeos to win money so he can buy a patch of land he wants to call his own. One night he rescues trick rider Jackie Adams from the clutches of an amorous rodeo promoter and they form a team and hit the circuit along with sidekick Cool Man.

“Entre el grito y la celda” is a film adaptation of the theatrical monologue “Lolita", which has been performed locally and internationally for the past 11 years, with over 60 performances in 5 countries, 5 states in North America, and more than 40 municipalities in Puerto Rico. The story is set in late 1954, when political prisoner Lolita Lebrón had already been sentenced to 50 years in prison at the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia, for leading an attack on the United States Congress. The film explores Lolita's life and patriotic thoughts through poetic language, intertwining her three most significant aspects: her fervent religiosity, her fight for justice from the perspective of a young woman and mother, and her patriotic bravery to risk her freedom for causes and values she firmly believed in. The movie highlights the themes of national identity and the struggles of a resilient woman who became, for many, the Mother of the Puerto Rican Nation.