What is "la escena" (the scene) and what is its importance, if any? Guillermo Gómez Álvarez tries to answer these questions with candid interviews from musicians and fans of the vibrant and, many times controversial, punk music scene in Puerto Rico. The decadence, rage, drugs, alcohol, politics, and social aspects are showcased in this documentary that tells an important part of the history of the great dysfunctional family that is "el punk boricua".
Puerto Rico, the last relic of colonization in the western hemisphere, has been a dependent territory of the USA since 1917. Los Macheteros and one of its leaders Juan Segarra have been fighting for its full independence for many decades.
At Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, Eliana Nossa studies the ionosphere. This short films tells the story of Columbian researcher Eliana Nossa as she explains her study of the ever-changing universe, Arecibo's technology and data, and her role as a woman among her male colleagues. She studies the ionospheric irregularities that impact terrestrial communication.
A close look at Puerto Rico's unique relationship with the United States.
Benedicto, is a retired police officer who has dedicated more than 30 years of his life, helping young drug addicts and homeless people in the rural town of Corozal, Puerto Rico. His story takes place day by day in a little humble house in the death road of the municipal cemetery of Corozal, a rural municipality of Puerto Rico with a high population of young homeless people, alcoholism and drug addicts. The door of Benedictus little house on the death road to the cemetery is the deviation between life and death for these young people in need.
Explore the 500-year history of the city of San Juan, from the move from Caparra to the different invasions during these centuries. It also looks at how different situations and people were key to what is now the capital of Puerto Rico. This documentary presents, through the recreation of key situations, archival material, and accounts of historians and researchers, decisive moments that influenced what is now the capital.
A musical look at the invaluable contribution made by women to Puerto Rican music.
Desigualdad y Pobreza
Combines animation, documentary footage, and hand-painted film as well as slide projections, a painted 12" x 24" backdrop, and sculptural palm tree to create a kaleidoscopic portrait of the Puerto Rican psyche.
“El Apagón: Aquí Vive Gente” is a documentary directed by Bad Bunny and Blanca Graulau. This 23-minute film explores the socio-economic challenges in Puerto Rico, focusing on the effects of power outages and gentrification driven by the real estate and energy sectors. Through visuals and personal stories, the documentary highlights the experiences of Puerto Rican communities facing these issues.
The inspiring account on international bodyboarding star Luz 'Loly' Grande - a young woman on a personal mission to make bodyboarding a means to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, and Peru.
Strong Puerto Rican women forced to flee the island after Hurricane Maria have bonded like family in a FEMA hotel in the Bronx. They seek stability in their new life as forces try to pull them apart.
A look at Puerto Rico and its cinema through films, documentaries, and commercials from the early twentieth century to the emerging cinema of today. Visual and narrative strategies portray fragments of Puerto Rico's general history and, in turn, answers the questions of who, when, and for whom have films been made in Puerto Rico and the resources that are available to do it.
The story of the basketball players that represented Puerto Rico at the San Juan's 1979 Pan Am Games.
A poetic journey about the life and work of Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos.
How fair is it for the government to control its citizens? Four Puerto Ricans confront their past when they open their “files”, the records obtained of the illegal surveillance and persecution that the Puerto Rican government held against citizens and organizations that disagreed with the establishment. Through their daily life, they will tell us their stories, experiences and intimate feelings of the persecution they suffered. Taking their past as an example, we will confront the present.
Isla chatarra describes the phenomenon of the ubiquity of automobiles in Puerto Rico. The island measures slightly less than 9,000 square kilometers, but has 25,000 kilometers of paved road, one of the highest proportions in the planet. Puerto Rico is one of the countries with the largest number of vehicles per kilometer (of road) and third in the world in number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants. The film was produced with the idea to raise consciousness and create a dialogue about the ongoing situation of our dependence on cars. It also shows the dangerous circumstances of an island that is slowly being covered by scrap metal.
Documentary about how the arrival of the railway industry impacted Puerto Rican culture economically, socially, and humanistically during the first half of the 20th century. It includes photos by Jack Delano, among others, and scenarios to reconstruct the experience of what could have been the last trip made by train from San Juan to Ponce in 1953.
Immigrant residents of a “shift-bed” apartment in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown share their stories of personal and political upheaval. As the bed transforms into a stage, the film reveals the collective history of the Chinese in the United States through conversations, autobiographical monologues, and theatrical movement pieces. Shot in the kitchens, bedrooms, wedding halls, cafés, and mahjong parlors of Chinatown, this provocative hybrid documentary addresses issues of privacy, intimacy, and urban life.
New documentary by Mexican filmmaker Sonia Fritz about a forgotten town in Puerto Rico.