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WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8TH, 2025 - WATERBURY
SHORT FILMS - 6:00 pm
El Plátano Maduro (The Ripe Plantain)
Jorge M. Merino* 2022 * United States * 4 minutes
Presenting the video El plátano maduro by Dominican-Canadian singer songwriter Rafael Energía Dominicana. The video of this humorous and sensual bachata combines the themes within the double entendre of the lyrics and locations inspired by Rafael’s childhood working at his family’s farm in his hometown in Baní, Peravia Province, Dominican Republic.
Ceiba Y Sus Raíces Taínas
Brithney Rivera * 2023 * United States * 4 minutes
Disaster strikes the island of Puerto Rico as Guabancex, Spirit of Chaos, leads a Hurricane. Ceiba, a disabled young woman in a wheelchair, calls upon the Spirit of Protection , Yúcahu, to prevent catastrophic doom. Ceiba realizes that only she has the power to stop the storm from destroying her beautiful island.
Shot In The Dark (Destello En La Oscuridad)
Astrid Andujar * 2023 * United States * 5 minutes * WORLD PREMIERE *
The film follows a troubled photographer in the search of something otherworldly, and herself.
Marque Dos (Second Chance)
Asha Chai-Chang * 2024 * United States * 11 minutes
An aspiring tour manager moves up the ranks in the marketing industry where discovering herself and her place in the world faces off with the demands of her dream job
One Million Experiments
Caullen Hudson * 2023 * United States * 28 minutes * World Preimiere
What does safety in a world without police and prisons look like? What does it make more possible? Built out of Interrupting Criminalization and AirGo’s podcast of the same name, the half-hour film explores how we define and create wellness and reduce harm in a world without police and prisons. From a curated collection of community-based safety projects created in the midst of the 2020 uprising, One Million Experiments celebrates the work already happening to build solutions that are grounded in transformation instead of punishment and invites you to participate in the joyous work of liberation. We don’t need one answer to how we get free–we need one million experiments.
SHORT FILMS - 7:00 PM
Un Bizcocho Para Mi (A Cake for Me)
Yuby Hernandez * 2023 * United States * 12 minutes * World Preimiere
This is an essay film about two women's journeys into their art. A mother and her cake business, and a daughter as she becomes a filmmaker.
Agua de tu Madre (Short Film)
Naiyah Ambros * 2023 * United States * 13 minutes * World Preimiere
Fifty years after an AfroCuban woman receives aid from the sea goddess Yemayá to help her son flee revolutionary Cuba, her pregnant granddaughter Zamira faces a similar hurdle that affects the future of her unborn child in this tale of diaspora, generational inheritance, and resilience.
To Esteban
Héctor Almeida * 2023 * Cuba * 17 minutes
Gregorio, Dolores and Zoila are three elders excited about the arrival of a new member to the family; Esteban, their great-grandson. Through the memories of their ancestors, they narrate themes of loneliness, love, union, loss, and hope. They search through their belongings for a special gift to leave to a future Esteban, who may never know them as an adult. The short film itself is a gift that will make them endure in their family history.
Limpiabotas
Héctor Almeida * 2023 * Dominican Republic * 20 minutes
Julio is a shoe shiner and passionate lyricist, working tirelessly to earn enough and keep his family afloat. He clings desperately to a chance presented to him, one that can completely change his life. Will Julio live up to his dreams, or will he succumb under the pressure of adversity?
INTERMISSION ~ 10 MINUTES ~ INTERMISSION
FEATURE FILMS
Reimagining Queen Nanny of the Maroons
Udemba Mclean, Leo R Douglas * 2023 * Jamaica * 32 Minutes
Drawing on African spiritualism in which nature itself is sacred, and West African cultures where women are traditional leaders and the female-form is commonly ecologically deified, the “Reimagining Nanny” Project retelling of the story of Queen Nanny, national heroine of Jamaica, as a shaman of the forests, healer, priestess and protector of the springs and watersheds, and commander of energies of the earth, creatures, mountains and valleys of the Blue and John Crow Mountains of Jamaica.
The Caribbean in me
Juan Carlos Garcia * 2022 * United States * 32 minutes
Five Puerto Rican artists share their diverse visions and thoughts on the meaning of making art in the Caribbean and on the presence of the region in their work. Each artist has chosen for the film a location that connects with their vital experience and perspectives. Through their interaction with these spaces, they articulate textures, sounds, recollections, and senses of place that deliver a diverse narrative about the experience of living, being and creating art in the Caribbean.
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