Pa'lante Theater Company And The Bushnell To Present Afro Latino Film Festival
The festival will run January 15-19, 2025.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 13, 2024
Pa'lante Theater Company, in collaboration with The Bushnell, has revealed the dates and lineup of the nearly-40 films featured in The 2nd Annual Afro Latino Film Festival. The festival will run January 15-19, 2025 with the first two evenings (January 15 & 16) occuring at Pa'lante's new Black Box Theater at 158 Grand Street in downtown Waterbury and the successive three evenings (January 17, 18 & 19) occurring at The Bushnell at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford.
Curated by PTC Founder Rafael Nelson-Feliciano and produced by PTC Artistic Director Isaiah Santiago, the 2nd Annual Afro Latino Film Festival, is a vibrant celebration dedicated to amplifying the voices and stories of Black, Latine, Puerto Rican, and Afro-Caribbean communities worldwide. This festival is a platform for cinematic works that reflect the rich diversity, resilience, and creativity of the Afro Latino diaspora.
Nelson Feliciano states, "The festival will showcase a dynamic selection of films that explore the histories, cultures, and lived experiences of our global community. From compelling narratives to insightful documentaries, these films will spotlight the triumphs, challenges, and unique identities that shape the Afro Latino world."
Santiago adds, "We invite everyone to join Pa'lante Theater Company and our friends at The Bushnell in honoring the artistry and heritage of Afro Latino storytellers, connecting audiences across borders, and fostering a deeper appreciation for the intersections of Black and Latino identities. This celebration of culture promises to be a transformative experience for all who attend."
Each program begins at 6pm and is 2-2.5 hours in duration with an intermission. Each night is a collection of short films (unless noted otherwise) from around the globe, many of which are world premieres. Most films are presented in their native language with English subtitles; in a few instances, the films are dubbed into English.
Tickets for the January 15 and 16 programs at Pa'lante Theater Company are $15 each. Tickets for the January 17, 18 and 19 programs in The Bushnell's Autorino Great Hall are $25 each. The Afro Latino Film Festival Pass that guarantees admission to all of the programs in Waterbury and Hartford are available for $60. Tickets and passes are on sale now via PalanteTheater.org and Bushnell.org.
What follows is the program for each night of the festival.
Wednesday, January 15 at 6pm
Pa'lante Theater Company (158 Grand Street in Waterbury)
El Plátano Maduro (The Ripe Plantain)
Jorge M. Merino, 2022, United States
Dominican-Canadian singer-songwriter Rafael Energía Dominicana's 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 the Dominican Republic.
Ceiba Y Sus Raíces Taínas
Brithney Rivera, 2023, United States
Disaster strikes Puerto Rico when Guabancex, the Spirit of Chaos, unleashes a hurricane on the island. Ceiba, a young woman in a wheelchair, calls upon Yúcahu, the Spirit of Protection, to prevent catastrophic doom.
Shot In The Dark (Destello En La Oscuridad) - WORLD PREMIERE
Astrid Andujar, 2023, United States
This world premiere short film follows a troubled photographer in her search for something otherworldly...and herself.
Marque Dos (Second Chance)
Asha Chai-Chang, 2024, United States
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 - WORLD PREMIERE
Caullen Hudson, 2023, United States
What does safety in a world without police and prisons look like? What does it make more possible?This half-hour film explores how we define and create wellness and reduce harm in a world without police and prisons.
Un Bizcocho Para Mi (A Cake for Me) - WORLD PREMIERE
Yuby Hernandez, 2023, United States
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 - WORLD PREMIERE
Naiyah Ambros, 2023, United States
Fifty years after an AfroCuban woman receives aid from the sea goddess to help her son flee revolutionary Cuba, her pregnant granddaughter faces a similar hurdle that affects the future of her unborn child.
To Esteban
Héctor Almeida, 2023, Cuba
Gregorio, Dolores and Zoila are three elders excited about the arrival of a new member to the family; their great-grandson.
Limpiabotas
Héctor Almeida, 2023, Dominican Republic
Julio is a shoe shiner and passionate lyricist, working tirelessly to earn enough and keep his family afloat. Will Julio live up to his dreams, or will he succumb under the pressure of adversity?
Reimagining Queen Nanny of the Maroons
Udemba Mclean & Leo R Douglas, 2023, Jamaica
The “Reimagining Nanny” Project retells 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 Jamaica.
The Caribbean in Me
Juan Carlos Garcia, 2022, United States
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.
Thursday January 16 at 6pm
Palante Theater Company (158 Grand Street in Waterbury)
Jayuya
Jordan Fernandez, 2023, United States
In this animated short film, a curious boy comes across a portal to an alternate world where he makes a unique friend. The story takes inspiration from the Taino tales of the Sun God.
Obsesión: My Song
Catherine Murphy, 2021, Cuba
Hip Hop duo Obsesión, one of the first groups of the booming Havana Hip Hop movement of the 1990s, were part of a new generation of AfroCuban youth who used Hip Hop to address racial and social justice issues and to promote Black pride. This short documentary explores their creative work and their philosophy of life and music.
Haymakers - WORLD PREMIERE
Marco Navarro, 2024, United States
Following the death of their father, Cesar begins training as a boxer with his older brother Alexander. As tension rises in the ring, regular sparring turns into a blazing boxing match between brothers.
The Escence of the Guaguancó - WORLD PREMIERE
Jairo Valeria Mosqueira, 2024, Belgium
Fernando comes home from a concert at 4 o'clock in the morning. After falling asleep, Elegua, the saint that meddles with the peolple's destiny, takes him on a journey. This movie is a tribute to the Orishas from Cuba and especially to Celeste Mendoza, the best representative of the rumba and the guaguancó, the Cuban rhythm.
Soul Tie
Maegan La Trese Philmore, 2023, United States
Soul Tie showcases Melrisa, a single middle age, dark skin, plus-size, childf-ree, Afro Latina American with an Afro because she needs to be SEEN.
Travessia
Alexandre de Freitas Maciel, 2022, Brazil
Travessia is a contemporary dance performance that revives the Black diaspora from the horrors of the water-covered dungeon - the slave ship. It has been 134 years of freedom, but Black, poor and favela-dwelling people are still chained to the concrete legacies of Brazil's structural racism.
Conguito - U.S. PREMIERE
David Ontoria, 2022, Spain
Malik suffers racist harassment and bullying in his school. Maider is his only friend, but she also turns her back on him. While his parents try to help him change his situation, Malik just wants his friend back.
Las Olas (The Waves)
Franco Vidal, 2023, United States
Kaleah Martinez, a seventeen-year-old Afro-Latinx honor student is suddenly faced with the unexpected and violent loss of her brother. As she moves through her pain and self-destruction, she must find a way to forgive herself.
Guancho and the Bongosero Mentiroso - WORLD PREMIERE
Thibeaux Hirsh, 2023, United States
This project is the first peek into the lives, traditions and culture of Guancho and Alberto (el Bongosero Mentiroso), two renowned percussionists from Guines, a small town in Cuba.
Negrita
Magdalena Albizu, 2023, United States
Negrita is a feature documentary about diverse Afro Latinas who explore and confront culture and racism while defining their own identity in the United States. The film explores the ideology of Blackness, and how both American and Latino cultures perpetuate the belief that Blackness is to be destroyed.
Friday January 17 at 6pm
The Bushnell (166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford)
My Dreams Are Who I Am - WORLD PREMIERE
Victor Ilyukhin, Olga Lvoff & Rick Guidotti, United States,2024
This short film celebrates resilience, identity, and the comforting power of food to reconnect us with our roots.
I Left gOD
Johnathan Fernandez, 2024, United States
A patient gets intimate with her therapist in unprecedented fashion.
Super Latina - WORLD PREMIERE
Cristina Sasso, 2024, United States
Julieta and her best friends, Lety and Del Mar, are excited to audition for "Super Latina," a local competition to represent the Latino community. When Julieta finds out what the judges really think of her... she and her friends decide to take matters into their own hands.
Be Mine - CONNECTICUT FILMMAKER
Jon Cruz, 2023, United States
Be Mine is a horror short that follows the story of a young girl named Emily who encounters a young man named Edward. Despite her attempts to befriend him, she soon finds herself uncovering the malevolent forces that lie beneath the surface.
Puerta De Tierra: a neighborhood facing gentrification
Héctor Manuel Pérez-Hernández, 2023, Puerto Rico
This film focuses on the recent urban gentrification intiatives impacting the community of Puerta de Tierra in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and how these interact with the daily lives of the residents and commerce activities in the area.
Through the Earth - FEATURE FILM
Malena Bystrowicz & Loreley Unamuno, 2024, Argentina
This feature-length documentary follows Blanca and Patzi, two women who have migrated from Bolivia to Argentina in search of better living conditions. They carry with them the lore of ancient history of their homeland. When they arrive, they are confronted by the challenges faced when migrants, collectives, native communities and cultural issues cross more than just territorial borders.
Saturday January 18 at 6pm
The Bushnell (166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford)
Dual Citizen - WORLD PREMIERE
George W. Campbell, 2024, United States
Three Nicaraguan-American artists from the Washington D.C. Metro area discuss growing up in two cultures and how it influences their art.
Street Photographer (English Version)
Zoum Domínguez Blanco, 2022, Venezuela
This documentary highlights the photographic journey of Juancho Domínguez, who due to different circumstances discovers, at the age of 70, photography as a means of expression and that little by little leads him to the rebirth of his own being, and to the reinvention of his artistic path.
Bronx River
Zach Uthman, 2022, United States
On Christmas Eve, 1979, during the birth of Hip Hop, a group of teenagers growing up in the South Bronx experience a chain of catastrophic events that would forever alter their lives.
Bajudh
Carlos Matienzo Serment, 2022, Mexico
The vision, the struggle and the resistance of a Tének girl to be the first flying woman of the dance "Bixom T'iw or Dance of the Sparrowhawk" in a world where only men can fly.
No Cop Academy - The Documentary - FEATURE FILM
Caullen Hudson, 2023, United States
From 2017-2019, Chicago BIPOC youth organized and led a powerful effort against the construction of a $95 million cop academy, and demanded the city of Chicago fund youth and communities instead. This one-hour documentary chronicles their explosive #NoCopAcademy campaign.
Sunday January 19 at 6pm
The Bushnell (166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford)
Vecino - WORLD PREMIERE
Rolando Meléndez, 2023, Puerto Rico
This short film narrates the story of Javi Vecino, a local muralist who paints murals of native houses that identify the Puerto Rican community and are in danger of disappearing due to gentrification.
Eight Years and Ninety Miles - WORLD PREMIERE
Luca David Higonnet-Faithfull, 2024, United States
Ocho Años y Noventa Millas is a documentary film that follows professional soccer player Bruno Rendon, after he chooses to defect from his home country of Cuba to attempt to start a professional career in the United States.
Bicycle Island (A donde nos lleva) - WORLD PREMIERE
Director Mitra Elena Ghaffari, 2023, Cuba
A contemporary mosaic of Havana explores the bicycle as a reclaimed mobility tool and critical resource for the future of the island.
¡Sí Se Puede! - Trade Union Action in Colombia
Pieter De Vos, 2023, Colombia
This documentary sheds a shocking light on the reality of Colombia, considered the most dangerous country in the world for activists. This film follows the story of an oil worker in Barrancabermeja and domestic workers in Cartagena.
Black is Beautiful - WORLD PREMIERE
Marco Antonio Ortega, 2023, United States
This short documentary film tells the story of the head brewer of Weathered Souls Brewing Co. who wanted to shed light on the growing problem of inequality and police brutality via his "Black is Beautiful" project. We follow the impact of the initiative and where it is today.
The Orchestra Chuck Built
Christopher Stoudt, 2023, United States
In 2016, the League of American Orchestras conducted a study that revealed a shocking statistic: only 1.8% of the professional orchestra workforce in the U.S. is Black. From the Los Angeles inner city, former lawyer-turned-conductor Chuck Dickerson is on a mission to change that.
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