COINTELPRO 101

COINTELPRO 101 exposes illegal surveillance, disruption, and outright murder committed by the US government in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. “COINTELPRO” refers to the official FBI COunter INTELigence PROgram carried out to surveil, imprison, and eliminate leaders of social justice movements and to disrupt, divide, and destroy the movements as well. Many of the government's crimes are still unknown. Through interviews with activists who experienced these abuses first-hand, with rare historical footage, the film provides an educational introduction to a period of intense repression and draws relevant lessons for the present and future.

A Gritos La Costa

A look at the current state of Puerto Rico and how coastal erosion has affected the Island.

Puerto Rico

Presents a socio-economic analysis of present day Puerto Rico. Uses archival footage, re-enactments of historic events, and interviews with participants to recount the long history of U.S. involvement in Puerto Rico and the anti-colonial struggle.

Desigualdad y Pobreza

Una identidad en absurdo Vol. 1

Guillermo Gómez Álvarez explores the identity politics of Puerto Rico via archival footage from various sources that clash with nine original songs from local independent musicians and a thematic analysis from a psychoanalyst and a historian. From the juxtaposition the absurd becomes coherent and the coherent becomes absurd as Puerto Rican identity is defined and rejected almost simultaneously.

La escena

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".

Islas entretejidas: Puerto Rico y Córcega

The cultural and architectural phenomenon of the Corsican in Puerto Rico, and the influence of the Corsican immigration in this territory.

After Maria

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.

Your Day Is My Night

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.

Melting Snow

Two tons of snow—flown from New Hampshire to Puerto Rico in 1952 in order to “gift” Puerto Ricans a “white Christmas”—become a metaphor for the colonialist paternalism of America’s relationship to Puerto Rico.

Un diario amable

"A Friendly Newspaper" vindicated journalists in a very important sense. For the first time, from a place as influential as television, the business power that exists behind the press was summoned and held responsible for its decline.

La operación

Documentary on the mass sterilization of Puerto Rican women during the 1950s and '60s.

El apagón: Aquí vive gente

“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.

Entre el grito y la celda: Una historia sobre Lolita Lebrón

“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.

Vietnam, Puerto Rico

As Puerto Rico falls deeper and deeper into an unprecedented crisis this is Vietnam’s story, a community or barrio located on the coast of Guaynabo fighting an illegal expropriation at the hands of a career politician. Their experience echoes the island’s current struggle with; an unparalleled migration, a notion of progress fueled by corruption, crippling economic debt, displaced poor and middle class families whose land is being purchased by millionaires, and the slow to non-existent reconstruction of infrastructure after Hurricane Maria.

Nuestra Isla Nuestro Encanto

The Last American Colony

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.

The Last Colony

A close look at Puerto Rico's unique relationship with the United States.

San Juan, más allá de las murallas

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.

Ionosphere: Dr. Eliana Nossa

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.