Standout films shine through the lens of Caribbean filmmakers
FotoFocus film program curated by UC professor
Event Information
In conjunction with the FotoFocus 2024 Biennial, a film series curated by a UC professor highlights Caribbean filmmakers, with screenings and events in Greater Cincinnati Oct. 15-29.
“If you like really good cinema, this is really good cinema that you haven't seen,” says Mary Leonard, University of Cincinnati professor of film history who curated the program, "Caribbean Eye: Auteur Cinema from Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic."
Leonard, who taught film studies in Puerto Rico for 30 years before coming to UC, has invited directors, producers and actors from Caribbean countries to take part in the series.
“People go to Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic for vacations or maybe they’ve seen travel brochures, but this series lets them understand the culture on a different level,” says Leonard.
Attendees of ticketed film showings at Woodward Theater (1404 Main Street in Over-the-Rhine) will have the opportunity to participate in Q&As on UC's campus, which are free to the public.
FotoFocus is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit organization created to celebrate and champion photography as the medium of our time through programming that ignites a dialogue between contemporary lens-based art and the history of photography.
Movie poster for "Feet in the Sand". Photo provided by Leonard.
The series opens with "Feet in the Sand," the new feature film directed by Puerto Rican director Gustavo Ramos Perales, which comes after the success of his first film The Sparring Partner.
The movie centers on the relationship between two immigrants in Puerto Rico, one Dominican and one Cuban, as they consolidate their lives in a new country.
On Oct. 15, at 12:30 p.m., Ramos-Perales, one of the key directors of New Puerto Rican Cinema, will talk with Mary Leonard about his career and about contemporary Puerto Rican cinema at the UC Faculty Enrichment Center in Langsam Library. The event is free and open to the public.
The film shows that evening at Woodward Theatre. Ticketing: $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
Movie poster for Rafela. Photo provided by Leonard
The second week features the Dominican film, "Rafaela," directed by Tito Rodriguez. In it, Judith Rodriguez, the Dominican Republic’s most important actress, delivers an intense and affecting performance as a female gang leader forced to live a violent life that contrasts with her real desires.
On Oct. 22, at 12:30 p.m., at the UC Faculty Enrichment Center in Langsam Library, Rodriguez and screenwriter Cristian Mojica will talk with Mary Leonard about the long development process that led up to the making of this prize-winning film.
The film shows the night before, on Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Woodward Theater. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
*An additional, free showing of "Rafaela" takes place on Oct. 22, at 3 p.m., at The Digitorium, in Northern Kentucky University's Griffin Hall. A conversation with Judith Rodriguez, Cristian Mojica and Mary Leonard takes place after.
Movie poster for All the Flowers. Photo provided by Leonard
The series closes with a film that focuses on trans experience. "All the Flowers," about the trans community in the Santafé neighborhood of Bogotá, Colombia, by Puerto Rican filmmaker Carmen Oquendo, took ten years to make and has been supported by prestigious grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim and the Sundance Institute.
On Oct. 29, at 12:30 p.m., in the UC Faculty Enrichment Center in Langsam Library, Oquendo and producer Alejandro Angel-Torres will talk with Mary Leonard about how this film arose out of the filmmakers’ relationships with members of this community.
The film shows the night before on Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m., at Woodward Theater. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
Featured image at top of Caribbean Eye poster. Photo provided by Leonard.
Schedule and ticketing
The entire schedule and ticketing information is on the Caribbean Eye website.
Contact leonarm8@ucmail.uc.edu for additional information.
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