Gómez explores life outside the capital city through her short films, the “Island Trilogy,” centered on the storied Isla de Pinos, and a magnetic portrait of the port city of Santiago de Cuba.
En la otra isla (1968)
41min, DCP
Assembling honest, varied and insightful testimonials and sometimes appearing on screen herself, Sara Gómez interviewed the residents of the Isla de Pinos. Renamed the Isla de la Juventud (“Island of Youth”), it served the collective education of young people from Havana, assigned to collective farms. Speaking to an aspiring hairdresser, an ex-priest and former opera singer, the documentary offers a varied perspective of their experiences, opinions, and dreams in the first decade of the revolution.
Una isla para Miguel (1968)
22min, DCP
The second installment of the “Island Trilogy” is centered on the rebellious Miguel, a student and worker at one of the state’s country-side schools. It reveals a cross-section of issues of individual behavior and collective discipline, the construction of masculinity and marginalized populations.
Isla del Tesoro (1969)
9min, DCP
15min, DCP
In one of her earliest works, Gómez made the camera dance through a charming city portrait of Santiago de Cuba. Her exploration of the port city acts as an ironic travelogue and historical retelling which foregrounds the musical culture of Afro-Cubans. Her vibrant short film interweaves the colonial past of the wider Black Caribbean, including Haiti, with a documentation of the possibilities of the revolutionary present, unfolding in nocturnal revelry of a street celebration.
En la otra isla (1968)
41min, DCP
Assembling honest, varied and insightful testimonials and sometimes appearing on screen herself, Sara Gómez interviewed the residents of the Isla de Pinos. Renamed the Isla de la Juventud (“Island of Youth”), it served the collective education of young people from Havana, assigned to collective farms. Speaking to an aspiring hairdresser, an ex-priest and former opera singer, the documentary offers a varied perspective of their experiences, opinions, and dreams in the first decade of the revolution.
Una isla para Miguel (1968)
22min, DCP
The second installment of the “Island Trilogy” is centered on the rebellious Miguel, a student and worker at one of the state’s country-side schools. It reveals a cross-section of issues of individual behavior and collective discipline, the construction of masculinity and marginalized populations.
Isla del Tesoro (1969)
9min, DCP
Another view of the island, which was the site of Castro’s imprisonment from 1953 to 1955, explores its carceral history and post-revolutionary repurposing by exploring the past of Presidio Modelo prison and present of citrus production.
Iré a Santiago (1964)15min, DCP
In one of her earliest works, Gómez made the camera dance through a charming city portrait of Santiago de Cuba. Her exploration of the port city acts as an ironic travelogue and historical retelling which foregrounds the musical culture of Afro-Cubans. Her vibrant short film interweaves the colonial past of the wider Black Caribbean, including Haiti, with a documentation of the possibilities of the revolutionary present, unfolding in nocturnal revelry of a street celebration.
UPCOMING Screenings
RUNNING TIME
87min
VENUE
FORMAT
DCP
LANGUAGE
All films in Spanish with English subtitles
TICKET INFORMATION
General Admission: $17
Members: $12
Please note: A $2 handling fee per ticket will be added to your order.
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Access Programs provided by
the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for
BAM programming provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Film provided by
The Thompson Family Foundation
Major support for programs in
the Lepercq Cinema is provided by
The Lepercq Charitable Foundation
