BxFW Digital: November

GLORIMAR MARRERO SÁNCHEZ is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist. Her work is related to grief, identity and colonialism, among other topics, and includes audiovisual, still photography, and installation. She is currently working on the advanced development of her first hybrid feature length film project La Pecera (Fish Tank) (Winner of the Unpublished Script Contest of the 2017 Latin American Film Festival in Havana, Cuba, the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Grant 2018, and winner of the EAVE Award in the MAFIZ, of the Malaga International Film Festival 2018). She recently premiered the documentary El MAC en el Barrio, and Juana (s) Matos, a video projection in the community of Juana Matos in Cataño, Puerto Rico (November 2018). Both projects were commissions of Contemporary Art Museum of Puerto Rico. In 2017 she premiered Revuelo en la Roosevelt (Revolt at the Roosevelt), a video art piece commissioned by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2016, she directed the short film Biopsia (Biopsy) (Best Director Award at the European Film Festival in Puerto Rico and Honorable Mention at the 21 Islands International Short Fest in New York). In 2018, Marrero Sánchez was an artist-in-residence at the University of Chicago (May to July) and she was recently selected for an artistic residency at MASS MoCA. In March, Marrero Sánchez joined the team of the Contemporary Art Museum of Puerto Rico as a consultant where she will develop the audiovisual unit of the museum. While at Princeton, Marrero Sánchez will work on her first hybrid feature length project titled La Pecera (Fish Tank).

JOEL PÉREZ IRIZARRY was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He developed from an early age an interest in photography and the visual arts. When he was a teenager he spent most of his free time wondering the streets of Old San Juan with an old 35mm camera-documenting the life of people in the old city. That passion for the visual arts later took the form of a long-lasting interest in how images can communicate in a more powerful and profound way than any other medium. While studying comparative literature at the University of Puerto Rico, his interest in filmmaking started to grow; moving to study filmmaking in The London Film School, where he directed several short films-including Sheepdog shown in several international festivals, and winning the top prize in Cinefiesta, Puerto Rico’s top film festival. Since then, his body of work has grown to include many award-winning commercials-winners in festivals such as Cannes Lions, Clios and El Ojo Iberamericano, music videos and short films. Recently he directed Tokío, a short film about the struggle of a community being evicted from a Puerto Rican slum, that went on to compete in the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Ícaro, Cinefiesta. His feature film script Los días perdidos was recently selected to be part of Ibermedia’s film development program.

FEDERICO TORRES FERNÁNDEZ is an award winning Puerto Rican filmmaker and his projects have been recognized at prestigious festivals around the world like Mar del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina, Habana Film Festival in Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago International Film Festival, Busan International Short Film Festival in South Korea, Cinefiesta International Short Film Festival in his native Puerto Rico, among others. Currently a House Director for the production company Latitude 18 Films, he has also worked alongside major publicity agencies in developing film content for corporate clients like T-Mobile, Johnnie Walker, AT&T, and First Bank, among others.

DAVID NORRIS has a Master’s degree in Mass Media Writing from Sagrado Corazón University and has distinguished himself as a screenwriter and movie director. For the past fifteen years, David has worked in various facets of the world of communications and his six short films have had a positive impact on the local film scene. He is currently working on the development of his first feature film.

Trailer and still photo from El Extraordinario Sr. Júpiter courtesy of CineFiesta and the filmmakers.

Special thanks to our media broadcast partners at BronxNet Community Television.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Southwest Airlines is the official airline of Pregones/PRTT. For a full list of our funders, visit www.pregonesprtt.org.