Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 7PM
EL ACCIDENTE FELIZ (The Happy Accident) by Paloma Suau
El accidente feliz (The Happy Accident) opens and extends its narrative like the folds of an accordion. The film shines a spotlight on the life and works of beloved and indefatigable Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell. His many and varied artworks serve as foreground and background to loving and revealing commentary from friends, collaborators, disciples, and colleagues, punctuated by the Maestro’s own reflections on life, art, and everything else that matters! The film remits to the element of surprise as a key ingredient of creative expression: When the unexpected irrupts, the happy accident occurs. A universal tale about a master, his student, and the art of living.
From director Suau: “Antonio Martorell, apart from being a very important figure in my life since childhood, was the first subject I wanted to document when I returned home from film school. I managed to film him for several years, and that’s how my career got started. I put everything I recorded in boxes that ended up in storage. Many years later when, we wanted to resume work on this intimate documentary, the boxes had disappeared! “Ah,” said Antonio, “that doesn’t matter, what a good excuse to start over!””
Con El accidente feliz, la directora puertorriqueña Paloma Suau se adentra en la vida del aclamado artista puertorriqueño Antonio Martorell como creador insaciable, trabajador incansable y maestro. El accidente feliz reconoce el elemento sorpresa como factor importante en el proceso creativo. La narrativa entrelaza la vida y obra del maestro Martorell, su legado filosófico, sus lecciones y la transformación de la directora al superar una parálisis creativa en el proceso. Es una historia universal acerca de un maestro, su aprendiz y el arte de vivir.
El accidente feliz (The Happy Accident). Director: Paloma Suau. Puerto Rico. 60 min.
7PM Film Screening followed by MEET THE ARTISTS conversation with Antonio Martorell and Paloma Suau, facilitated by Louis E. Perego Moreno (Tío Louie), of Prime Latino Media.
Also featuring shorts from 21 Islands International Film Fest:
The Bird & The Whale. Director: Carol Freeman. Ireland. 7 min.
Destino. Director: Dominique Monféry. France. 7 min.
Fisso. Director: Raito Low JingYi. Taiwan. 5 min.
Bronx Film Wednesdays (BxFW): Curated by film and media artist Melisa Ramos, this series screens new, little-seen, and standout indie films that you will love! Travel the world and open your mind to stories as wild and from as far as the imagination can go — romance, comedy, action, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, music, sports, animation, documentary, and more! Carefully selected to illustrate cultural, aesthetic, and geographic diversity, each night includes specially selected features and winning films from our Bronx-based 21 Islands International Short Film Fest. BxFW is co-presented with Prime Latino Media, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors on the East Coast. El accidente feliz is also presented in collaboration with BronxFilm48, a Bronx filmmaking initiative.
Printmaker, painter, draftsman, installation artist, stage and costume designer, writer, illustrator, and teacher, Antonio Martorell is one of the most prolific Puerto Rican artists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, and a direct heir of the graphic tradition initiated by the masters of the island’s “Fifties Generation.” After studying diplomacy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he changed professional course. In 1961, with a scholarship from the Ferré Foundation, he studied painting and drawing under Julio Martín Caro in Madrid. On his return to Puerto Rico he began his printmaking apprenticeship under the direction of Lorenzo Homar at the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. In 1968 he established the Alacrán Studio, one of Puerto Rico’s first independent print studios. Martorell has taught printmaking in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, and in his passion for human and artistic expression (which he sees as one) he has created, organized, and sponsored countless artistic, community, and multi-media events. Martorell’s prints and paintings communicate his freedom and exceptional creative talent. He is recognized for figurative compositions that show his commitment to portraiture, the written word, theater, playfulness in all aspects of his creative life, and his incorporation of the sensory and the sensual into all his projects.
Paloma Suau is a director, writer, producer, and editor born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her body of work covers narrative, documentary, television series, live concerts, music videos, and commercials. A film graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, she founded her own production company, Ninguna Ciencia (No Rocket Science) in 1996. Her directorial output for Banco Popular de Puerto Rico’s annual Christmas television specials include the acclaimed Guitarra Mía (2000), Raíces (2001), Encuentro (2002), Ocho Puertas (2003), En mi país (2004), and Queridos Reyes Magos (2005).
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.
PREGONES THEATER
575 Walton Avenue (b/w 149 & 150 Streets)
The Bronx, NY 10451
Subway #2, 4, 5 to 149 Street & Grand Concourse
We’re just one short block away from the station!
For more information call us at 718-585-1202.
Free Event — Reservations Closed
Event Details
Location
Pregones in THE BRONX
Date & Time
February 5, 2020 at 7PM
Bronx Film Wednesdays
FEATURED DIRECTOR:
Paloma Suau
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Antonio Martorell
Paloma Suau
El accidente feliz (The Happy Accident) opens and extends its narrative like the folds of an accordion. The film shines a spotlight on the life and works of beloved and indefatigable Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell. His many and varied artworks serve as foreground and background to loving and revealing commentary from friends, collaborators, disciples, and colleagues, punctuated by the Maestro’s own reflections on life, art, and everything else that matters! The film remits to the element of surprise as a key ingredient of creative expression: When the unexpected irrupts, the happy accident occurs. A universal tale about a master, his student, and the art of living.
From director Suau: “Antonio Martorell, apart from being a very important figure in my life since childhood, was the first subject I wanted to document when I returned home from film school. I managed to film him for several years, and that’s how my career got started. I put everything I recorded in boxes that ended up in storage. Many years later when, we wanted to resume work on this intimate documentary, the boxes had disappeared! “Ah,” said Antonio, “that doesn’t matter, what a good excuse to start over!””
Con El accidente feliz, la directora puertorriqueña Paloma Suau se adentra en la vida del aclamado artista puertorriqueño Antonio Martorell como creador insaciable, trabajador incansable y maestro. El accidente feliz reconoce el elemento sorpresa como factor importante en el proceso creativo. La narrativa entrelaza la vida y obra del maestro Martorell, su legado filosófico, sus lecciones y la transformación de la directora al superar una parálisis creativa en el proceso. Es una historia universal acerca de un maestro, su aprendiz y el arte de vivir.
El accidente feliz (The Happy Accident). Director: Paloma Suau. Puerto Rico. 60 min.
7PM Film Screening followed by MEET THE ARTISTS conversation with Antonio Martorell and Paloma Suau, facilitated by Louis E. Perego Moreno (Tío Louie), of Prime Latino Media.
Also featuring shorts from 21 Islands International Film Fest:
The Bird & The Whale. Director: Carol Freeman. Ireland. 7 min.
Destino. Director: Dominique Monféry. France. 7 min.
Fisso. Director: Raito Low JingYi. Taiwan. 5 min.
Bronx Film Wednesdays (BxFW): Curated by film and media artist Melisa Ramos, this series screens new, little-seen, and standout indie films that you will love! Travel the world and open your mind to stories as wild and from as far as the imagination can go — romance, comedy, action, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, music, sports, animation, documentary, and more! Carefully selected to illustrate cultural, aesthetic, and geographic diversity, each night includes specially selected features and winning films from our Bronx-based 21 Islands International Short Film Fest. BxFW is co-presented with Prime Latino Media, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors on the East Coast. El accidente feliz is also presented in collaboration with BronxFilm48, a Bronx filmmaking initiative.