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on the advanced development of her first hybrid feature length film project La Pecera (Fish Tank) (Winner of the Unpublished Script Contest of the 2017 Latin American Film Festival in Havana, Cuba, the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Grant 2018, and winner of the EAVE Award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).

CHRISTIAN JOEL (C.J.) LOZADA is a Puerto Rican Filmmaker graduated from Universidad de Puerto Rico – Río Piedras with a B.A. in Comparative Literature and completed a master degree in Screenwriting from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. His influences, on visual style, are based of filmmakers like David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noe, Walter Salles, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sidney Lumet and Darren Aronofsky. His complex, and unique, narrative style, is due to the influence of the great writers of the twentieth century. Among them are: Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, Julio Cortázar, Eugene Ionesco, Miguel de Unamuno, Ernesto Sábato, Albert Camus, José Saramago and Marcel Proust. He is a collaborator to the Hall-Theatre Beckett, Co-Founder of the Film Festival – CineArs and a successful editor, screenwriter and director in the film/television industry.

KRISTIAN MERCADO FIGUEROA is an award winning filmmaker living Spanish Harlem. Mercado’s distinct voice addresses issues of identity, family, and systemic oppression across race and class. His work is celebrated for its portrayal of working class struggles, highlighting love and loss. Mercado has directed content for Billie Eilish, Awkwafina, Bad Bunny, and Adult Swim, among others. He’s also directed comedy specials for Hannibal Buress, SNL’s Sam Jay and London Hughes for Netflix. Kris’s music diven short film Pa’lante won the 2019 SXSW Film Festival Jury Award. His latest work was part of the Official Selection at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival with the Grammy-nominated music video ‘Colors’ by Black Pumas and Hannibal Buress’s comedy special ‘Miami Nights’. His short film Mariposa toured the 2020 film festivals with high acclaim. In 2019 Kris’s screenplay for his narrative feature film HawkBells received a screenwriting award from Slamdance. Recently his screenplay MELA was the recipient of a Cinereach grant and is currently in development.

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.

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.

Animation frame from Nuevo Rico by Kristian Mercado and trailer for Nos vamos pa’ París by David Norris reproduced by courtesy of the directors.

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. For a full list of our distinguished funders, visit www.pregonesprtt.org.