Puerto Rican Activism and Resistance
Independent documentaries present a much-needed visual record of social justice activism and resistance in Puerto Rico and in Puerto Rican communities in the United States. Young Puerto Ricans take to the streets to demand the end of the fiscal board imposed by the U.S. Congress, austerity measures, and the ousting of corrupt political leaders ("Drills of Liberation"). Labor documentaries on the prevalence of precarious work in Puerto Rico and the historical struggle of a group of Puerto Rican merchant marine workers who organized for better working conditions ("The Stand-by Generation" and "Salty Dog Blues"). Films about the lasting environmental effects of the U.S. Navy on the island of Vieques ("Vieques" and "Living Along the Fenceline"). Critical views of the damaging effects of urban renewal and gentrification in Nuyorican communities ("Break and Enter", "The Case Against Lincoln Center" and "Voces de Fillmore"). Legacies of the Attica prison rebellion and Puerto Rican families in Philadelphia fighting against police brutality ("Teach Our Children" and "Black and Blue"). Films on Puerto Rican visual artist Samuel Lind, Nuyorican spoken word artists La Bruja, Mariposa, and Papoleto, and a celebration of Puerto Rican folk music and Nuyorican identity ("Samuel Lind's Coastal World", "La Bruja", "Percussion, Impressions, and Reality", and "Latino Poets Speakout"). Films on the Young Lords, and Operation Move-In activist groups ("Break and Enter", "Palante, Siempre Palante!" and "El Pueblo Se Levanta").