Bright Lights Film Series: ‘Landfall’

Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, Landfall is a cautionary tale for our times. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the U.S .colony’s governor in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma and resistance. While the devastation of María attracted a great deal of media coverage, the world has paid far less attention to the storm that preceded it: a $72 billion debt crisis crippling Puerto Rico well before the winds and waters hit.

Landfall examines the kinship of these two storms—one environmental, the other economic—juxtaposing competing utopian visions of recovery. Featuring intimate encounters with Puerto Ricans as well as the newcomers flooding the island, Landfall reflects on a question of contemporary global relevance: when the world falls apart, who do we become? Discussion with producer Ines Hofmann Kanna ‘96

Co-presented with the Boston Women’s Film Festival, the Roxbury International Film Festival Living on Earth podcast and the Boston Latino International Film Festival. Directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, documentary, English and Spanish with English subtitles, 91 minutes, USA, 2020.

Registration takes place through the ArtsEmerson website starting at noon on Wednesdays. All conversations will take place on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. EST and will stream to Cinesend. In order to facilitate more engagement with these conversations, everyone will have the option to join via Zoom and interact with guests directly. More information on how to access films and conversations can be viewed on the Bright Lights website.