Modesta, dir. Benjamín Doniger, Puerto Rico 1956, 135 min., English and Spanish with English subtitles
Book tickets
Formed in 1947, the film unit of the Division of Community Education in Puerto Rico made scores of short films, poetic documentaries and neorealist fictions, from the late 1940s through the 1960s.
The dream of Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico’s first local governor under United States rule, the film unit was formed as part of Operation Bootstrap, an extensive programme of modernising economic and social reforms. The aim was to make films in and with rural communities, and with the jibaros (self-employed rural agricultural workers). The films were to have a social purpose, educating people about their rights and responsibilities, as well as identifying various problems and proposing solutions.
Remarkably, these films were not simple propaganda for Muñoz Marin’s US-aligned government. Allowed an unusual measure of independence, the film unit— comprising Puerto Rico’s first filmmakers, such as Amílcar Tirado and Benjamín Doniger, and led by Ukrainian émigré Jack Delano—made work that sought to push back against the administration’s programmes of mass industrialisation and initiatives encouraging migration to the cities and the US.
Instead, the films reflected the power of collective action and solidarity among the ordinary Puerto Rican people, and their deep connection to the land. Screened initially in the rural communities in which they were made, some of the films were also exhibited outside the island, winning acclaim at international festivals. Several of the films have recently undergone restoration—they remain vital artefacts of a transformational moment in Puerto Rico’s history.
This screening is followed by a Q&A with Ramón Rivera Moret and curator Jonathan Ali.
Ramón Rivera Moret's archival documentary Todo Parecía Posible (Everything Seemed Possible) screens from September 12.
The dream of Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico’s first local governor under United States rule, the film unit was formed as part of Operation Bootstrap, an extensive programme of modernising economic and social reforms. The aim was to make films in and with rural communities, and with the jibaros (self-employed rural agricultural workers). The films were to have a social purpose, educating people about their rights and responsibilities, as well as identifying various problems and proposing solutions.
Remarkably, these films were not simple propaganda for Muñoz Marin’s US-aligned government. Allowed an unusual measure of independence, the film unit— comprising Puerto Rico’s first filmmakers, such as Amílcar Tirado and Benjamín Doniger, and led by Ukrainian émigré Jack Delano—made work that sought to push back against the administration’s programmes of mass industrialisation and initiatives encouraging migration to the cities and the US.
Instead, the films reflected the power of collective action and solidarity among the ordinary Puerto Rican people, and their deep connection to the land. Screened initially in the rural communities in which they were made, some of the films were also exhibited outside the island, winning acclaim at international festivals. Several of the films have recently undergone restoration—they remain vital artefacts of a transformational moment in Puerto Rico’s history.
This screening is followed by a Q&A with Ramón Rivera Moret and curator Jonathan Ali.
Ramón Rivera Moret's archival documentary Todo Parecía Posible (Everything Seemed Possible) screens from September 12.
Las manos del hombre (The Hands of Man), dir. Jack Delano, 25 min.
A significant early work of the Puerto Rican film unit, Las manos del hombre is a poetic ode to human hands and the possibilities they contain. Made in a spirit of great optimism in Puerto Rico’s future and the promise of a better life for all, it underlines the collectivist nature of the film unit’s philosophy and methodology.
Una voz en la montaña (A Voice in the Mountain), dir. Amílcar Tirado, 31 min.
Another key early work, this moving neorealist fiction lays a template for many of the film unit’s later productions. A problem is identified, as a young worker’s desire to learn how to read echoes the wider issue of adult illiteracy. A communal approach to solving the problem is proposed and implemented, in a galvanising cinematic style that reflects a Soviet influence.
Ignacio, dir. Ángel Rivera, 33 min.
The common man speaks truth to power, in this poignantly sober work of fiction that recreates the committee meetings of the rural Puerto Rican barrios of the period. A wealthy landowner, the de facto village leader, wants to see roads and parks built even as the local river, the communal water supply, remains dangerously tainted. Ignacio, a poor worker whose baby has fallen ill after drinking the water, must find the courage to challenge the leadership’s priorities.
Modesta, dir. Benjamín Doniger, 35 min.
Strike! Women’s solidarity is at the heart of this playful exploration of gender relations in a rural barrio. Modesta is fed-up with her abusive husband’s lack of appreciation for her labours. She rallies the women of the village to her cause, and they issue their men an ultimatum: change your boorish ways or we will refuse to perform our domestic duties. One of the unit’s most celebrated films, Modesta was a prize-winner at the 1956 Venice Film Festival.
A significant early work of the Puerto Rican film unit, Las manos del hombre is a poetic ode to human hands and the possibilities they contain. Made in a spirit of great optimism in Puerto Rico’s future and the promise of a better life for all, it underlines the collectivist nature of the film unit’s philosophy and methodology.
Una voz en la montaña (A Voice in the Mountain), dir. Amílcar Tirado, 31 min.
Another key early work, this moving neorealist fiction lays a template for many of the film unit’s later productions. A problem is identified, as a young worker’s desire to learn how to read echoes the wider issue of adult illiteracy. A communal approach to solving the problem is proposed and implemented, in a galvanising cinematic style that reflects a Soviet influence.
Ignacio, dir. Ángel Rivera, 33 min.
The common man speaks truth to power, in this poignantly sober work of fiction that recreates the committee meetings of the rural Puerto Rican barrios of the period. A wealthy landowner, the de facto village leader, wants to see roads and parks built even as the local river, the communal water supply, remains dangerously tainted. Ignacio, a poor worker whose baby has fallen ill after drinking the water, must find the courage to challenge the leadership’s priorities.
Modesta, dir. Benjamín Doniger, 35 min.
Strike! Women’s solidarity is at the heart of this playful exploration of gender relations in a rural barrio. Modesta is fed-up with her abusive husband’s lack of appreciation for her labours. She rallies the women of the village to her cause, and they issue their men an ultimatum: change your boorish ways or we will refuse to perform our domestic duties. One of the unit’s most celebrated films, Modesta was a prize-winner at the 1956 Venice Film Festival.
Book tickets
06:00 pm
Thu, 11 Sep 2025
Cinema 1
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