When Hurricane Maria blew across Puerto Rico in 2017, television news media descended to cover the disaster, filming the requisite scenes: wind lashing the island, infrastructure devastated, people desperate for rescue and relief.
But to filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo, the coverage felt as superficial as a light rain.
“It’s almost like a playbook of disaster imagery…While people were supposedly learning about Puerto Rico, they were really learning nothing about Puerto Rico,” Aldarondo insists. “And they, in fact, only serve to perpetuate some really toxic narratives about Puerto Ricans. For example, people as victims that are sort of waiting for aid or waiting for the government to save them, really fixating on Donald Trump throwing paper towels.”
Aldarondo presents a far more nuanced view of Puerto Rico in her award-winning documentary Landfall, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC’s Viewfinders competition, and an Oscar contender this year.
“This...
But to filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo, the coverage felt as superficial as a light rain.
“It’s almost like a playbook of disaster imagery…While people were supposedly learning about Puerto Rico, they were really learning nothing about Puerto Rico,” Aldarondo insists. “And they, in fact, only serve to perpetuate some really toxic narratives about Puerto Ricans. For example, people as victims that are sort of waiting for aid or waiting for the government to save them, really fixating on Donald Trump throwing paper towels.”
Aldarondo presents a far more nuanced view of Puerto Rico in her award-winning documentary Landfall, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Doc NYC’s Viewfinders competition, and an Oscar contender this year.
“This...
- 1/15/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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