Drills of Liberation (2022) documentary film by Juan Carlos Davila Santiago

Nuyorican Basquet (2017) documentary film by Julio CÃ©sar Torres GonzÃ¡lez and Ricardo Olivero Lora

Making the Impossible Possible documentary film by Pam Sporn and Tami Gold

Voces de Fillmore (2016) short documentary film by Ariana Allensworth, Teresa Basilio and Regina Eaton

Puerto Rican Activism and Resistance Film Series

Available for Educational and Public Screenings from Third World Newsreel

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. Our series includes:

Young Puerto Ricans take 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
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 in 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, Reality and Latino Poets Speakout).
Films on the Young Lords, Operation Move-In and (Break and Enter, Palante, Siempre Palante! and El Pueblo Se Levanta)

Submit request or email twn@twn.org.

Drills of Liberation (2020)

A new social movement started in Puerto Rico with direct actions against austerity measures in 2016, continued with community kitchens after Hurricane Maria in 2017, and culminated with the ousting of the governor in 2019. In DRILLS OF LIBERATION, journalist Juan Carlos Davila Santiago follows activist organizations and presents a unique portrait of a young generation of Puerto Ricans who are fighting for their basic rights, as they also reimagine the liberation and future of their country. Watch Trailer.

Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, 2021

Making the Impossible Possible: The Story of Puerto Rican Studies in Brooklyn College (2021)

MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE tells the story of the student-led struggle to win Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College, CUNY, in the late 1960s. The documentary is a mosaic of voices, film footage, and photographs taken by student activists. This important intergenerational story highlights how students and faculty seized the moment to build upon an alliance of Puerto Rican, African American, and other progressive students forged in their communities and the civil rights movement. Together they changed the face of higher education, transforming the curriculum and expanding who gets educated. The film sheds light on the 50-year history of struggle that started with the founding of one of the first Puerto Rican Studies departments in the nation, and documents the continued movement to maintain their gains. Watch Trailer.

As featured on The Laura Flanders Show

"Recommended for all collections, especially those supporting Puerto Rican and Latinx studies, the study of education and higher education, and history collections."

Nuyorican B&aacutesquet (2017) Documentary Film by Julio CÃ©sar Torres GonzÃ¡lez & Ricardo Olivero Lora

Nuyorican Básquet (2017)

NUYORICAN BÁSQUET chronicles the dramatic story of the Puerto Rican national basketball team's participation in the 1979 Pan American Games. Boasting a totally unique approach to the game, the Puerto Rican team had the curious distinction of being composed largely of players born in New York City, which generated questions about the nature of diasporic identity. Regardless of their birthplace, these ferociously talented nuyoricans became a source of fascination and pride for Puerto Rico during a time of high political tensions. Shifting energetically between new interviews with athletes and experts and fantastic archival materials showing off the team's dazzling technique and teamwork, NUYORICAN BÁSQUET chronicles the dramatic story of the Puerto Rican national basketball team's participation in the 1979 Pan American Games. Boasting a totally unique approach to the game, the Puerto Rican team had the curious distinction of being composed largely of players born in New York City, which generated questions about the nature of diasporic identity. Regardless of their birthplace, these ferociously talented nuyoricans became a source of fascination and pride for Puerto Rico during a time of high political tensions. is a thrilling, colorful testament to the ability of sports to dissolve boundaries and a loving homage to that magical Puerto Rico-NYC alchemy. Watch Trailer.

"A valuable film that shows the complexities of colonialism, ethnicity, and nationality through the lens of sports. This film is highly recommended."

Voces de Fillmore (2016)

This documentary traces the memories and experiences of families living on one block located in South Williamsburg, a Brooklyn neighborhood that is affectionately known by long time residents as Southside or Los Sures. In the past decade, Southside's Latinx and working class population has steadily decreased from seventy to forty-five percent, in part due to gentrification in New York City. In this film, Puerto Rican families who have lived and raised children in Los Sures for several decades talk about their quest to preserve a sense of community in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Watch Clip.

Vieques: An Endless Battle (2016)

Stand-By Generation, The (2016)

Harvest of Empire: The Untold Story of Latinos in America (2012)

Living Along the Fenceline (2012)

Salty Dog Blues (2012)

Samuel Lind's Coastal World (2006)

Latino Poets Speakout (2005)

La Bruja: A Witch from the Bronx (2005)

El Puente (2000)

¡Palante, Siempre Palante! (1996)

Black and Blue (1987)

Percussion, Impressions and Reality (1978)