21/22 Film Series | On the Environment
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 the island 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?
Directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, 2020, U.S., 91 min, documentary, Spanish.
Viewing window will be Sep 16-26. Access information will be provided in advance. You can also visit our FAQs page for additional details.
Photo credit: Pablo Alvarez Mesa
