El último balsero

Synopsis

After risking his life crossing the Florida Straits on a raft, a young Cuban searches Miami for his long-absent father. When a political shift makes him America’s first Cuban undocumented immigrant, he must battle the new and bigger fear of deportation, while trying to find where he really belongs.

Context

For years, many Cubans risked life and limb to cross the nearly 200-kilometer stretch between their island and the United States, in motorboats, row boats, and handmade rafts. A particular policy, colloquially named ‘Wet Foot Dry Foot’, allowed Cubans a faster path to US naturalization than people of other nations. This is a risk that Ernesto decides to take in order to find his long-lost father. But unbeknownst to Ernesto, that policy was revoked mere days before his arrival. And so he is The Last Rafter, the first Cuban to have the same undocumented status as other Latin American immigrants who cross unofficially. (source: Screen Anarchy)

Directors’ statement

This story synthesizes many of our personal experiences as Cuban immigrants, being a fish out of water in a new and very polarized landscape. The shining lights of the American Dream have an underbelly, where some exploit those who continue to suffer and must hide even if they seem to be in a safer place.

This is also a coming-of-age story. While trying to find clues about his broken past, our character has the opportunity to break a cycle of toxic masculinity. This is regularly shown on-screen through the stereotypical Macho with guns and drugs and we want to focus on how those tropes are carried beyond the stereotypes.

We want to celebrate our diversity not as what divides us but as what makes us stronger. This story is a quest to re-contextualize subjects like masculinity, identity and freedom through an emotional journey in search for closure of wounds from the past while learning and embracing what the future brings.

Plot keywords

Cuba, Miami, Cuban diaspora, LatinX, LGBTQIA, homophobia, family & kinship, immigration, exile, friendship, human & civil rights, memory, love story, politics, ideology, identity, directorial debut

Crew & Cast

Original title: El Último Balsero
International title: The Last Rafter
Original Language: Spanish / English
Written & directed by: Carlos Rafael Betancourt & Oscar Ernesto Ortega
Executive producers: Carlos Rafael Betancourt, Oscar Ernesto Ortega, Elina Barredo
Producer: Alina Rodríguez, Andrea López
Editor: Carlos Rafael Betancourt
Cinematographer: Oscar Ernesto Ortega 
Sound designer: Paola Magrans, Leo Marcil
Original music: Harold López-Nussa, Adrian López-Nussa
Gaffer: Ralph Gonzáles

Cast:
HECTOR MEDINA
CHAZ MENA
NESTOR JIMENEZ 
CRISTINA GARCIA 
ARIEL TEXIDO 
GABRIEL “GABO” ANDREU 
FRANCISCO PORRAS
VIKINA LOPEZ 
TERESA MARIA ROJAS 
CARMEN PELAEZ 
RENE LAVAN 
SARAHI DIAZ 
ALBERTO PUJOLS
LESTER MARTINEZ 
JOSE LUIS PEREZ 
GABRIEL BONILLA
SANDRA PORTAL-ANDREU
JENNIFER RODRIGUEZ 
GRETEL PEREZ
MATTEW DEGENNARO
EMMANUEL JR PACIN “EJ”
RAFAEL RINCONES 
RODRIGO CASTILLO
EVELYN ROBAINA 
DANIELLE BTV
RAY “PICADILLO

Production company: EL CENTRAL Productions

Festivals & Awards

• Official Selection. Miami Film Festival 2020
• Official Selection. NY Latino Film Festival 2020
• Official Selection. Los Angeles Latino Film Festival 2020
• Official Selection. Havana Film Festival 2020
• Official Selection. Seattle Latino Film Festival 2020
• Winner. Best Narrative Feature. Boston Latino International Film Festival 2020
• Winner. Best Actress (for Cristina García). Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021
• Winner. Best Cinematography. Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021

Sinopsis

Después de arriesgar su vida cruzando el Estrecho de la Florida en una balsa, un joven cubano busca en Miami a su padre ausente. Cuando un cambio en la política hacia Cuba lo convierte en el primer inmigrante indocumentado cubano de Estados Unidos, él deberá enfrentar el miedo a la deportación, mientras intenta descubrir su lugar en el mundo.

Ficha técnica

Título Original: El Último Balsero
Título Internacional: The Last Rafter
Idioma original: Español / Inglés
Escrito y Dirigido por: Carlos Rafael Betancourt & Oscar Ernesto Ortega
Producción Ejecutiva: Carlos Rafael Betancourt, Oscar Ernesto Ortega, Elina Barredo
Producción: Alina Rodríguez, Andrea López
Edición: Carlos Rafael Betancourt
Dirección de Fotografía: Oscar Ernesto Ortega 
Diseño de Sonido: Paola Magrans, Leo Marcil
Música: Harold López-Nussa, Adrian López-Nussa
Gaffer: Ralph Gonzáles

Elenco:
HECTOR MEDINA
CHAZ MENA
NESTOR JIMENEZ 
CRISTINA GARCIA 
ARIEL TEXIDO 
GABRIEL “GABO” ANDREU 
FRANCISCO PORRAS
VIKINA LOPEZ 
TERESA MARIA ROJAS 
CARMEN PELAEZ 
RENE LAVAN 
SARAHI DIAZ 
ALBERTO PUJOLS
LESTER MARTINEZ 
JOSE LUIS PEREZ 
GABRIEL BONILLA
SANDRA PORTAL-ANDREU
JENNIFER RODRIGUEZ 
GRETEL PEREZ
MATTEW DEGENNARO
EMMANUEL JR PACIN “EJ”
RAFAEL RINCONES 
RODRIGO CASTILLO
EVELYN ROBAINA 
DANIELLE BTV
RAY “PICADILLO

Casa Productora: EL CENTRAL Productions

Festivales y premios

• Selección Oficial. Miami Film Festival 2020
• Selección Oficial. NY Latino Film Festival 2020
• Selección Oficial. Los Angeles Latino Film Festival 2020
• Panorama Latinoamericano. Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. La Habana, 2020
• Selección Oficial. Seattle Latino Film Festival 2020
• Mejor Largometraje. Boston Latino International Film Festival 2020
• Mejor Actriz (para Cristina García). Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021
• Mejor Dirección de Fotografía. Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021

Sinopse

Depois de arriscar sua vida cruzando o estreito da Flórida em uma balsa, um jovem cubano procura em Miami por seu pai perdido. Quando uma mudança na política em relação a Cuba o torna o primeiro imigrante cubano indocumentado dos Estados Unidos, ele deverá enfrentar o medo da deportação enquanto tenta descobrir seu lugar no mundo.

Ficha técnica

Título Original: El Último Balsero
Título Internacional: The Last Rafter
Idioma original: Espanhol / Inglês
Escrito e Dirigido por: Carlos Rafael Betancourt & Oscar Ernesto Ortega
Produção Executiva: Carlos Rafael Betancourt, Oscar Ernesto Ortega, Elina Barredo
Produção: Alina Rodríguez, Andrea López
Edição: Carlos Rafael Betancourt
Direção de Fotografia: Oscar Ernesto Ortega 
Design de Som: Paola Magrans, Leo Marcil
Música: Harold López-Nussa, Adrian López-Nussa
Gaffer: Ralph Gonzáles

Elenco:
HECTOR MEDINA
CHAZ MENA
NESTOR JIMENEZ 
CRISTINA GARCIA 
ARIEL TEXIDO 
GABRIEL “GABO” ANDREU 
FRANCISCO PORRAS
VIKINA LOPEZ 
TERESA MARIA ROJAS 
CARMEN PELAEZ 
RENE LAVAN 
SARAHI DIAZ 
ALBERTO PUJOLS
LESTER MARTINEZ 
JOSE LUIS PEREZ 
GABRIEL BONILLA
SANDRA PORTAL-ANDREU
JENNIFER RODRIGUEZ 
GRETEL PEREZ
MATTEW DEGENNARO
EMMANUEL JR PACIN “EJ”
RAFAEL RINCONES 
RODRIGO CASTILLO
EVELYN ROBAINA 
DANIELLE BTV
RAY “PICADILLO

Produtora: EL CENTRAL Productions

Festivais e prêmios

• Seleção Oficial. Miami Film Festival 2020
• Seleção Oficial. NY Latino Film Festival 2020
• Seleção Oficial. Los Angeles Latino Film Festival 2020
• Panorama Latino-americano. Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. Havana, 2020
• Seleção Oficial. Seattle Latino Film Festival 2020
• Melhor Longa-metragem. Boston Latino International Film Festival 2020
• Melhor Atriz (para Cristina García). Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021
• Melhor Direção de Fotografia. Oklahoma Cinelatino Film Festival 2021