Sugar Island

Sugar Island immerses us in the Dominican Republic’s sugarcane fields, where Makenya, a Dominican-Haitian teenager, navigates an unwanted pregnancy and the harsh labor that defines her world.

Director Johanné Gómez Terrero masterfully blends social realism, spirituality, and Afro-futurism to expose the enduring legacy of colonial exploitation. As Makenya confronts family burdens and the specter of displacement, a mysterious theater troupe's arrival illuminates the haunting connections between past and present struggles.

As Makenya battles for her future, her grandfather fights for justice, and displacement looms, the film delivers a lyrical, visually rich exploration of identity, survival, and the explores the enduring power of cultural memory.

Spain/Dominican Republic, 2024, 91 mins, drama in Haitian and Spanish (with English subtitles), Johanne Gomez Terrero, dir. 

“Johanné Gómez Terrero blends tradition and spirituality, the literal and the allegorical, in a beautifully made and deeply touching fiction feature debut. The themes of labour rights, protests against the mechanisation of the sugar industry, and decolonial thought make Sugar Island a syncretic, politically engaged work that avoids all traces of didacticism. On the contrary, the film’s gorgeous look, thanks to lensing by Alván Prado, alludes to the many layers of reality and beyond" ~ Savina Petkova, Cineuropa