The San Juan International Film Festi val concluded on Wednesday with the announcement of the jury’s selections for three prizes. The Ricardo Alegría Prize for Best Caribben Film went to Hermafrodita (Hermaphrodite), and entry from the Dominican Republic directed by Albert Xavier. The prize for Best Documentary was awarded to 10 en la música (10 in Music), a collaborative project by several Puerto Rican directors. The Jury’s Special Mention award went to La Anunciación) (The Annunciation) by Cuban director Enrique Pineda Barnet.
Hermaphrodite is a drama about the politics of gender identity. Based on a true story, and filmed in the picturesque landscape of the community of San José de Ocoa, the film tells the story of a hermaphrodite who struggles against sexual discrimination. It is the second film for Dominican director Albert Xavier.
The Annunciation, by well-known Cuban director Enrique Pineda Barnet—who also penned the script—tells of a dysfunctional family who comes together to read the last will of the recently-deceased father.
10 en la música offers 10 ten-minute segments by ten young directors—each focusing on a person whose life revolves around music.
The jury included Puerto Rican writer Mayra Montero, Ramiro Cristóbal, a Spanish writer and journalist, Cuban actress Daisy Granados, Puerto Rican journalist Ileana Cidoncha, and Puerto Rican writer Alexis Sebastián Méndez.
