A post by Peter Jordens:

El Nuevo Día reports that the Puerto Rican film Antes que cante el gallo [Before the Rooster Crows] has won the award for Best Feature Film-Narrative at the 2016 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. […] The film, written by Kisha Tikina Burgos and directed by Ari Maniel Cruz, stood out among 40 other productions from the Caribbean and its diaspora. In the category of Best Film, Antes que cante el gallo was nominated alongside El Acompañante by Pavel Giroud (Cuba), Esteban by Jonal Cosculluela (Cuba), Play the Devil by Maria Govan (Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, USA) and The Cutlass by Darisha Beresford (Trinidad and Tobago).

“The award fills us with joy and the desire to continue on this journey,” said Ari Maniel Cruz in a written statement. “It is wonderful to be at a Caribbean festival and feel part of a community,” he added. Kisha Tikina Burgos said: “I loved working closely with filmmakers from neighboring islands on pure Caribbean stories that made me see similarities with this region of which Puerto Rico often does not feel part.”

This is the second award for Antes que cante el gallo, as it won the Yellow Robin Award at the Curacao International Film Festival Rotterdam (April 2016) and will be an Official Selection at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (January 2017). The film has also been invited to the Festival Global de Cine Dominicano (Dominican Republic), Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano in La Habana (Cuba), Festival Internacional de Cine of Panama, Festival de Cine of Lima (Peru) and Festival Internacional de Cine of Morelia (Mexico).

For the full original article (in Spanish), go to http://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/cine/nota/antesquecanteelgalloseimponeenfestivaldecinecaribeno-2245741

Antes que cante el gallo premiered to rave reviews in Puerto Rico in September 2016, obtaining the first position in five theatres, according to information provided to El Nuevo Día. Puerto Rican reviews (in Spanish) include:

• http://www.80grados.net/antes-que-cante-el-gallo-o-la-necesidad-de-rectificar-a-un-pais [A film told from the perspective of an adolescent to allow us to gauge the social fabric of our country]
• http://lacallerevista.com/portada/antes-que-cante-el-gallo-excelente-cine-puertorriqueno-para-un-publico-adulto/34809 [An excellent Puerto Rican film for adult audiences]
• http://www.primerahora.com/entretenimiento/cine/blog/mario-alegre-femenias/posts/antesquecanteelgallo-1174383 [An intense coming-of-age drama]
• http://www.claridadpuertorico.com/content.html?news=320F9979A7DAC227AD48D042AE12A6C4 [One of the best productions of Puerto Rican cinematography]
• http://merodea.com/lifestyle/el-cine-puertorriqueno-que-nos-hacia-falta [The Puerto Rican film that we needed]
• http://www.cine-pr.com/single-post/2016/09/06/Antes-Que-Cante-el-Gallo-2016-1 [One of the best movies filmed in Puerto Rico]

Also see our previous posts https://repeatingislands.com/2016/09/26/puerto-ricos-antes-que-cante-el-gallo-at-the-ttff16, https://repeatingislands.com/2016/04/17/antes-que-cante-el-gallo-an-example-of-self-confident-puerto-rican-cinema and https://repeatingislands.com/2016/04/12/puerto-ricos-antes-que-cante-el-gallo-wins-yellow-robin-award-at-ciffr-2016.