Sagrado, Caribbean Cinemas partner to give students access to film industry
To support Puerto Rican cinema, Sacred Heart University (Sagrado) and Caribbean Cinemas have signed a collaborative agreement enabling Sagrado students to gain professional experience in various aspects of Caribbean Cinemas’ operations. This partnership aims to facilitate learning about the company’s development and enhance students’ professional growth.
Caribbean Cinemas, a movie theater company in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, will showcase student productions from Sagrado’s Ferré Rangel School of Communication’s Audiovisual and Film Production program, offering them an opportunity to present their work on the big screen.
The first of these exhibitions was held at the Caribbean Cinemas Fine Arts Cinema Café in Miramar. “La Última Tanda” (“The Last Showing”), a compilation of the best student projects from the program, is presented at the end of each academic semester.
Twenty-two productions by more than 60 students, including music videos, commercials and documentaries, were exhibited. Four documentaries were part of Sagrado’s Community Outreach, where students “showed their commitment to building a more supportive community in justice and peace.”
Next semester, Sagrado and Caribbean Cinemas will host a competition among student productions. The winning production will be shown in selected Caribbean Cinemas theaters in Puerto Rico next year.
“The partnership with Caribbean Cinemas is extremely important for Sagrado and our Ferré Rangel School of Communication,” said Gilberto J. Marxuach Torrós, president of Sagrado. “It’s a great example of what academia and industry can achieve when we work together to promote the development of Puerto Rican youth. We thank Robert Carrady, his daughter Hannah and the entire Caribbean Cinemas team for making this partnership possible.”
“Film is an industry with great potential for growth in Puerto Rico, and this collaboration will provide important avenues of development for our future filmmakers and industry professionals,” he added.
Robert Carrady, president of Caribbean Cinemas, stated, “For us at Caribbean Cinemas, it was a no-brainer when we were approached by Sagrado to establish this type of partnership where both the students and us will benefit from the results we can achieve together.”
“Our vision is always to be at the forefront, and what would be better than to establish collaborative ties with the young talent of Puerto Rico in Sagrado, our neighbors in the Santurce community, who are extremely interested in learning about and being part of this wonderful industry that is filmmaking,” he added.
Enhancing student creativity
Sagrado’s academic project aims to boost student creativity through real-world practice. “The exhibition of their audiovisual productions in Caribbean Cinemas theaters is an unparalleled experience. Our hope is that the opportunity to show at these theaters will serve as a stimulus for our students to continue working and producing high-quality works. The works compiled in ‘La Última Tanda’ demonstrate that there is a lot of talent in our youth and a great potential to transform our society with their creativity and innovation,” said Anuchka Ramos-Ruiz, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Sagrado.
“‘La Última Tanda’ has been held for many years under the tutelage of the School of Communication faculty and is one of the most competitive and esteemed events for our students every semester,” said Nadesha K. González, dean of the Ferré Rangel School of Communication.
“We’re excited for our students, who continue to enrich their knowledge and tools through our active learning methodology to further develop their skills in a dynamic and modern environment until they become professionals capable of creating effective communication strategies,” she said.
“This alliance with Caribbean Cinemas offers our students an opportunity for the local film industry to meet the new breed of audiovisual producers, screenwriters, technicians, and directors in action,” she added.
This year, “La Última Tanda” featured an official poster created by Jan Ortega Santiago, a student in the 3D Animation, Visualization and Interactivity program with a minor in visual arts at the School of Arts, Design and Creative Industries.
