Liborio

  • 99'
  • Dominican Republic
  • 2021

Starting with a poor farmer, this story ends in revolt. Olivorio (‘Liborio’) Mateo disappears without trace during a hurricane in the year 1908 in the south of the Dominican Republic. His family and fellow villagers think he is dead, but he suddenly reappears, returned from heaven on a mission. From then on, his prophecies and healing powers expand his group of followers, and he retreats with them into the mountains to start a commune in freedom.

In seven scenes, Liborio manifests the spirit of this messianic figure and the people who are inspired by his lessons to this day. This sensory tale of the origins of a community that combines spirituality and the struggle for self-determination consists of multiple, interwoven perspectives. Immediately after its foundation, the community aroused the authorities’ suspicions and, after the 1916 American invasion, tensions developed into an armed struggle.

Filmmaker Nino Martínez Sosa’s feature film debut unearths an underexplored part of Dominican culture and identity from collective memory. He visited villages where ‘Liborism’ is kept alive in ritual, prayer and song, thereby connecting this dramatised history to the present.

  • 99'
  • Dominican Republic
  • 2021
Director
Nino Martínez Sosa
Premiere
World premiere
Countries of production
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Qatar
Year
2021
Festival Edition
IFFR 2021
Length
99'
Medium
DCP
Language
Spanish
Producers
Fernando Santos Díaz, Nino Martínez Sosa, Maite Rivera Carbonell
Production Companies
Guasabara Cine, Balsié Guanábana Macuto, Quenepa
Sales
Pluto Film Distribution Network GmbH
Screenplay
Nino Martínez Sosa, Pablo Arellano
Cinematography
Óscar Dúran
Editor
Ángel Hernández Zoido, Nino Martínez Sosa
Production Design
Eumir Sanchez
Sound Design
Maite Rivera Carbonell
Cast
Vicente Santos, Karina Valdez, Fidia Peralta, Ramón Emilio Candelario, Jeffrey Holsman, Freddy Ginebra, Anderson Mojica
Website
http://liboriofilm.com/
Director
Nino Martínez Sosa
Premiere
World premiere
Countries of production
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Qatar
Year
2021
Festival Edition
IFFR 2021
Length
99'
Medium
DCP
Language
Spanish
Producers
Fernando Santos Díaz, Nino Martínez Sosa, Maite Rivera Carbonell
Production Companies
Guasabara Cine, Balsié Guanábana Macuto, Quenepa
Sales
Pluto Film Distribution Network GmbH
Screenplay
Nino Martínez Sosa, Pablo Arellano
Cinematography
Óscar Dúran
Editor
Ángel Hernández Zoido, Nino Martínez Sosa
Production Design
Eumir Sanchez
Sound Design
Maite Rivera Carbonell
Cast
Vicente Santos, Karina Valdez, Fidia Peralta, Ramón Emilio Candelario, Jeffrey Holsman, Freddy Ginebra, Anderson Mojica
Website
http://liboriofilm.com/