"This (A) rare cinematic archive is the animating force behind Ramón Rivera Moret’s Everything Seemed Possible, a moving new documentary about Puerto Rico in the 1950s and 1960s, a period when progress—economic and otherwise—appeared all but inevitable.
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In the latest hit album by Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, many songs lament the island’s regrettable material conditions...By conjuring and revaluing Puerto Rico’s rich cultural past, Rivera Moret and Bad Bunny alike make the case for their island’s self-worth. They also attempt to recapture a sense of hope, one rooted in remembering, not forgetting." ​
"The spirit of cinematic community is celebrated in “Todo parecía possible” by Ramón Rivera Moret. The film revisits Puerto Rico’s utopian moment through the lens of rural filmmaking in the 1950s and 60s. Accompanying the film is the short program A Better Tomorrow for Puerto Rico, featuring three titles tracing the beginnings of filmmaking in Puerto Rico, including “Las manos del hombre” (1952), by Jack Delano.
Olaf Möller, the strand’s programmer, said: “It’s a space to deepen curiosities and acts as connective tissue for the wider festival, weaving together diverse narratives and expanding on our Focus programs. It’s an opportunity to reflect on cinema’s cultural and political legacies across time and marvel at some of the greatest filmmakers that history has produced, those celebrated and those forgotten."
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"A large, ambitious, and critical reckoning with the politics of mid-twentieth century Puerto Rico—a time that saw the U.S. bring Puerto Rico into the network of global capitalism. A story told through an extraordinary archive of films produced to reflect, interpret, and critique the changes taking place locally and in communities across Puerto Rico from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. An essential record of an important chapter in film history and the economic and ideological forces impacting Puerto Rican society."
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--Former MoMA Film Curator John Hanhardt
"With Everything Seemed Possible and the restoration of the DIVEDCO films, I want to spark both reflection and conversation about the films, the period in which they were made, and the generation of Puerto Ricans who, in a short time, transformed the country by building infrastructure and educational and cultural institutions. The project ultimately failed, and for decades now the institutions built at that time have been dismantled or made dysfunctional.
But there is much to learn from this period in imagining and building the future. A strong spirit of solidarity remains in the country. The DIVEDCO films’ embrace of community and their utopian spirit can continue to be a source of inspiration."
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© 2024 Ramón Rivera Moret / Oren Rudavsky Productions