Agridulce (Bittersweet) Portraits
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About
Canadian Premiere
In northern Dominican Republic, away from the tourist beaches of Cabarete, four aspiring young musicians study at the world’s only bachata music school: the Academia de Bachata. Under the tutelage of internationally renowned guitarist Martires de Leon, the students — Yurian, Orianny, Edickson, and Frandy — receive both a musical education and mentorship as they grow and find their places in the world.
Both a celebration of bachata, with its heartsick lyricism and upbeat Afro-Caribbean guitar, and a moving coming-of-age story, Agridulce (Bittersweet) is tinged with melancholy but full of joy. Filmmaker Frank Pavich (Jodorowsky’s Dune) spent years with these children and their families, documented here in a nonintrusive, cinéma vérité style. The result is a film that captures the weight of time and circumstance, as the students are forced to grapple with realities beyond their years, while staying rooted in hopefulness of a bright future through music.
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In northern Dominican Republic, away from the tourist beaches of Cabarete, four aspiring young musicians study at the world’s only bachata music school: the Academia de Bachata. Under the tutelage of internationally renowned guitarist Martires de Leon, the students — Yurian, Orianny, Edickson, and Frandy — receive both a musical education and mentorship as they grow and find their places in the world.
Both a celebration of bachata, with its heartsick lyricism and upbeat Afro-Caribbean guitar, and a moving coming-of-age story, Agridulce (Bittersweet) is tinged with melancholy but full of joy. Filmmaker Frank Pavich (Jodorowsky’s Dune) spent years with these children and their families, documented here in a nonintrusive, cinéma vérité style. The result is a film that captures the weight of time and circumstance, as the students are forced to grapple with realities beyond their years, while staying rooted in hopefulness of a bright future through music.
Presented by
Media Partner
