Puente Teodoro Moscoso, San Juan
Through archival footage, poetic imagery, and intimate moments with locals in modern day Puerto Rico, La Massacre examines the lasting aftermath of the 1937 Ponce Massacre and the ways colonial violence, memory, and resistance continue to echo across the island today.
Support the Film“A meditation on how political violence, resistance, and cultural suppression continue to shape the island today.”
La Massacre is a short documentary essay exploring the lasting impact of the 1937 Ponce Massacre and the emotional scars left behind by the United States in Puerto Rico. Blending archival footage, ambient sound, modern day imagery of Ponce, match cuts, and intimate Spanish voiceover by local Puerto Ricans, the film traces how the wounds of empire still echo through the rhythms of everyday life on the island.
The film moves through atmosphere and observation: the streets of Ponce, its architecture, graveyards, protests, music, and everyday life, capturing an island still carrying the weight of its history. Quiet moments of beauty are contrasted with archival reminders of resistance by Nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos and imagery from War Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson Antonio Denis, creating a documentary that feels personal, reflective, and Puerto Rican.
Inspired by filmmaker Juan Emilio Viguié's films and hidden documentation of the massacre, La Massacre connects Puerto Rico's past to its modern day culture while honoring the resilience, identity, and voices of the people who continue to live through its lasting effects.
La Massacre was heavily inspired by my studies in Professor Knar Gavin's Screening the Planetary Crisis course, where I began researching propaganda, political media, and suppressed histories within documentary film, as well as my creation of One Thousand Voices in Professor Ley Comas' documentary class, where I told the story of a non-binary friend group.
The film comes from a personal place. Isabella Zeferino, my Puerto Rican partner, introduced me to many of the social and political struggles affecting Puerto Rico and encouraged me to research the island's history more deeply. Conversations with them and their family helped shape the emotional direction of the project, as well as the general lack of Puerto Rican knowledge among the American public due to government suppression.
La Massacre aims to connect the island's past and present through emotion rather than direct explanation. As a filmmaker, I'm interested in creating politically engaged documentaries that encourage viewers to reflect on America's weaponized influence and history.
Ethan Miller
The film opens with environmental imagery: Puerto Rican flags moving in the wind, Ponce streets in the morning, coffee on the stove. Archival footage from the Ponce Massacre interrupts these images. Audio from Albizu protests, speeches, and layered ambient sound design create the feeling of a distant memory. The camera moves slowly and observationally, focusing on monuments, graves, architecture, and spaces that still carry the weight of US rule decades later.
La Massacre is a piece on political oppression and a love letter to Puerto Rican identity, resistance, and survival.
Photographs by Director of Photography Isabella Zeferino, capturing the texture, color, and quiet of the island today.
Imagery sourced from War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony by Nelson A. Denis, alongside archival photographs by Carlos Torres Morales originally published in El Imparcial, 1937.
Inspirations across archival Puerto Rican cinema, contemporary music film, and experimental documentary.
Ethan's work focuses on political storytelling, social movements, and communities impacted by oppression. Through documentary filmmaking, Ethan aims to give voice to histories and experiences that are often misinterpreted. La Massacre began through Ethan's close relationships with Izzy and Zay, inspiring a deeper understanding of Puerto Rico's political history and cultural identity. The project reflects their commitment to using film for activism.
@mmiller.film
Izzy strongly believes in Puerto Rican independence and aims to promote anti-colonialism through a deeper understanding of the island's history. Growing up as a Boricua in The Diaspora, Izzy plans to create awareness about U.S. colonialism and voice it across the mainland. They hope to preserve this rich history by encouraging these conversations while giving honor to the voices and memories carried across The Diaspora.
@i.r.z.g
Zay draws a connection between Puerto Rican history and the experiences of Black communities facing systemic oppression. Through this project, Zay connects themes of identity and the exploration of historical references. For Zay, La Massacre represents the power of storytelling to spark important conversations within the youth.
@zaycanstay| Shooting Location | Intended Coverage |
|---|---|
| Puente de los Leones / Teodoro Moscoso Bridge & Flags | Establishing imagery, Puerto Rican flags, environmental cinematography, political symbolism |
| Museo de Arte de Ponce | Exterior architecture, cultural atmosphere, observational footage |
| Streets of Ponce | Street life, colonial architecture, urban textures, ambient city audio |
| Local graveyard near Ponce | Themes of memory, historical loss, slow observational imagery |
| Old San Juan | Colonial architecture, waterfront imagery, street ambience, tourism contrast |
Every dollar goes directly toward making this film possible: transportation between Philadelphia and Puerto Rico, documentary field recording equipment, archival research, and essential production gear.
| Flights to Puerto Rico from Newark, NJ for team | $1,500 |
| Food / local transportation | $300 |
| Sigma 35mm lens | $400 |
| Hard drive | $100 |
| Archival materials / licensing | $200 |
| Total | $2,500 |
The 1937 Ponce Massacre is one of the most violent and least-taught chapters of U.S. colonial history. Through an interpersonal lens, the voices, faces, and rhythms of Puerto Ricans living in its shadow, La Massacre exists to remind audiences of an event that should never have been forgotten.
Your support makes it possible to recapture this history through a modern lens, telling it with the care, depth, and authenticity it deserves.
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Puerto Rico · 2026 · 3–5 min · Digital / Color