Additionally they organized screenings and established a network for their films to travel around the world. Marichal, on an email interview, reveals the core efforts of El Taller:
Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña|Tercera Serie|Número 2
Meanwhile we had the task of organizing a film and video encounter, which had 6 iterations until we changed the name and concept to Encuentro Internacional de Cine y Vídeo Alternativo, which also had many editions. From those efforts the periodical Encuentro was born, originally conceived as a programme for the event that would present super 8 short films from diverse nationalities.18 Poli Marichal and Kino García became the main representatives of the collective. Poli Marichal, daughter of seminal graphic artist and painter Carlos Marichal, had studied at Boston (Massachusetts College of Art) under Saul Levine and Dan Barnett. Receiving, what she recalled in the aforementioned email interview as an unconditional support and influence from Levine during her stay at Boston. Trained in fine art, she centered her attention on animation films, usually painting over the emulsion. Marichal describes her first instance brushing over film as young student at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, when her mother was writing a narration for a documentary of Puerto Rican master painter José Campeche directed by Amílcar Tirado (director and cinematographer whose film Una Voz en la Montaña was the first Puerto Rican film to be awarded at the Venice Film Festival). Tira-
do taught Poli how to edit at a very early age using a Moviola and also incited her to mark or draw on the transparent leader. Years later she was impressed with the use of the same procedure adapted by Norman McLaren, Stan Brakhage and with the work of other experimental filmmakers such as: Saul Levine, Maya Deren, Luis Buñuel, Bruce Conner, Kenneth Anger, Suzan Pitt, Agnès Varda and Victor Erice. Even though the North American experimental film scene influenced Marichal, she had to contend with finding her own ‘voice’, one that was politically informed about her country’s latent status as a colony. Activism and a concern for the colonial status of the island is implicit in her work, it does not reek of propaganda, but underpins her every decision as a director, as she explains: That’s why in my shorts, the political element, the criticism of the actual status of our country is so significant. It is incredible that the situation has not changed and matter of fact, has worsen. Unfortunately, those little shorts were a protest battle cry and are still relevant in this day. Our AYland continues to suffer the psychological, social and political burden of colonialism. We are tied to a battleship that’s sinking little by little and the only thing that can save us is to join other Caribbean sovereign nations.19 Marichal’s intricate, self-reflecting animations convey an exploration into the inner self. She articulates an outlined attempt
Marichal, Poli, interview by Caroline Gil, September 30, 2013. Translated from Spanish by author. Marichal, Poli, interview by Caroline Gil, September 30, 2013.
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