CBH Hosts the 2025 Liberación Film Festival: Two Days of Films, Music, and Conversation | Day 2
The Center for Brooklyn History is excited to partner with the Afrolatino Festival NYC, and the Afrolatin@ Project for the return of the Liberación Film Festival - 5th Edition. This year’s curatorial focus on Panamá, in collaboration with the Day of Independence Committee for Panamanians in New York, highlights documentaries that tell stories of cultural heritage, resilience, and activism.
To learn about and register for Day 1, click here.
This evening celebrates community building, resistance and culture exploring how Afrodescendants have and continue to build collective solidarity through culture and community. We proudly present the World Premiere of Cruzando el Darien (2025), a documentary that follows Afro-descendant and LGBTQIA+ activists as they expose the realities of migration through the Darién Gap. Following is Black Rio! Black Power! (2023), a vibrant film that chronicles the rise of the Black Rio Movement in 1970s Brazil and how it influenced and was influenced by music, culture, and the fight for racial equality.
5:30 PM - Join singer-songwriter Mai-Elka Prado Gil who will be performing on the CBH patio as you arrive.
6:00 PM - Screening of Cruzando el Darien (2025, 26 minutes) directed by Xochil Vergara Panamá about a group of Afro-descendant and LGBTQIA+ activists from the United States who travel to the Darién Gap and uncover a migration reality silenced by a system that excludes and marginalizes and that renders both migrants and surrounding communities invisible. Through their reflections and lived experiences, the film exposes the tensions between human rights, structural racism, and exclusion at the continent’s invisible borders.
6:25 PM - Screening of Black Rio! Black Power! (2023, 70 minutes) directed by Emilio Domingos which explores the transformative power of soul music in 1970s Rio de Janeiro, where dance events became crucial spaces for the political affirmation and resistance of the young black community. Through the lens of the Black Rio Movement, the film highlights the role of music in the struggle for racial equality during Brazil’s military dictatorship and traces its enduring influence on genres like hip–hop and funk.
The screenings will be followed by a moderated talkback including questions from the audience.
This two-day series is presented in collaboration with the Afrolatino Festival of New York and the Afrolatin@ Project, and in partnership the Day of Independence Committee for Panamanians in New York in honor of the 30th anniversary this October 11th of the Annual Panamanian Day Parade in Brooklyn, the largest parade of its kind outside of Panamá.
About the Liberación Film Festival
The Liberación Film Festival is dedicated to curating vibrant and multifaceted narratives. The Festival produces screenings of powerful films that highlight the histories, creative contributions and triumphs of the Afro-Latin American diaspora.
