cinematography
Alván Prado
editing
Raúl Barreras
music
Jonay Armas
Gagá de la 30
sound
Homer Mora
production design
Oliver Rivas
costumes
Palma Ruiz

cast
Yelidá Díaz (Makenya)
Ruth Emeterio (Filomena)
Juan María Almonte (Grandfather)
Génesis Piñeyro (Yelidá)
Diógenes Medina (Leroi)

producer
Fernando Santos Díaz
co-producer
David Baute
production
Guasábara Cine
co-production
Tinglado Film
with the support of
DGCINE
FONPROCINE
ICAA
Programa Ibermedia
Primera Mirada
Television Canaria

international press office
Gloria Zerbinati
gloria.zerbinati@gmail.com

An unwanted pregnancy propels Makenya, a teenager in a sugarcane-surrounded Batey community, into adulthood. Her mother serves the spiritual Mysteries; her grandfather fights for pension rights. As industry mechanization threatens their displacement without compensation, a serpent representing the Mysterious guides Makenya to embrace both her earthly power and multi-dimensional awareness, navigating the realm of the impossible.

2024 Sugar Island
2016 Caribbean Fantasy (doc)
2014 Bajo las Carpas (doc)

“My niece’s pregnancy at thirteen plunged our family into crisis, in a country where abortion is illegal. Despite efforts to find alternatives, time ran out, forcing us to accept the pregnancy. This event reflects a broader generational pattern of early motherhood with an absent fatherhood, wrapped in societal shame and uncertainty. My film delves into the colonial roots of the sugar industry, which exploits Black bodies and perpetuates racial divides. By juxtaposing past uprisings against the horrors of slavery with present-day struggles, the film emphasizes the enduring role of spirituality in liberation movements. Makenya’s journey into teenage motherhood serves as a window into systemic issues, intertwining social consciousness with ancestral wisdom. Sugar Island is an open exploration, seeking freedom through personal and collective awakening. The quest for Black identity and justice persists, urging a return to our roots and the nurturing embrace of maternal heritage.” (Johanné Gómez Terrero)

Johanné Gómez Terrero is an Afro-diasporic artist who positions her work within a Caribbean and decolonial framework. Her field of interest and study encompasses Complex Thinking, Anti-Racist Struggle and Marronage Cinema. The short documentary Caribbean Fantasy sparked her career as a director. She is also involved as a producer and consultant in various development labs. She is a graduate, teacher, and chair coordinator at EICTV Cuba, and holds a Master’s Degree from ESCAC in Spain.