The man no one knew
Short portrait documentary, 2019
ENGLISH SYNOPSIS
The Man No One Knew is an intimate look at Enriquelo, the queer owner of a flea market, devout Catholic and street artist. This documentary portrait is a moving and funny insight into the life of a man best known around town as a character. We follow his work routine and learn of his ethics and artistic inclinations, ultimately revealing a far more complex person that has come to terms with himself through performance.
FRENCH SYNOPSIS
L'homme inconnu porte un regard intime sur Enriquelo, le propriétaire queer d'un vide-grenier, catholique dévot et artiste de rue; un homme connu dans la ville comme "le phénomène de la rue". En le suivant dans sa routine, on découvre finalement une personnalité bien plus complexe qui a trouvé dans la danse une raison d'être.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
I met Enriquelo shortly after Hurricane Maria plowed through Puerto Rico in September 2017. Before that, he was only a character in our neighborhood; someone I would see rehearsing his dance routines in the street from my window across the street. Once I got to know him, capturing his unique energy was the main interest in making the film. On screen you may see a very open and sincere man, but at times you can also see that selective manner in which he shares information. He dictated the amount of access and terms in which he would be filmed, and even planned some shots. In this film I had the opportunity to shoot in a way that would feel intimate and personal by simply spending time with him. It was important for the camera to be hand held, small, and use a wide lens, with few instances of static camera use in the film’s only planned interview. Everything needed to feel like a dance synched with him. This also has to do with how we perceive memory: it is always in a constant flow, moving around and changing our body as we move forward; a subject matter I’ve always been interested to and have explored in previous work.
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Audience Award - Festival de Cine Europeo de Puerto Rico 2018
Official Selection - Queer Shorts Section - Seattle Latino Film Festival 2019
Best Short Documentary Puerto Rico - Rincon International Film Festival 2020
Official Selection - Short Documentary - Syracuse International Film Festival 2020
Best International Short Documentary - Festival Internacional de Cine con Medios Alternativos (FICMA) 2020
FILM CREDITS
Director, Cinematographer & Editor
Oswaldo Colón Ortiz
Producers
Oswaldo Colón Ortiz
Marina Reyes Franco
Cast
Enriquelo
Colorist
Omar Rivera Abreu
Sound Post-Production
Mario Negrón González
Sound Post-Production Studio
Casa Fantasmes Studio
Special Thanks
Alliance Française
El Gran Especial Car Audio
Álvaro Aponte Centeno
Sofía Gallisá Muriente
Mariana Roca
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz
Fernando Sosa
Gustavo Torres Peña
Camille Vandenbunder
Glorimar Marrero Sánchez
