Join us for a screening of the short film compilation, Sin Vergüenza, included in the exhibition Cultural Ties at Kennedy Heights Arts Center (part of the 2026 FotoFocus Biennial: The Long View), and the specially selected feature-length film Carmita. Guest Film Curator Mary Leonard will give an introduction to each of the films and lead a Q&A session with the audience afterward.

Caribbean Eye presents Sin Vergüenza (Shameless): a series of short film clips and videos featuring unabashed, uninhibited performances by Cuban and Puerto Rican female and female-identifying singers and dancers spanning the period from the 1940s through the present, followed by the feature film Carmita, directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas (2013, 80 min.).

Synopsis of Carmita: At the beginning of the decade of the 1950s, Carmen Ignarra left Cuba with the intention of becoming a Hollywood star but, she recounts, her career was cut short by her controlling husband, the Mexican producer Santiago Reachi. Today, she survives, surrounded by her memories, in an old semi-abandoned mansion. However, as Laura Amelia cleans and restores the house and engages Carmita in conversation, a more complex psychological portrait is revealed.

The curator of Sin Vergüenza, Mary Leonard, will introduce and discuss the different ways these performers broke ground at different times, impacting audiences and leaving their mark because they dared to say and do what not everyone would or could at a particular moment in time, or, if they were unable to do this, what held them back. Join us to discuss your impressions of these performers and performances after watching the films.

This series is a presentation of Mary Leonard's ongoing project, Caribbean Eye.

Content includes sexual language and pole dancing.

Free and open to the public. Get your FREE tickets now!

Two screenings available: September 12 and October 10

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION: Located at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, 6620 Montgomery Road. Our side has a big mural on it. The building is wheelchair accessible and has no stairs. Plenty of parking in our lot. Bathrooms are ADA. Seating is general admission. The film Carmita will have English subtitles.

Contact the host of Film Screening, Guest Film Curator Talk, and Q&A with Mary Leonard - September 12

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