Todos somos inocentes hasta que se nos pruebe lo contrario...

Este es uno de los temas que  aborda el cortometraje titulado Ráfaga, el cual nos plantea la lucha que liberan nuestros jóvenes ante la presión de grupo, hasta donde pueden llegar, y como enfrentan las consecuencias de sus actos. Un artículo periodístico inspiró la historia y puso a escribir a Michelle Malley Campos, una joven directora comprometida con su carrera y enfocada en contar historias que necesitan ser escuchadas. Este siendo su segundo corto, Ráfaga  comienza en estos días una corrida por los mas importantes festivales del género. Su primer corto luego de graduarse de New York University fue Dos Taquillas, premiado en el reto de 24 horas de Cinemovida con el primer lugar.

“Siempre es cuesta-arriba perseverar por lo que a uno le gusta hacer pero con determinación y paciencia se logra cualquier meta,” dice la también productora ejecutiva del proyecto. Habían pasado casi tres años desde que escribió el libreto cuando Malley Campos empezó a reclutar el equipo y elenco para este cortometraje ambicioso. Al obtener  el apoyo de Jesús Romero como productor, Sonia Gonzalez como asistente de director y Mariano Medina como coordinadora de producción, el proyecto empezó a cobrar alas. Sería su tercera colaboración con la joven Alejandra Ramos Riera—su debut dramático protagonizando como “Sore Hidalgo”—y su primera colaboración con Daniel Salinas, intérprete de “Gustavo Arrenda.”

Luego de innumerables esfuerzos, propuestas, “scouts”, actividades pro fondos y cabildeo en general se logra la etapa tan esperada de filmación gracias en gran parte a la participación generosamente gratuita de miembros de la industria del cine y donaciones de parte de amigos y familiares.

El corto cuenta además con la participación especial de la Primera Actriz Cordelia González, interpretando el papel de “María de Jesús Ocasio”, madre de Gustavo, y el actor Jorge Luis Ramos.

El 15 de este mes, como celebración del lanzamiento al circuito de festivales, la Filmoteca Nacional de Puerto Rico realizó una presentación especial del cortometraje para colaboradores, actores e invitados especiales, seguido por un “after party” en el local Arroba en Santurce abierto al público.

Director's Statement

It came to me while I was reading an article from my university newspaper. Like a flash of a random memory—an image, a moment—it suspended itself behind my eyes: a mother and daughter odiously staring each other down. No, wait, a mother and a girl—her son’s school crush—stare at each other. Where? On a bench outside a courtroom. Why? Her son raped the girl and the mother has built a case against her. And the rest unraveled. Two years later I was beginning to think this would be another script I would toss in a drawer to move on to the next idea. I actually renewed my confidence in it after doing just that. Jesús Romero approached me to direct a short for a 24hour film challenge. After it won Best Short at the competition, we looked at each other thinking we should do this again sometime. Enter “Ráfaga”.
I envisioned “Ráfaga” to touch upon a thoroughly-conversed subject in a way that compels the audience to consider a different point of view and exchange varying ideas about the issue. I wanted to make it difficult to take sides and try to present the gray areas that are ignored on the way to the black or white. Is it wrong to pity the boy who raped the girl he liked because he was too drunk to realize what he was doing? Is it right to condemn the girl for flirting with him and giving him every reason to believe she was ready to have sex? What is right or wrong? Everyone has their own fierce opinion over this delicate matter, but the truth is divided between moments that a spectator judging from the outside will never grasp—the moment they first locked eyes; the moment they knew they liked each other; the moment she got into his car; the moment they first kissed; the moment she became frightened; the moment he decided not to stop; the moment her world was torn apart. We can choose to assign the victim and monster labels, but we cannot pretend to know the truth.
Making this film was an incredible, 2-sided learning process for me because of the material and the people I worked with. On one side I learned a lot about myself and my creative process, and on the other I discovered the immense amount of support I have as a young filmmaker. I had the wonderful opportunity of having professionals with decades of experience mold this film into the vision I had for it, and the encouragement is never-ending. I am incredibly fortunate to have people rooting for me and my career and I plan to do them proud, especially my # 1 fans: my parents.

Ok, here we go!

Hello everyone! I'm very new to this, so bear with me.

Welcome to the official page of my short film "Ráfaga". It's still in diapers, but with a little help from hungry fans like yourselves it'll eventually turn into something awesome. I'm open to suggestions on how to make this page better.

Enjoy!
~Michelle