Agridulce (Bittersweet)
Sunday 28th of June 2:00pm
FRANK PAVICH | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 2025 | 98"
A coming-of-age story set in the Dominican Republic, where a group of aspiring young Bachata artists search for answers to love and life through their music.
In the Dominican town of Cabarete, Bachata is a way of life. While fans across the globe dance to it with fervor, on the island where it was born, Bachata is a spiritual fabric. With five years of filming, director Frank Pavich (Jodorowsky’s Dune) captures the coming of age of Dominican child musicians, their island and the music they are poised to inherit.
Generations collide, and the children struggle for balance. Along the way, they’re mentored by Martires de Leon, a world-famous guitarist and teacher at a school devoted to the music that has become the Dominican Republic’s primary export
"Over ten years in the making, the film is an intimate portrait of four young musicians, their families, and the town of Cabarete. The time invested, the committed small crew, and the production's deep connection to the community allowed us to ease into the realities of our subjects on their own terms. Drawing on the immersive, observational traditions of cinéma vérité, Agridulce finds its emotional weight in the continuous use of space and myriad, significant details: raindrops falling from a palm leaf, the swagger of a young man leaving a basketball game, or the gentleness with which a father wakes his son.”
CREDITS
DIRECTOR:
Frank Pavich
PRODUCER:
Benjamin de Menil
EXCUTIVE PRODUCER:
Donald Rosenfeld
EDITOR:
Fabian Caballero
NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD
OTHER AWARDS
- Sundance Film Festival: World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation
- International Documentary Association (IDA):
- Best Editing (Rik Chaubet)
- Best Writing (Johan Grimonprez)
- Belgian Film Critics Association: André Cavens Award for Best Film
- Docville Festival: Audience Award
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