Kickstarter

From Juan Agustín Márquez, the Emmy award winning director of 100,000 comes THE LAST COLONY - a close, objective and unbiased look at Puerto Rico’s status and its unique relationship with the United States.  

On November 6, 2012 the people of Puerto Rico will hold a referendum to possibly redefine Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States. The referendum will be a two part ballot. The first part will ask voters if they want a change in status or prefer to remain a US commonwealth. The second part will ask that voters choose from three options: statehood, independence and sovereign free association. The documentary takes place in the months leading up to this referendum and will follow the different campaigns for each of the alternatives.

The film will present the legal, political, cultural and economic implications of each option the Puerto Rican people will face in their referendum. The documentary will explain in detail this intricate debate that has dominated the Island’s politics for over 100 years and how little of this debate is known in the rest of the USA. Above all, the documentary will explain why Puerto Rico’s status should be part of the national conversation.

This documentary will demonstrate the complexity of the issue through a mix of formal and candid interviews that take place in several states and American territories. The film will show that Puerto Rico’s colonial status is caused by a widespread misunderstanding of many complicated and overlooked issues within Puerto Rico and the United States.

We have shot part of the documentary and have done extensive interviews with key political figures such as former Governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (pro-commonwealth advocate), and current Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, Kenneth McClintock (pro-statehood advocate). 

We want to continue the production of this ambitious project by traveling and doing interviews in: 

• Puerto Rico - we have to follow the elections and the campaign that leads up to the referendum vote this November
• Hawaii - to draw comparisons to Puerto Rico. Hawaii is one of the last two states to join the union. It is the only island state
• Guam - because it has a similar colonial situation to Puerto Rico
• New York - to visit the United Nations and interview some of the members of the Special Committee on Decolonization
• Washington DC - to interview politicians and the residents of the District of Columbia 

This is a monumental documentary that will help educate Americans and Puerto Ricans about their mutual relationship. Please help us create The Last Colony with your Kickstarter contribution.