Firelei Báez: An Open Horizon (or) the Stillness of a Wound

Working in her Bronx studio, artist Firelei Báez creates a series of paintings that draw upon the rich folklore and colonial history of the Caribbean, where she was born and raised. Exquisitely detailed and vibrantly colored, Báez’s paintings of dramatically shapeshifting figures assert the power of the female form and challenge fundamental ideas around beauty and agency. Shot primarily on film and featuring original choreography inspired by her paintings, this film is a portrait of an artist in creative transition—like the figures in her work—and in constant motion, traveling her surrounding Bronx neighborhood as well as to her glass mosaic commission at the 163rd Street-Amsterdam Avenue subway station in Manhattan.

Directed by Souki Mehdaoui

Director of Photography Daniel Contaldo

Produced by Nick Ravich & Hannah Swayze

Production Services by Ataria Pictures

OFFICIAL SELECTION: OFFICIAL SELECTION | Miami Film Festival [2022 | Honorable Mention: University of Miami Short Documentary Film Award] (2021), Sundance co//ab (2021), Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (2021), Miami Film Festival, [Winner Best Short Documentary] Alburquerque Film + Music Experience (2021), CineFestival San Antonio (2021), DC Shorts International Film Festival (2021), trinidad+tobago film festival (2021), Bushwick Film Festival, DART Barcelona (2021), NewFilmmakers NYC (2021).

FEATURED: Girls In Film, Nowness, Art21