Perfume de Gardenias

Viewpoints

World Premiere

FEATURE | Puerto Rico, Colombia | 97 MINUTES | Spanish | English subtitles

PERFUME DE GARDENIAS

Comedy, Drama, LGBTQIA

Isabel (Luz Maria Rondon), an elderly woman living in a middle-class neighborhood in Puerto Rico, has just become a widow. Her husband has passed away, and her adult daughter is staying with her to help her with the funeral. As Isabel mourns this loss, she doesn’t know how to occupy her time moving forward. The uncertainty changes, however, when she crafts a beautiful custom-made funeral for her husband—and it catches the attention of Toña (Sharon Riley), a pious but domineering woman who involves herself in community events, including local funerals. Toña is the self-appointed leader of a coterie of gossipy elderly women from the neighborhood, and she enlists Isabel to put her unusual talents to good use and design custom, idiosyncratic funerals for her ailing neighbors. As Isabel agrees to perform this peculiar line of work—offering seniors a chance to dictate how their lives should be honored, before they die—she also finds new purpose in her own life. 

Macha Colón’s Perfume de Gardenias endearingly foregrounds nuanced older characters—that we typically don’t see as protagonists—within a colorful and dynamic narrative, bolstered by darkly comedic humor and an authentic depiction of Puerto Rican culture and generational differences. With infectious energy, Colon’s feature directorial debut explores grief and death in a refreshingly candid manner, and delivers whimsical storytelling that is both lively and poignant. —Jose Rodriguez

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CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Macha Colón

Gisela Rosario Ramos is Macha Colón, a Puerto Rican artist. She received grants from the Art Matters Foundation and NALAC, and the United States Artists Fellowship. She is part of Northwestern University’s Puerto Rican Artist Initiative. Perfume de Gardenias is her first feature film.

Director
Macha Colón
Producer
Arleen Cruz-Alicea, Consuelo Castillo, Adriana Ángel, Gisela Rosario Ramos
Screenwriter
Gisela Rosario Ramos
Cinematographer
Pedro Juan López
Editor
Juan Soto
Composer
Guarionex Morales
Cast
Luz María Rondón, Sharon Riley, Katira María, Carmen Nydia Velázquez, Carmen Milagros Ortiz, Flor Joglar, Abner Rivera

CONTACTS

US Sales Contact
Arleen Cruz-Alicea
3 Gardenias
San Juan, 00917
perfumedegardenias.prod@gmail.com
International Sales Contact
Arleen Cruz-Alicea
3 Gardenias
San Juan, 00917
perfumedegardenias.prod@gmail.com
Print Source
Adriana Angel
2.35 Digital
Bogotá, 111311
Phone: +(57) 3133860697
adriana@2-35.tv
Press Contact
Pilar Dirickson Garrett
Cinema Tropical
10012
Phone: (212)254-5474
pilar@cinematropical.com