The Fishbowl

Tuesday, April 21 — 2:30 PM

NR | Documentary | 1h 33m | 2023 | Puerto Rico

After years of remission, Noelia’s cancer has returned and is spreading quickly. Exhausted by relentless treatment plans and pills that do more harm than good, she seeks another way out. Brushing aside her boyfriend Jorge’s well-meaning but suffocating gestures, she heads back to Vieques, the blissful eastern Puerto Rican island where she grew up; a land grappling with its own poisoning after decades of contamination from U.S. Army operations. With Hurricane Irma closing in, and alongside her mother in the serene comforts of home, Noelia looks for an answer to her pain in the land she’s always been intertwined with.

In her arresting debut feature, interdisciplinary artist Glorimar Marrero Sánchez submerges us in a cinematic language of healing and reverence, casting a nuanced eye over the deeply felt wounds of colonization that seep into the fabric of daily Puerto Rican life. Isel Rodríguez embodies Noelia with grace and quiet power, laying bare the determination to reclaim her autonomy when faced with the reality of her diagnosis. Coupling lyricism and warmth, La Pecera miraculously unearths how mourning is not without hope.

Directed by: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez

Written by: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez

The festival is sponsored by Latin American Studies; Peace and Conflict Studies; Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies; El Centro; World Languages and Cultures; Belk Library; International and Global Studies; Isabella Cannon Global Education Center; Elondocs; Sociology and Anthropology; and Global Film and Cultures.

Part of the Spring 2026 Latin American Studies film festival, Agua Matters: Environmental Justice in Latin America.