Last Rafter (The)
Original Title
El último Balsero- Director: Carlos Rafael Betancourt; Oscar E. Ortega
- Writer: Carlos Rafael Betancourt; Oscar E. Ortega
- Producer: Andrea Lopez; Carlos Rafael Betancourt; Elina Barredo; Oscar Ernesto Ortega
CGiii Comment
After risking his life crossing the Florida Straits on a raft, young Ernesto searches Miami for his missing father. When a political shift makes him America’s first Cuban undocumented immigrant, he must both battle the new fear of deportation and deal with a legacy of intolerance and hate that still haunts him. As he searches for clues about his past, Ernesto works to close old wounds while embracing new possibilities. Through Ernesto’s emotional journey, “The Last Rafter” intelligently addresses ideas about identity, freedom, and toxic masculinity, and shines a revealing light on the nightmare aspects of the American Dream. The story of “The Last Rafter” synthesizes many of the personal experiences of co-directors Carlos R. Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega — Cuban immigrants who, like the film’s protagonist, felt like fish out of water when arriving in a highly polarized America.
Trailer...
Cast & Characters
Hector Medina as Ernesto;
Chaz Mena as Lenin;
Nestor Jimenez Jr. as Ale;
Cristina Garcia as Lucy;
Gabriel Andreu as Jay;
Francisco Porras as Anselmo;
Ariel Texido as Carlos;
Vikina as Shirley;
Teresa Maria Rojas as Teresa;
Carmen Pelaez as Santera;
Rene Lavan as Thomas;
Sarahi Diaz as Paula;
Gabriel Bonilla as Policia;
Gretel Perez as Madre de Ernesto;
Lester Martinez as Raul;
Jose Luis Perez as Bolo;
Jennifer Rodriguez as La Chiqui;
Matthew Degennaro as Doctor;
Emmanuel Pacin Jr. as Ernesto (nino);
Rafael Rincones as Paramedico