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Agridulce was filmed on location at the Academia de Bachata, which was recently featured in Romeo Santos’ HBO documentary King of Bachata.
Synopsis
In the Dominican town of Cabarete, bachata is a way of life far from the dance halls that it has occupied overseas. With a snapshot of four musical children, each confronting an existential challenge, Agridulce shows how music guides their journey of self discovery. Over five years of filming, director Frank Pavich intimately captures pivotal moments of the children’s coming of age.
Generations collide, and the children search for balance in a world troubled by conflict, migration and cycles of marginalization. Along the way, they’re mentored by a teacher of a school devoted to bachata, the once denigrated music that has become the Dominican Republic’s primary cultural export.​
Influence
Agridulce combines the immersion of narrative fiction with the impact of being absolutely real. Through intimate portraits drawn with a light boundary between interview and dialogue, the film is graphic in its portrayal of society's challenges and unequivocal in its message of hope.
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While the story is particular to Cabarete, it relates to issues faced by communities everywhere. By showing the significance of bachata in these children’s search for identity, Agridulce suggests the benefits that the arts can bring to young lives everywhere.
