the
art
Based on a true story, this intimate tale follows Tomás, an immigrant laborer who fled his country by shipping himself in a crate years before the story even begins. Tomás now lives off the grid, performing odd jobs for an upper-middle-class family while saving money to eventually buy a home for the family he’s left behind.
In this scene we find Tomás at the piano with a wrist guard, performing a piece that crescendos and builds amongst a strange, and quiet audience of his employers. There is a lot said in the silence, for Tomás its the internal acknoweldgement that he needs to escape this place.
“This journey reflects Tomás’ own social and emotional turmoil: even though he emigrated to the US, he has psychologically never left his crate. It was inspired by a true story I experienced growing up in Miami.” —L.G.
Amigo had it’s premiere at Miami Film Festival, marking Gispert’s directorial debut. The film is currently traveling the festival circuit with the next showing at the New York Latino Film Festival.
about
the
artist
the
artist
Luis Gispert is an internationally recognized visual artist, living and working between Miami, FL and Brooklyn, NY. His multidisciplinary practice extends beyond sculpture to include photography, painting, and film. His work has been showcased at several renowned and influential institutions all over the world that include, the Whitney Museum, the Royal Academy in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Shanghai Museum of Contemporary, Perez Art Museum, Palazzo Brocherasio in Turin, and the Haifa Museum in Israel.
Born in New Jersey to Cuban immigrant parents, he was raised between New York City and Miami. Coming of age in Miami’s visually rich cross-section of cultures inspired him to become a visual artist. He attended Miami Dade College and earned an MFA in sculpture from Yale University.
His artwork deals with themes of race, class, cultural identity, and the immigrant experience of loss and hope.