The Darkness: Lessons on Solar Energy, Community, and Power
Nelson Varas Díaz
Official Selection
𖤘 Short: Documentary, Ethnographic
“This film offers lessons that shine well beyond Puerto Rico, reminding us that sustainable futures are already being made in communities that refuse to give up.”
The Darkness celebrates the bold resilience of the Alto de Cuba community in Puerto Rico. Long left without reliable electricity and abandoned by state infrastructure, they chose not to wait. Together with grassroots organisation Casa Pueblo, they built their own solar future – restoring power, safety, and dignity on their own terms.
What emerges is not only a story of technology but of collective return: neighbours uniting to reclaim autonomy, to resist privatisation, and to show how light – literal and symbolic – can transform fear into possibility. As the director writes: “collective action can ignite hope, power and change in the face of crisis.”
Dr. Nelson Varas-Díaz is a professor of social-community psychology at Florida International University’s Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies. He directed the award winning documentaries Collapse, The Ear, and The Bee. Together, his films have garnered more than 100 sets of laurels in international film festivals.
Director: Nelson Varas Díaz
Producers include: Sheilla R. Madera, Mark Padilla & Daniel Nevárez Araújo
Courtesy of the artist