Rita Moreno reigns in Sundance with the documentary “Only a girl who decided to go for it”

Angels. Rita Moreno was today the queen of the Sundance Film Festival, the most important event in independent cinema, with “Rita Moreno: Only a Girl Who Decided to Go for Him”, a documentary about the lights and shadows of the life of the Latin legend who had at aimed at the Puerto Rican Mariem Pérez Riera.

Moreno, who is one of only 16 people in history with an “EGOT” (winners of at least one Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony), participated today in the premiere of this documentary which, like the rest, Sundance scheduled this year, it was virtual due to the pandemic.

“I had to think about doing this when Brent Miller (one of the producers of the documentary) came up with this idea.”, He confessed in the discussion after the “premiere”.

“But once I decided to do it, the next thing was to promise myself that I would be as honest as possible. That was the intention, that was the goal. Sometimes it was very difficult to be as honest as I had planned, but I remember thinking, “Whatever their questions, I have to answer them as best I can.” And that meant I had to be honest. “, detailed the.

For his part, Pérez Riera emphasized that in this film they did not only aspire to portray Moreno’s public face.

“We wanted to show it to the human being. It was very important for us to open up. And our way of doing this was through a “cinéma verité” style.he showed.

In this sense, the filmmaker pointed out that this is why Moreno appears in the film sometimes without makeup, driving his car, returning home after a long day at work or preparing breakfast.

“We wanted to show a woman that first she is a woman and then she is a star”, he assured.

He survives in Hollywood

From her origins in Puerto Rico to her impressive triumph in acting to her arrival in New York as a child, “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For Her” explores the Oscar winner’s successes for “West Side Story” (1961 )), but also the darkest and darkest corners of his life.

E.g, Moreno talks here about the sexual harassment she experienced in her youth in the film industry and also tells how her Hollywood agent raped her.

The road to fame was full of obstacles and dangers for Moreno as a woman and also as a Latina, as she had to fight against racist prejudices and studies that offered her stupid roles and full of offensive stereotypes.

“I hope that all people who have suffered discrimination and prejudice because of their race or gender (…) will find this film inspiring.”said Pérez Riera.

But the documentary, which does not forget the romantic turmoil of Moreno with Marlon brandy nor was his marriage as idyllic as it seemed Leonard GordonShe also looks with humor and a lot of sympathy at an absolutely brilliant career, attracts an artist full of vitality about to turn 90 and in the same way remembers her facet as an activist over the decades.

In this tribute to Moreno, the stars are not missing.

Eva Longoria, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Estefan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Norman Lear, Whoopi Goldberg, Héctor Elizondo Justina machado are just some of the voices of “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”

And from what he said today with a smile, Moreno is healthy for a while.

I’m 89 years old, I’m still here, my brain is still working (…), I have a documentary about my life, I have a new version of “West Side Story” directed by Steven Spielberg and will be released in December ) … ”, enumerate.

“Right now I’m great, I’m one of the coolest 89-year-old boys I know. I have a hat, I should have worn it today, which says, “I have never been so old as I am. And I like it”he joked.