Platanero

Platanero
Directed byJuan Frank Hernandez
Written byJuan Frank Hernandez
Vincent Labelle
Produced byLaurence Ly
Beatrice Moukhaiber
StarringIrdens Exantus
Stanley Exantus
CinematographyBenoit Jones-Vallée
Edited byMarianne Langston
Music byMaxime Fortin
Production
companies
Films Camera Oscura
Mentes Fritas
Distributed byLes Films du 3 mars
Release date
  • January 26, 2025 (2025-01-26) (Sundance)
Running time
25 minutes
CountriesCanada
Dominican Republic
LanguagesHaitian Creole
Spanish

Platanero is a short horror film, directed by Juan Frank Hernandez and released in 2025.[1] A coproduction of companies from Canada and the Dominican Republic, the film stars Irdens Exantus and Stanley Exantus as Gran-Fré and Ti-Fré, two brothers from Haiti living in a shantytown refugee camp in the Dominican. Gran-Fré supports them by working on a banana plantation, but a mysterious beast stalks the banana trees when the brothers try to go steal food in the darkness of night.[2]

The cast also includes Jean-Mathieu Bérubé, José María Cabral, Ramón Emilio Candelario, Carlo Harrietha and Jonathan St-Armand in supporting roles.

The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.[1]

The film received a Quebec Cinema Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film at the 27th Quebec Cinema Awards,[3] and was shortlisted for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in the Best Short Film category in 2026.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "« Platanero » de Juan Frank Hernandez se retrouvera en compétition à Sundance". Qui Fait Quoi, December 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Yasmin Mercedes, "Platanero representará a RD en el Sundance Film Festival 2025". RDE Digital, December 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Québec Cinéma dévoile les finalistes aux Prix IRIS 2025". CTVM, October 8, 2025.
  4. ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "(PCCQ 2026) Les finalistes dévoilés". Films du Québec, January 14, 2026.