Promotional poster in Spanish for the film "La Graciosa Sueños Canarios" showing a red and white boat on the water with birds flying in the sky, a mountain range, and a setting sun.

La Graciosa - Canary Island Dreams

We have known La Graciosa—officially recognized as the eighth Canary Island—since 1994. This is a status for which the approximately 600 permanent residents, who live together in a single village, fought for many years. Who could have imagined back then the dramatic changes the population of La Graciosa would undergo in the three decades that followed? La Graciosa is a unique microcosm. The film’s protagonists are the various inhabitants of the village—people with whom we have built a relationship of trust over the years.

Through them, the film highlights important, pressing social issues: gender equality, the importance of municipal autonomy, nature and environmental conservation, the development of alternative forms of eco-tourism, questions of social coexistence, respect for the achievements of the older generation, and the loss of traditions. It is a love letter to the joie de vivre and the resilient spirit of the islanders—who, much like a certain famous Gallic village, defend themselves with combativeness and ingenuity against the higher authorities of Lanzarote, the regional government of the Canary Islands, and the central government of Spain. And, more broadly: does paradise exist on Earth? Not all dreams can come true...

July 11, 2025
3:30-7 PM

Court Square Theater
44-02 23rd St, Long Island City

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Dirk Szuszies, Karin Kaper

Karin Kaper was born on June 23, 1959, in Bremen, Germany, and Dirk Szuszies on October 20, 1956, in Dortmund, Germany.

Feature films: “Die letzte Mahadevi” (The Last Mahadevi), about the fate of an Austrian woman who lived as a princess in Burma, was their first joint directorial effort.
This was followed by award-winning documentaries such as “Resist!” and “Another Glorious Day” about the New York Living Theatre. Then came the feature film “Aber das Leben geht weiter” (But Life Goes On), which deals with the very personal topic of flight and expulsion. It was presented in the presence of the directors.

On January 6, 2015, the documentary film “Berlin East Side Gallery” celebrated its highly acclaimed world premiere. As part of the European Capital of Culture 2016, the premiere of the film “We Are Jews from Breslau” took place on November 6, 2016, in Wroclaw. Since then, the film has been invited to major film festivals around the world until 2019. The documentary film “Walter Kaufmann - Welch ein Leben!” (Walter Kaufmann - What a Life!) about the life of the German-Australian Jewish writer Walter Kaufmann celebrated its world premiere in August 2021 at the International Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg and has been shown at several festivals.“La Graciosa - Suenos canarios " will be the ninth production that Karin Kaper Film will release in more than 150 cinemas nationwide.

Older man and woman sitting close together on a white bench by a marina with boats and yachts in the background.
View of an island with mountains and a sandy beach, surrounded by turquoise ocean, from atop a rocky hill under a clear blue sky with some clouds.
An older man with gray hair and beard on a boat, holding the rail, wearing a red and black jacket and a dark baseball cap, with water and distant landscape behind him during sunset or sunrise.
An elderly man sits on a wooden chair outside a white building near the ocean, with a patio table and potted plants, surrounded by cloudy sky and rocky shoreline.
Group of women dressed as characters from the musical 'Cats' performing on stage, wearing colorful costumes with pink, gold, and blue patterns, and waving white plush props shaped like cats
Group of protesters marching along a pathway on a beach, holding signs and banners, with a white building and rocky wall in the background.
A woman with long hair and glasses sitting on a bench with a man, both looking slightly to the side. There is a young girl sitting in a stroller on the woman's left.
Man fishing on a boat near rocky coastline, wearing a large straw hat, sunglasses, a colorful fishing shirt, gloves, and rubber boots, holding a fishing rod over the water.
An elderly woman sitting in a black chair in a cozy room, wearing a patterned long-sleeved shirt, with a wooden bookcase with framed photographs behind her.
An elderly woman with a grey headscarf and a leopard print dress preparing food in a kitchen. She is standing at a table with a floral tablecloth, eggs, bananas, and food containers.