"Extranjera": The Puerto Rican film that connects Puerto Rico with Taiwan

Puerto Rico and Taiwan are on opposite sides of the world, but they may have more in common than it seems: both are mountainous, tropical islands exposed to hurricanes, with identities shaped by complex outside influences.

These parallels form the backdrop of "Extranjera," the first Puerto Rican film shot between Puerto Rico and Taiwan, opening Sept. 10 at Caribbean Cinemas. It tells the story of Epa (Aris Mejías), a young artist who flees Puerto Rico while her father faces a corruption investigation and travels to Taiwan seeking refuge with her mother, with whom she has almost no relationship.

Why does it matter? Beyond being a film led primarily by women, "Extranjera" uses the journey between the two islands to explore what it means to feel like an outsider, whether in a place, a family, or even oneself. It does so by inviting us to look at Puerto Rico from other perspectives, at a moment when Puerto Rican cinema is exploring new territory with roughly twenty films released or set to release in the past year.

• "Taiwan is an island that may be on the other side of the world, but there are some unexpected similarities between Puerto Rico and Taiwan," Michelle Malley Campos told Platea, the director and screenwriter of "Extranjera," her first feature film. "We are more similar than you'd think, and there is something really beautiful about that cultural exchange."

• In addition to Mejías, the film features actors including Puerto Rican Daniel Lugo, Mexican Patricia Reyes Spíndola, and a Taiwanese cast.

Why a co-production between Puerto Rico and Taiwan?

The director chose Taiwan precisely because of how far it is from our archipelago, both physically and culturally. That distance allows her to show that, despite those differences, we navigate "the same concerns we share, no matter how far apart we are."

"She (Malley Campos) needed that experience of having nothing, no cultural reference point. She needed this character to go to a completely different world, and she pulled it off. We all pulled it off," said the film's lead, Aris Mejías ("Cayo," "The Caller"), at the film's red carpet at Fine Arts, ahead of its Puerto Rican theatrical release.

"It is not autobiographical." Although Malley Campos drew on experiences from her own travels, she clarified that Epa's story does not mirror her life. What she does share, she said, is a curiosity about exploring identity, family and belonging.

What do Puerto Rico and Taiwan have in common?

For Lin Yao, a Salvadoran-Taiwanese actor who plays Li Jing in the film, the biggest similarity between the two islands is "the climate," that humid heat that wraps around you, especially in the summers. He told Platea that what he has enjoyed most about Puerto Rico is the beaches and "the people who make this beautiful island. I feel like that is what I love most, that intensity."

"It was incredible to see how other cultures take on the heat, the tropics, the rain. It was incredible," said Mejías, who also appears in films including "Andrea Esperando" and "Fight Back," both with release dates scheduled for November 2026. For the actress, both islands represent a kind of political enigma for the rest of the world, one that is nearly impossible to understand from outside their own borders.

They faced a typhoon. During filming in 2024, production on "Extranjera" was halted for two days when a typhoon arrived, described as a "category 4 hurricane" by Camila Reus Figueroa, one of the producers.

"We had to pause the film for two days, and it really was a very meaningful connection with all our colleagues in Taiwan, sharing our experience here in Puerto Rico with María and how they, too, as a country, as a community, held each other up and supported one another through that process," said Reus, recounting one of many stories behind the production.

For Raúl Abner Samrah, another of the producers, it was a "culture shock" to see how an atmospheric event is handled there compared to Puerto Rico, since everyone stayed calm and everything was fine. "The next day we were already full steam ahead, continuing with the shoot," he said.

"Extranjera" at international film festivals

"Extranjera" had its world premiere in the Official International Section of the 30th Festival Internacional de Cine de Ourense (OUFF) in Galicia, Spain, held in September 2025.

It won the Premio FEISAL (Federación de Escuelas de la Imagen y el Sonido de América Latina) at the Festival Internacional de Cine Ícaro 2025, in Guatemala.

It was also presented at:

• Content Américas in Miami (United States)

• Marché du Film at the Festival de Cannes (France)

• Guadalajara Film Market (GFM) at the Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (FICG) (Mexico)

• Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata (Argentina)

• 17mo Puerto Rico Film Fest

• 21º Festival Tucumán Cine (Argentina)

• Semana de Cine de Lugo (Spain)

"International audiences are really interesting because they don't know Puerto Rico or Taiwan, not 100% one or the other, and there's something like that sense of wonder at discovering Puerto Rican culture, at learning who we are, at figuring out whether this film is typical or not, and there's a really lovely curiosity there," said Mejías.

Zoom out: The moment of Puerto Rican cinema

Alongside "Extranjera," around twenty Puerto Rican films have premiered or are in the process of premiering between 2025 and 2026.

"Puerto Rican cinema is in an extremely beautiful moment. There have been 28 films supported by these ARPA funds, which represents diversity, a diversity of stories, a diversity of perspectives, and that is essential for art and for cinema, that we talk about a little of everything and that we bring each other closer together," said Malley Campos.

For the filmmaker, beyond asking for support for Puerto Rican cinema, space needs to be made for more co-productions with other countries. She also believes there could be more government incentives and support, which could open opportunities for new productions.

"Puerto Rican cinema is in its best era," said Reus Figueroa, who felt that, to keep the industry growing, what is needed is "more financing" and making films "that can be exported to the world" and that open more markets internationally.

For Mejías, the Puerto Rican film landscape is experiencing "a hope and a ferment" with all the recent productions that have generated "a resurgence in the international community." She sums it up this way: "A very beautiful golden age is coming."

What to expect from "Extranjera"

Michelle Malley Campos, director and screenwriter: "It's a film we want to move audiences with, to connect deeply, where one explores the concept of what it means to be a foreigner in one's own skin, in one's own family environment, in one's own social environment, in one's country."

Raúl Abner Samrah, producer. "It's the first film shot between Puerto Rico and Taiwan. And having that opportunity to find that cultural richness is beautiful. But beyond that journey, it's a deeply human film. How many of us haven't felt like foreigners in our family, our surroundings, on this very island?"

Camila Reus Figueroa, producer. "People should come see 'Extranjera' because it is a testament to our capacity to make international cinema where we not only connect the stories of two countries, but also connect our stories with the world."

This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).