How to Watch
Includes Introduction by Rita Moreno.
If you are a fan of musicals, you surely know Rita Moreno from her fiery performance as Anita in the 1961 filmed version of West Side Story. And if you were a child of television in the 1970s, you know her as a mainstay on PBS’ Electric Company. (Her full-throated scream of “Hey, you guys!” opened every show.) But do you know the rest of her incredible story? Director Mariem Pérez Riera has crafted a documentary as thrilling as Moreno’s brilliant, breathtaking career, which after eight decades, is still going strong.
By the 1970s, Rita Moreno was already an acclaimed performer, with the rare distinction of having won the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy awards (making her a so-called EGOT winner). Born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano in Puerto Rico in 1931, Moreno decided, at a young age, to be the girl who decided to go for it, battling sexism, racism, and every other conceivable barrier in her desire simply to be the best entertainer in the business. “Thanks to her infectious laugh and caustic sense of humour, as well as her honesty about what she's witnessed, we are treated to a welcome portrait of an artist who continues to radiate us with her talent.” --Jason Gorber, POV Magazine
Director Biography
Born in Puerto Rico to a famous comedian and a singer and painter, Mariem Pérez Riera grew up submerged in the arts and set on a career in filmmaking. She made her feature documentary debut with Croatto, la huella de un emigrante (2016). Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021) is her second feature.
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