Agliberto Meléndez

Agliberto Meléndez (August 8, 1942^[1] – July 2, 2025) was a Dominican film director best known as the director of A One-Way Ticket (Un Pasaje de Ida), the Dominican Republic's first feature-length film, produced entirely in the Dominican Republic by a Dominican cast and crew. The film became known to American audiences after its 1988 debut in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art's New Directors/New Films Festival. A One-Way Ticket gained some notoriety because of its macabre subject matter; the story of would-be immigrants who die in their desperate struggle to escape a fate of poverty and despair. A One-Way Ticket, shot under very adverse conditions, proved to everyone that it could be done.

In 1979, Agliberto Meléndez founded the Cinemateca Nacional, quickly becoming the meeting place for like-minded film enthusiasts. He single-handedly led the Cinemateca Nacional through very hard times but managed to stay afloat until it was finally forced to close its doors in 1986 following the election of right-wing candidate Joaquín Balaguer. The Cinemateca Nacional introduced classics from the world cinema to a fresh and enthusiastic new audience.

His perseverance and single-minded vision made Agliberto Meléndez the undisputed film pioneer of Dominican Cinema. Until his death, he taught cinema studies in the Dominican Republic and was preparing his next feature: "Del Color de la Noche" based on the life of José Francisco Peña Gómez which he began preproduction in 2025. On July 2, 2025, Agliberto died aged 82.^[2]

• Agliberto Melendez at IMDb
• New York Times Review of One-way Ticket