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The tragic story of the fatal final voyage of the Titanic is common knowledge throughout America. What has remained unknown except to historians and scientists is that a maritime disaster of similar magnitude occurred near Key West just over 100 years ago.
The world premiere of the documentary short “The Poor Man’s Titanic” tells the appalling story of the 400-foot Valbanera, a steamship with almost 500 passengers and crew aboard that sank in a hurricane 42 miles from Key West in 1919. Not a single person survived, nor were any bodies ever recovered.
Part of the Miami Film Festival, “The Poor Man’s Titanic” will premiere at the University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Theatre on April 16th at 9 pm. Tickets are available here.
“The Valbanera was enroute to Havana, Cuba with 488 passengers and crew aboard,” explained director Mike Zimmer. “These were not wealthy people like those aboard the Titanic. They were just trying to start new lives in a different country.”
Because a major hurricane was brewing, the Havana port master denied permission for the ship to enter the harbor. The Valbanera attempted to ride out the storm and foundered and sank off a shoal on September 8, 1919.
Zimmer, an award-winning director of several documentaries and Emmy Award-winning NBC News and Today Show producer Kerry Sanders learned of the Valbanera’s story and partnered to create this eight-minute short documentary.
“I learned about the Valbanera from a woman named Mirta Ojito who was writing a book, using facts about the tragedy along with her imagination to complete a novel. Then we discovered that nobody knew the story of this ship,” said Sanders. “Even the SCUBA diving community, which was surprising, considering the magnitude of the tragedy and that the wreck lies in less than 40 feet of water. I contacted NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for more information. One of their scientists accompanied us on our visit to the site to film on August 24, 2025 and we were fortunate to have beautiful weather and calm seas.”
They used the cutting-edge Insta360 camera to capture unique footage at the wreck site.
Both men are avid divers and devoted to sharing captivating stories through documentaries and videos. “We all need to know about the past. If you’re not looking, you don’t know what’s out there,” said Sanders. “There are some remarkable things to be found and that’s why we do it.”
Zimmer and Sanders are already planning their next short documentary which will take viewers to another historic submerged graveyard in South Florida.
