Cuba

90 miles (United States), 2001.
A Cuban-born filmmaker recounts the strange fate that brought him as a groomed young communist to exile in Miami in 1980 during the dramatic Mariel boatlift. The story of an immigrant family and how the historical forces around them shaped their personal relationships and attitudes towards the world around them. 

Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas (Cuba), 1991.
A satire about the life of the Cuban people. Alicia, a culture instructor, is sent to a small town “Maravillas”, which is itself an exaggerated, but very ingenious reflection of the real Cuba. The adventures that she has there are almost as crazy and senseless as the ones lived by the other Alice (in Wonderland), reflecting the indoctrination, coercion, absolutisms, and many other everyday problems in Cuban society.

Amigos (United States), 1985.
Beginning in May, 1980, 130,000 Cubans departed from the port of Mariel for Key West, Florida. Ramon is a “Marielito”, the new Cuban refugee. His adaptation to life in Miami is a difficult process.

Azucar amarga — Bitter Sugar (1996).
An idealistic young Cuban Communist sours on the political conditions in his country and is willing to let his girlfriend and family go to take action.

Balseros (United States), 2005.
The triumphant account of seven Cuban refugees who risked everything in pursuit of the American Dream. Follows a lively group of rafters, many of whom were detained at the Guantanamo naval base before being allowed onto American soil.

Barrio Cuba (Cuba), 2005.
The leading characters live life to its fullest, propelling themselves over and over against an uncertain fate, searching for a way out. The harsh reality of the barrio contests them, but they never lose the hope of a better future

Before Night Falls (United States), 2000.
A look at the life of Reinaldo Arenas, from childhood in Cuba to his death in New York City. His writings and homosexuality get him in trouble with Castro’s Cuba and he spends two years in prison before leaving for the United States. 

Cuba, caminos de revolución (Cuba), 2005.
A seven-part summary of the Cuban revolution and history. Beginning with the story of Che Guevara’s influence, it moves on to the events of 1959 and beyond, and then looks at the stream of exiles (from the Batistianos to Elian Gonzalez), the arts that make up Cuban culture, Cuba’s civil and military aids to other countries, and the relationship between Fidel Castro and Cuba.

Fresas y chocolate (Cuba), 1994.
A young revolutionary and a gay dissident craft a special friendship as they both question themselves and aspects of the Cuban Revolution. 

Guantanamera (Cuba), 1995.
In this romantic comedy, Yoyita, a world-famous diva, returns to her home town of Guantanamo for an elegant reception and a surprise reunion with her once beloved, Candido. Overjoyed with the rekindled memories of her first love, Yoyita’s elated heart fizzles while in Candido’s embrace. Joining Yoyita’s funeral procession back to Havana are her sexy niece Gina, a former professor blacklisted for political nonconformity, and her husband Adolfo, a tasteless government official in charge of the funeral proceedings. As the cortege winds westward across Cuba, its path keeps crossing that of Mariano, a gallant truck driver who once had a crush on Gina and whose recurring presence crystallizes her doubts about her marriage.

Guerrilla Radio: The Hip-hop Struggle under Castro (United States), 2007.
A look at hip-hop in Cuba, where artists work in an environment of poverty and political repression. Considers whether an anti-authoritarian art form can flourish in a totalitarian state.

Soy Cuba — I am Cuba (Soviet Union/Cuba), 1964.
A dramatization of the decadence of Batista’s Havana and the poverty that fueled the Cuban Revolution.

Lejos de la isla — Far from the island (United States), 2005.
A documentary about the diaspora of Cubans from Castro’s state to America during the second half of the 20th century.

Looking for a Space: Lesbians & Gay Men in Cuba — Buscando un espacio: los homosexuales en Cuba (United States), 1993.
A documentary film examining the treatment of lesbians and gay men during the early years of the Cuban Revolution and perspectives of current residents of Cuba on questions of political ideology and sexual identity.

Lucía (Cuba), 1968.
Deals with the theme of women and revolution by following the lives of three different women named Lucía during three different revolutionary periods of Cuba’s history: the Cuban War of Independence in 1895, the Machado era in the 1930’s, and post-revolutionary Cuba of the 1960’s. 

O Mamute siberiano — The Siberian Mammoth (Cuba), 2004.
Documentary which examines the creation and history of the first film jointly produced by a Cuban and Soviet team: “Soy Cuba” (I am Cuba) in 1963.

Mariposas en el andamio — Butterflies on the scaffold (Cuba), 1997.
A rare view of what day-to-day life is like for the gay and drag community in modern Cuba.

Memorias del subdesarrollo — Memories of Underdevelopment (Cuba), 1968.
Set in the early 1960’s, a study of Cuban society before and after the revolution as seen through the eyes of a man who is a landlord and self-styled intellectual/writer. This was the class of people not sufficiently motivated to leave when Castro came to power, but also did not fit into his new society.

Miel para Oshún (Cuba), 2004.
When his father dies, a Cuban man raised in the United States learns that he was not abandoned by his mother but taken illegally out of Cuba. He returns to Cuba to search for her, helped by his cousin and a taxi driver.

The Missiles of October (United States), 1974.
A dramatization of the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962. Looks at the tension and decision making process President Kennedy and his staff endured trying to make a firm point about Cuba while keeping the US out of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

La muerte de un burocrata (Cuba), 1966.
Sarcastic and humorous portrayal of Cuban bureaucracy as seen in the story of a man’s mounting frustration with his fruitless attempts to procure the pension of a recently-deceased uncle.

La noche de los inocentes (Cuba), 2007.
A young man, the victim of a severe beating, has been hospitalized in Havana. The perpetrator appears to have been a transvestite. Mercedes, a nurse, convinces Frank, an ex-cop, to investigate the case. Taking place entirely over the course of one night (December 28th; the “Day of the Innocents”), the man’s hospital room becomes crowded with family and some unexpected visitors, gradually revealing family secrets, hidden desires, and the finally uncovering what exactly happened to the young man.

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (United States), 2006.
When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1900s, the country faced an immediate crisis — feeding the population — and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low-energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil-fuel intensive farming to small, less energy-intensive organic farm and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one.

Retrato de Teresa — Portrait of Teresa (Cuba), 1979.
Teresa is a housewife and mother whose involvement in political and cultural groups incurs the displeasure of her husband.

Saving Elian (United States), 2001.
Documentary report with interviews of participants and observers on both sides of the controversy which erupted after a five-year-old Cuban boy was saved from the waters off Florida, precipitating a political and social firestorm. Explores how the child, Elián González, became a metaphor for the 40-year struggle in U.S.-Cuba relations.

Sin embargo — Nevertheless (United States), 2003.
After the Cuban revolution in 1959 and the U.S. embargo that followed it, the Cuban people were left to their own ingenuity to survive. Deprived of the most basic goods, the people scavenged the island and reworked what they found in creative ways to fill their needs. Shot entirely in Cuba, this documentary film is a look at the indomitable and resilient spirit of the island’s inhabitants. 

Thirteen Days (United States), 2000.
Oct. 1962, for thirteen extraordinary days the world stood on the brink of destruction. Krushchev wouldn’t back down, President Kennedy wouldn’t give in. Inspired by the real-life events that took place in the Kennedy White House.

Those I Left Behind (United States), 2006.
Filmed in both the U.S. and Cuba, this documentary explores the transnational ties that bind Cuban-Americans in the U.S. to their families still living on the island. Trapped by the failed policies of their governments, Cuban families in both countries have endured decades of separation and loss. The film also sheds light on the travel restrictions imposed by the U.S. government and its emotional impact on the lives of four Cuban families.

La ultima cena — The Last Supper (Cuba), 1976.
Set in Havana at the end of the 18th century, a guilt-ridden count invites twelve of his plantation slaves to a “last supper” during which he attempts to teach them what he sees as the crucial elements of Christianity, namely, submissive obedience to their master and joy in suffering. When the count breaks his word, however, and forces the slaves to work the next day (Good Friday), they revolt and the count’s punishment is swift and brutal. 

Viva Cuba (Cuba), 2006.
In a tale akin to “Romeo and Juliet,” the friendship between two children is threatened by their parents’ differences. Malú is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito’s mother a poor socialist proud of her family’s social standing, places similar restrictions on her son. What neither woman recognizes is the immense strength of the bond between Malú and Jorgito. When the children learn that Malú’s mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malú’s father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it.