Go Cuba! is back for another year. The programme, which helps young young and debuting filmmakers in Cuba to realise independent film productions, consists of four programmes.
Programme 1 is the feature documentary La opción cero by Marcel Beltrán. This gripping documentary follows a group of Cubans for whom living in their native country is no longer an option. They flew to Guyana and then trudge north via Brazil or Venezuela and subsequently Colombia: a dangerous journey leading through dense jungle. Many find themselves stranded in Panama, eventually ending up as illegal immigrants in a refugee camp in Panama City. Last year, La opción cero premiered at IDFA, where it left quite the impression.
Programme 2 consists of two short films. Futuro Paraíso by Karel Ducasse paints a portrait of a neighborhood who are being forced to move to make room for the construction of a tourism project by the Cuban government and a Chinese company. El matador (Fernando Fraguela) follows young Cuban Dusniel, who dreams of emigrating in a Soviet-style neighbourhood where thousands of people try to survive.
Programme 3 consists of four shorts. In Resolver el Arte (Alejandro Fernández Gonzalez), Cuban filmmakers tell their story about the Cuban film industry. In Los coleccionistas (Diana Moreno Castellanos), Papato tries to protect his little sister Liuli from their father. Los cimarrones (Damnián Sainz) deals with themes such as fear, slavery and homosexuality, and Aburo (Cecilia Otero) is a portrait of two brothers whose inability to get along reaches boiling point.
Programme 4 also consists of four shorts. Los puros (Carla Valdés) captures the reunion of friends that studied in Minsk during the fall of the Soviet Union. Matrioshka (Sheyla Pool) is a portrait of 25 years old Ana, who tries to run away from trauma, but has to eventually face the truth. New Eva (Natalí Cardet) takes place in a dystopian world in which women willingly live bent over to benefit men. And finally, Hora Azul (Zoe Garcia) follows Mariano and China, who encounter each other in the hospital and spend an afternoon together.
Click here for the schedule of all the Go Cuba! programmes
