Author: Lynn Cruz

Last weekend, a film series by Cuban film producer and director Ricardo Figueredo, was presented at the Hannah Arendt International Institute for Artivism (INSTAR), run by visual artist Tania Bruguera.

Presidente Diaz Canel wants to make us believe that this “new crisis”, which is in fact already old, stems from the US embargo. Sixty years later, Cuba doesn’t even have its own shipping fleet to be able to transport oil.

We attended the International Human Rights Film Festival in Bogota, Colombia that ran from August 22nd until the 29th. It kicked off with the movie El silencio by Brazilian filmmaker Beatriz Seigner, a heartbreaking movie about the peace agreement in Colombia, narrated from the point of view of the missing.

Dubbing wasn’t a trend in Hollywood until 1992 when figures such as Scott Weinger and Robin Williams gave their voices to Disney characters in the movie “Aladdin”. Yet Cuban movie and TV stars were ahead of the game, dubbing cartoons.

The only way you can create a movement, that later they’ll have no choice but to accept, is to become movies of resistance. Subverting the government’s logic. Not making the film you dreamed of, but the film that is within your reach.

According to Stephen King: “The horror genre has had its ups and downs, increased popularity almost always coincides with moments of political and social unrest.”

When my mother called to tell me my 79-year-old father had a kidney infection, pneumonia and high blood sugar levels as a result of his diabetes, I headed straight for Matanzas. My father arrived at Matanzas’ Military Hospital with all of these symptoms and they didn’t admit him, saying they didn’t have any beds.

I recently read a headline in which General Ulises Rosales del Toro complained: “When we owned the news.” While many people were laughing, this phrase scared me out of my wits. Saying this meant he was publicly accepting his guilt. Confessing, but without this leading to anything either.

Why do sensitive and astute people in the US hate Donald Trump? Well, because Trump represents what is known as the “ugly American”. The best way to describe what an “ugly Cuban” is, is to talk about music.

Not too long ago, a friend of mine ran into a Cuban filmmaker at a market. She knew because they struck up a friendly conversation, and before finishing, my friend asked the filmmaker if she knew Miguel Coyula. The filmmaker paused and pulled a slightly funny face. A few seconds later, she answered: “You know I’m pro-government.” That reaction really disturbed me.