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Black and Cuba (2014 film)

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Black and Cuba' is a 2014 documentary film, directed by Doctor Robin J Hayes, that follows street-smart Ivy League students who are outcast at their elite university, band together and adventure to Cuba to see if revolution is truly possible. Intent on sharing their experiences, the students film their journey. Through the streets of Havana and Santiago, they observe the literal signs of revolution while candid, spontaneous encounters with AfroCubans highlight similarities between African American, Latin@ and Cuban experiences.

Black and Cuba was well received by a diverse audience of national and international film festival goers. With cutting-edge style and humor, this inspiring documentary illuminates how racial equality is an international human rights issue. The film was screened at the 2014 Black International Cinema Film Festival in Berlin, Germany and won the 2014 Best Documentary Award.

Synopsis

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The film’s narrators, The Harlem Choir, break down the historical context and contemporary realities of the African-American and Afro-Cuban experience while the traveler's take the audience through the streets of Cuba talking to new friends who describe recent experiences of racial profiling, police misconduct and employment discrimination despite the outlawing of racism after 1959.

The students also see the positive benefits of Cuba’s social safety net. AfroCubans enjoy access to public education, health care and homeownership in a manner that remains out of reach for many of the students’ neighbors and family members in the US. Despite seeing the realities behind the myths of color-blindness and social mobility, the students return home empowered with renewed hope.

Due in part to the US government’s restrictions on travel and trade with socialist Cuba since 1962, many Americans are unaware the island’s population is 60% Black. Black and Cuba sheds light on the diversity and nuances of Cuban society in a radical and transformative way that encourages dreams of revolution.

Characters

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Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution overthrowing Cuban President Batista in 1959. He became Cuba’s Prime Minister and installed a communist government. He remained the Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 until 2008.

CHE GUEVARA was a revolutionary leader who aided Fidel Castro in overthrowing the Cuban government. He studied medicine and after traveling around South America and observing conditions of poverty, he adopted a Marxist perspective, which later led him to aid revolutions around the world. Che was killed by the Bolivian army in 1967.

ASSATA SHAKUR is a political activist, Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member. She was incarcerated and accused of several crimes in the 70’s but escaped in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984.

The Travelers: Erin, Besenia, Tucker, Myra, Dalton, Robin, Josh, Tokunbo, Theresa

The Harlem Chorus: The Film’s narrators who break down the historical context and contemporary realities of the African-American and Afro-Cuban experience.

Reception and Screenings

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Black and Cuba was also a nominee for Best Documentary at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival in 2014. In addition to this, the film was extremely well received at the Pan African Film Festivals in Atlanta and Los Angeles (2014), the Black Star Film Festival in Philadelphia, PA (2014), and the San Francisco Black Film Festival (2014).

2014 Black and Cuba Exhibitions (Community and Campus) director Robin J. Hayes

The Nation. New York

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Sonja H. Stone Center

Metropolitan State University, Sankofa Lecture Series, Denver

Dominican University, Latino Heritage Month, River Forest (Q&A with Director)

Google, Inc., Googleplex Mountain View (Q&A with Director)

Yale University, Women’s Empowerment Month Program, New Haven

Black and Cuba Film Festivals (Official Selections/Invitations) director Robin J. Hayes

BlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia

Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival

Pan-African Film Festival, Atlanta

San Francisco Black Film Festival

American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Caribbean Film Festival, Washington, DC

Black International Cinema Film Festival, Berlin

Hot Docs International Film Festival - Doc Shop, Toronto/Internet

Oakland International Film Festival

Pan-African Film Festival, Los Angeles

2013 Black and Cuba Work-in-Progress Exhibitions Director Robin J. Hayes

California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Art of Manuel Mendive Exhibit

Illinois Humanities Council Civic Cinema Series, Chicago

Aspire Preparatory Middle School, Bronx, New York City Department of Education

San Diego State University, Center for Latin American Studies

City College, New York, Black Studies Program, (Q&A with Director)

2012 La Casa Azul Bookstore, East Harlem (Q&A with Director)

Institute for Retired Professionals, The New School, New York

American Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, (Q&A with Director)

Cinema Village, New York, May 2012, (Q&A with Director and Professor Jafari Allen)

References

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