Black and Cuba Film

Synopsis

This award-winning documentary follows nine black Ivy League students who feel like outcasts at their elite university. They band together and venture to the Caribbean island of Cuba, whose population is 60% black, to further explore their roots and identity. Despite the US embargo at the time, they undertake the journey to explore the streets of Havana and Santiago in revealing scenes of Cuban life, including hip hop performances, block parties, and candid spontaneous encounters with Afro-Cuban youth. As they film their experience, they discover connections between Cuban and American perspectives on human rights, race, and revolution. The film is the feature directorial debut of Dr. Robin J. Hayes, international human rights advocate and scholar.

This screening will be followed by a discussion and Afro-Cuban snacks.

This screening is organised as part of the Afro-Latin Visibility in Focus strand supported by the University of Edinburgh and the AHRC.