March2017-Flipbook

MEDIA
Cuba has become more open to
foreign films and Hollywood
because it's good for the economy.
Fermin Rojas,
Cuban-American filmmaker
FILMMAKING
IN CUBA
Fermin Rojas on location in Havana
HOW AMERICAN COMPANIES ARE TACKLING THE
NUANCES OF AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCTIONS IN CUBA
By Suzette Laboy
For the last half-century, Cuba has been
forbidden territory for American film
companies. Following the 1959 Revolution,
directors who wanted Caribbean
settings—or even faux Cuban backgrounds—had
to settle instead for the
Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico.
But since diplomatic relations
have eased between the Cold War foes,
Hollywood and other media industries
are turning their attention—and
dollars—to the island. The full-length
feature “Papa Hemingway in Cuba,” was
filmed on the island in 2015. Discovery
38 CUBATRADE MARCH 2017
Channel’s “Cuban Chrome” depicted its
obsessive car culture. Comedian Conan
O’Brien and chef Anthony Bourdain
both filmed episodes in Cuba for their
TV shows. Hollywood blockbusters
“Transformers: The Last Knight”
and “Fate of the Furious,” were also
filmed there, as was Martin Scorsese’s
documentary about the Rolling Stones
concert in Cuba, “Havana Moon.”
Not only do these productions require
substantial expenditures to bring equipment
into Cuba, they also require permits
and connections. For this, filmmakers
typically turn to European or Canadian
companies to help them through the
process.
“It’s absolutely essential to use somebody
that knows what they are doing,”
said Cuban-American filmmaker Fermin
Rojas, who contracted a Canadian production
company in 2012 to help obtain
permits for “Alumbrones”––a documentary
that follows 12 Cuban artists living in
Havana. “That was the only company at
the time who had been doing it for, like,
20 years.”
Last year, the Obama adminstration