Transit Havana
(Transit Havana)
Daniel Abma | Documentary
2016 | 88 minutes | Cuba, Germany, The Netherlands
The journeys of transgender individuals in Cuba as they navigate societal challenges and wait for annual surgeries provided by visiting surgeons.
Synopsis
Once a year, two plastic surgeons from Holland and Belgium fly to Havana to perform surgery on five transgendered Cuban nationals. The surgeons are invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of the president and head of the new state program for transgender care. Castro organizes this as a modern completion of the socialist revolution of 1959 because, in her words, it is all about emancipation and self-realization. 'Homophobia no, socialismo si!' is the official slogan.
The state helps transgender people with therapy, hormones, surgery, and a new identity. Is Cuba becoming a safe haven for trans people? For more than one year, filmmakers Daniel Abma and Alex Bakker follow the three main characters Odette, Juani, and Malú, and show how they deal with the reality of being transgendered in Cuba. As new heroes of the revolution they still face religious intolerance, discrimination, sexism, poverty, and often a life in prostitution. Meanwhile, they wait for the foreign surgeons to give them what they want most in life. Are their names among the five on this year‘s surgery list?
The documentary features the historic day when Presidents Castro and Obama suddenly announced new diplomatic relations, creating great expectations among the main characters. Transit Havana – New Heroes of the Cuban Revolution gives us a unique insight into the paradoxes of Cuba, showing a surprising side of an island in transition.
Citation
Main credits
Abma, Daniel (film director)
Bakker, Alex (screenwriter)
Lammertsma, Iris (film producer)
Kloos, Stefan (film producer)
Koole, Boudewijn (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematography, Johannes Praus; editors, Jana Dugnus; music, Alex Simu.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Body Image
Caribbean Studies
Culture + Identity
Gender + Sexuality Studies
International Relations
Latin American Studies
Political Science
Sociology
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Roze Filmdagen - Best Documentary; MIX Copenhagen LGBTQ+ Film Festival - Best Documentary; Filmkunsttage Sachsenanhalt – Best Feature Length; Cinedoc Tbilisi – Audience Award; Verzio – Best Documentary; Montreal LGBT – Image+Nation – Audience Award; Movies That Matter; Roze Filmdagen; Dok.Fest Munich; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; East End Film Festival; Bergen International Film Festival; MIX CPH; Antenna; Filmkunsttage Sachsenanhalt; Cinedoc Tbilisi; Asterisco; Queersicht; Cottbus International Film Festival; Verzio; Slovak Queer Festival
DIRECTOR: Daniel Abma
NATIONALITY: Cuba, Germany, The Netherlands
YEAR: 2016
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: Spanish; English; Dutch; Other languages
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: College, Adult
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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