The Travel Agent
(Pequeñas mentiras piadosas)
Niccolò Bruna | Documentary
2015 | 87 minutes | Cuba, Spain, Italy
From her tiny office overlooking the U.S. Interests Section, 58-year old Lourdes counsels thousands of Cubans seeking a U.S. travel visas. She coaches them on answering tricky questions, fine-tuning their stories so they have a better chance of succeeding.
Synopsis
From her tiny office overlooking the U.S. Interests Section, 58-year old Lourdes counsels thousands of Cubans seeking a U.S. travel visas. She coaches them on answering tricky questions, fine-tuning their stories so they have a better chance of succeeding. They come from every walk of life and from all over Cuba to unveil their own life stories at the “Oficina del amor” (Office of Love), as she's baptized it.
Despite helping others to travel, she has never been able to visit her own mother, son, brothers, grandsons, and nephews in Florida. “[I] quench the thirst of others every day, yet there is not a drop of water for me,” she says sadly. After a long wait, Lourdes’ time has finally come: her interview is set. Her dream to visit her dying mother, who emigrated during the sixties, has never been so close. Will she be able to travel and finally overturn her destiny of forced separation?
Citation
Main credits
Bruna, Niccolò (film director)
Bruna, Niccolò (screenwriter)
Ciocca, Paola (film producer)
Bona, Enrico (screenwriter)
Prandstraller, Andrea (screenwriter)
Other credits
Camera, Erik Delgado Ordonqui, Niccolò Bruna; editors, Adrià Laheurta, Enrico Giovannone; music, Minus & Plus.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Culture + Identity
Family
Fascism + Repression
Gender + Sexuality Studies
Human Rights
Migration Studies
Political Science
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
MiradasDOC - Special Mention for Best National Documentary
International Documentary Film Festival “Visioni dal Mondo” Italy - Student Jury Award
Biarritz Latin American Film Festival
DocsBarcelona Pitching Forum
Hot Docs Deal Maker
DIRECTOR: Niccolò Bruna
NATIONALITY: Cuba, Spain, Italy
YEAR: 2015
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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