• Petricor

  • Ángela

  • History Is Written at Night

  • Parole

Cuban Contemporary Short Films II: Voices of Displacement

In Conversation

  • Lázaro González is a filmmaker from Cuba, a doctoral candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Film & Media, and the guest curator of Cuban Cinema without Borders.

  • Caleb Murray-Bozeman is a doctoral candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Film & Media.

This second showcase of Cuban contemporary short films privileges first-person explorations of cultural alterity and deterritorialization. Ángela follows a Cuban immigrant in New York City, while Petricor uses plants to symbolize uprootedness and nostalgia. Souvenir critiques the Western touristic gaze that romanticizes Cuba’s past while ignoring its present. In Parole, a mother’s WhatsApp messages connect her with her exiled son in San Francisco, highlighting migrant burdens. Finally, History Is Written at Night depicts a dystopian Cuba during a blackout, haunted by the imagination of another mother. Through their formal heterogeneity, the films all offer nuanced perspectives on diaspora, exile, and nation building amidst Cuba’s ongoing historical exodus. 

—Lázaro González

Films in this Screening

Ángela

Juan Pablo Daranas Molina, United States, 2018

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Spanish
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 12 mins
source
  • FILA20 Films

Souvenir

Heidi Hassan, Cuba, 2023

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Spanish
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • Digital
  • 11 mins
source
  • Free Media

Petricor

Violena Ampudia, Cuba, Belgium, 2022

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Spanish
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • Digital
  • 9 mins
source
  • Violena Ampudia

Parole

Lázaro González, Cuba, United States, 2024

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Spanish and English
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 25 mins
source
  • Encuadre Films

History Is Written at Night

Alejandro Alonso, Cuba, France, 2024

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Spanish
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 20 mins
source
  • Vega Alta Films

Event Accessibility

If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at bampfa@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 642-1412 (during open hours) with as much advance notice as possible. More information on accessibility services.