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Habana Libre (Documentary) [Free Havana]

By Golu
Gay Rights is an issue heard around the world, including Cuba. Free Havana paints a vivid picture of what it has been like to be gay in Cuba through the candid stories of six gay and lesbian individuals. Free Havana exposes the evolution of gay life from a time when homosexuality was considered a punishable crime to current efforts to promote a greater acceptance of freedom of sexual orientation. Honest in approach and poignant in content, the stories of the six Cubans will inform and inspire as they touch your heart.

The six interviewees are interviewed one by one and tell their personal stories. First we have a guy who at the age of 17 was enlisted for 'military' but in reality was a group where all suspect LGBT folks were rounded up and taken to a village and were made to work non stop hours in a field, hoping to get cured. Then we hear from a guy who knew he was different and when his love letter o another boy was found, his father threw him out. But thanks to his mother's love, who gave an ultimatum to the father to bring ack the child home or she will divorce, he saw a better life compared to other individuals. He also talks about the time when so many people migrated to US including LGBTQ+ folks, he decided to stay in Cuba because he cannot imagine himself anywhere except Cuba. Then there is a lesbian story where one girl tells how her girlfriend made her marry another man just so that the two could spend more time together. She talks an interesting aspect of how her girlfriends likely bi and was able to keep a straight marriage, but his woman was full on lesbian who left her husband just a few days after wedding. We then see an other talk about her son and how she has been extremely supportive of not just her son but his boyfriend also and they all live together. An older guy talks then about how he met this handsome guy but his parents were very overbearing and the guy Mike, eventually committed suicide. Then finally we have a cross dresser who shares his experience of being raped as. Kid and how he eventually embraced his sexuality and would not imagine life outside Cuba.

I am surprised that this collection came back in 2012 and already says how Cuba has a vibrant gay scene and is no longer illegal. I hope the situation has improved, although when I visited couple of years back, I honestly did not see or notice things one way or the other. This film is more of a compilation of coming out stories than anything else. We aren't able to see the day-to-day lives or problems that the interviewees face, but only see them sitting in front of a camera in their homes. In between the interviews are photos, and facts about the issues the LGBT community faced/still faces, as well as the progress that has been made. I thought this information was the most eye-opening facts that this collection showed me as an audience on how things were and have progressed over time. This film is informative, but the narrative has more of a classroom documentary feel and might be better told in a book rather than in a film. (5/10)
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