Will Hollywood Get Cuba Right? Reviews of Two Very Different Films

FEATURING STEPHANIE ABRAHAM – The warming of relations between the United States and Cuba means that for the first time in decades, Americans are going to have the opportunity to visit the island nation. In addition to celebrities like the Kardashians visiting, filmmakers are flocking to Cuba. Two new films, both by non-Cubans, have recently been released. One is Papa Hemingway in Cuba, the first American film to be shot in Cuba since the revolution. The film is actually set during the Cuban revolution and is centered on Ernest Hemingway and one of his adoring fans. The second film, made by Irish filmmakers, is called simply Viva and focuses on the life of a young Cuban man whose desire to perform in drag throws him into confrontation with his own father. Viva was shortlisted for an Academy award.

Stephanie Abraham is a writer and media critic, she helped found the feminist magazine make/shift and was the founding editor of the feminist magazine LOUDmouth. Her works have been published in McSweeney’s, Al Jazeera, Mizna and Bitch Magazine. She is the Pop Culture Correspondent and Film Critic for Rising Up With Sonali.

Visit her online at www.stephanieabraham.com and follow her on Twitter @abrahamsteph.