Underwater! (1955) tells the thrilling story of a group of treasure hunters who embark on a perilous journey to find a sunken ship in the Caribbean Sea. They face various challenges including rival treasure hunters, dangerous underwater explosions, and encounters with sharks. The movie explores themes of greed, friendship, and the risks involved in such a daring adventure.
Ex-Lady (1933) follows a free-spirited fashion designer who marries a wealthy tycoon but struggles with fidelity and her desire for independence. Set in Manhattan and Havana, the film explores themes of marriage, jealousy, and sexual liberation.
Mr. Dithers invites the Bumsteads on a South American cruise. Somehow Dagwood winds up as the female drummer in the ship's band, while Penny Singleton gets to show off her Broadway background in some lively musical numbers.
Trade Tattoo is a short animated film that explores the world of trade tattoos and their symbolic significance. Through a series of visually captivating scenes, the film delves into the history and cultural significance of these unique tattoos. It also highlights the role of trade and communication in shaping human experiences. With its experimental approach and creative storytelling, Trade Tattoo offers a unique cinematic experience.
When a young Afghan immigrant named Mina gets her first job in a nursing home, an unexpected friendship with Luis, a resident with dementia, reignites her love of music and changes her life forever.
Prior to Fidel Castro's reign, Cuba was open to immigration. However, once Castro proclaimed himself dictator of Cuba, one of the largest exodus recorded began, one that continues today, 47 years after the Cuban Revolution. Six central characters of the film discuss in detail their personal experiences through Operation Pedro Pan, the Freedom Flights, El Mariel, the Rafter Crisis, and the Cuban Visa Lottery.
Cuban drummer Elvis García reflects on his journey from Havana to Miami, struggling to make his way in the American city as a professional musician.
Mambo Man is a heartwarming drama that takes place in Cuba. The film tells the story of Hector, a passionate musician who falls in love with a woman. Through their relationship, Mambo Man explores the deep connection between love and the vibrant Cuban music scene.
Determined not to simply get married, start a family, and grow old like the rest of the girls in her town, an aspiring Cuban diva sets out to launch a career as a singer.
Chilean director Valeria Sarmiento weaves a tale of love, betrayal, and civil unrest centering around a nightclub in 1950s pre-Communist Cuba in her 2002 romantic drama Rosa La China. Notorious businessman Santiago Ordenez (Juan Luis Galiardo), who primarily goes by the nickname Dulzara, operates a high-profile club/casino with the protection of some local politicians with whom he has dubious relationships. A large portion of the club's success is due to its star singer, Rosa (Luisa Maria Jiminez), who also happens to be Dulzara's lover. Rosa, however, has recently started into another affair with a somewhat younger womanizer named Marcos (Abel Rodriguez).
Nicholas Quevedo, a Cuban-American rumba singer moves from Havana to New York with nothing else but his love for rumba and his unbreakable dream to make it in the Big Apple, but his journey would be confronted by unimaginable challenges.
Leo Brouwer, extraordinary, world famous composer, opens the doors of his space of creation and allows the spectator to explore his quotidian and his work. With a sharp and questioning look, he reflects about life and contemporaneity and shares anxieties that accompanied and inspired him throughout eight decades.
After a career on the stage and in movies, Desi Arnaz is introduced in this short as an orchestra leader.
Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés and Spanish singer Diego el Cigala perform live at the Costa Nord cultural center in Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain, on June 22, 2003.
Husband and wife music producers Ray Chew and Vivian Scott Chew embark on an ambitious two week journey to Cuba to create a collaboration of sounds which originated from Afro-Caribbean roots that has evolved into what we now consider modern day Salsa music. Bringing together multiple artists from the U.S. and Cuba, the film shines a light on Cuban culture and takes the viewer through the creative process and challenges of producing an album while providing an auditory sensation that touches the soul. Featuring Eric Benét, Louie Vega and Sergio George-who has produced albums for Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and more. Audiences will walk away feeling the passion, positive energy, triumph and love that keeps this musical marriage strong.
The Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have become treasured musicologists, first with their loving biography LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (2019) and then with TAYLOR MAC’S 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC (2022). Now, they turn their cameras towards Cuba, profiling four students at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory. Though it has long been the nation’s most prestigious music school in a music-crazy nation, the conservatory struggles to maintain instruments for their students.
When a Spaniard decides to illegally enter La Habana by swimming, two rogues help him to find work in a sugar mill, where the emigrant falls in love with the daughter of the owner of the cane plantation.
In this Pete Smith Specialties short, two professional dancers beautifully demonstrate the rumba and conga while actors humorously display some incorrect techniques for those dances.
This documentary, shot entirely on location in Havana, includes many band members' insights into this revival, and features performance footage of an All-Stars' concert at the city's Salon of Dreams.