Transit Havana

(Transit Havana)
Daniel Abma | Documentary

2016 | 88 minutes | Cuba, Germany, The Netherlands

The journeys of transgender individuals in Cuba as they navigate societal challenges and wait for annual surgeries provided by visiting surgeons.

Synopsis

Once a year, two plastic surgeons from Holland and Belgium fly to Havana to perform surgery on five transgendered Cuban nationals. The surgeons are invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of the president and head of the new state program for transgender care. Castro organizes this as a modern completion of the socialist revolution of 1959 because, in her words, it is all about emancipation and self-realization. 'Homophobia no, socialismo si!' is the official slogan.

The state helps transgender people with therapy, hormones, surgery, and a new identity. Is Cuba becoming a safe haven for trans people? For more than one year, filmmakers Daniel Abma and Alex Bakker follow the three main characters Odette, Juani, and Malú, and show how they deal with the reality of being transgendered in Cuba. As new heroes of the revolution they still face religious intolerance, discrimination, sexism, poverty, and often a life in prostitution. Meanwhile, they wait for the foreign surgeons to give them what they want most in life. Are their names among the five on this year‘s surgery list?

The documentary features the historic day when Presidents Castro and Obama suddenly announced new diplomatic relations, creating great expectations among the main characters. Transit Havana – New Heroes of the Cuban Revolution gives us a unique insight into the paradoxes of Cuba, showing a surprising side of an island in transition.

Citation
Main credits

Abma, Daniel (film director)
Bakker, Alex (screenwriter)
Lammertsma, Iris (film producer)
Kloos, Stefan (film producer)
Koole, Boudewijn (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography, Johannes Praus; editors, Jana Dugnus; music, Alex Simu.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
Cuba,transgender,surgery,emancipation,self-realization,Mariela Castro,socialism,homophobia,revolution,identity,discrimination,sexism,poverty,prostitution,diplomatic relations,expectations,paradoxes,island,transition,new heroes,Cuba,Miroslava,prejudices,Social classes.classic films,cult films,film degree,film major,media studies,film and media studies,film and television studies,film production studies,cinema studies,film history,cinema history,black and white films,silent films,talkies,film music,film accompaniment,early cinema,early 20th century cinema,birth of cinema,birth of color cinema,technicolor,kinemacolor,magic lantern,camera obscura,cinema studies,film studies,cinema,film,movies,motion pictures,film history,film production,film criticism,cinema history,cinema production,cinema criticism,movie history,movie production,movie criticism,history of cinema,history of film,latin american studies,caribbean american studies,island studies,latin american culture,latin american history,latin american politics, caribbean american culture,caribbean american history,caribbean american politics, latin american languages,latin american and caribbean studies,hispanic american studies,hispanic people,hispanic culture,hispanic politics,women,womanhood,gender, girl,girlhood,mother,motherhood,female,cis woman,cis female,trans woman,trans female,women’s rights,women’s issues,lady,ladies,gentlewoman,madame,miss,missus,mrs.,dame,damsel,ingenue,lass,maid,maiden,belle,gal,ladyfriend,girlfriend,dear,darling,widow,matron,dowager,gender,gender equality,gender pay gap,women’s liberation,women’s rights,caribbean studies,the caribbean,caribeean sea,caribbean island,antigua and barbuda,bahamas,barbados,cuba,dominica,dominican republic,grenada,haiti,jamaica,saint kitts and nevis,st lucia,st vincent and the grenadines,and trinidad and tobago,anguilla,aruba,british virgin islands,caribbean netherlands,bonaire,sint eustatius,saba,cayman islands,curaçao,guadeloupe,martinique,montserrat,puerto rico,saint barthélemy,saint martin/sint maarten,turks and caicos islands,us virgin islands,caribbean studies,the caribbean,caribeean sea,caribbean island,antigua and barbuda,bahamas,barbados,cuba,dominica,dominican republic,grenada,haiti,jamaica,saint kitts and nevis,st lucia,st vincent and the grenadines,and trinidad and tobago,anguilla,aruba,british virgin islands,caribbean netherlands,bonaire,sint eustatius,saba,cayman islands,curaçao,guadeloupe,martinique,montserrat,puerto rico,saint barthélemy,saint martin/sint maarten,turks and caicos islands,us virgin islands,caribbean studies,the caribbean,caribeean sea,caribbean island,antigua and barbuda,bahamas,barbados,cuba,dominica,dominican republic,grenada,haiti,jamaica,saint kitts and nevis,st lucia,st vincent and the grenadines,and trinidad and tobago,anguilla,aruba,british virgin islands,latin american studies,caribbean american studies,island studies,latin american culture,latin american history,latin american politics, caribbean american culture,caribbean american history,caribbean american politics, latin american languages,latin american and caribbean studies,hispanic american studies,hispanic people,hispanic culture,hispanic politics,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies,body image,appearance,body dissatisfaction,eating disorders,body acceptance,acceptance,body dysmorphic disorder,body dysmorphia,negative body image,distorted body image,confidence,self-esteem,self acceptance,fat acceptance,body acceptance,positive body image,negative body image,weight,fat,overweight,obesity,culture,identity,identity politics,culture wars,left wing,right wing,intersectionality,identity groups,civilization,literacy,humanism,cancel culture,online culture,cultural revolution,cultural diffusion,culture shock,popular culture,pop culture,material culture,cultural capital,cultural assimilation ,international relations,global relations,global studies,international studies,international affairs,intercontinental relations,intercontinental studies,foreign studies,foreign relations,national relations,national studies,cross-continental studies,cross-continental relations,international relations,global relations,global studies,international studies,international affairs,intercontinental relations,intercontinental studies,foreign studies,foreign relations,national relations,national studies,cross-continental studies,cross-continental relations,; "Transit Havana"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

Roze Filmdagen - Best Documentary; MIX Copenhagen LGBTQ+ Film Festival - Best Documentary; Filmkunsttage Sachsenanhalt – Best Feature Length; Cinedoc Tbilisi – Audience Award; Verzio – Best Documentary; Montreal LGBT – Image+Nation – Audience Award; Movies That Matter; Roze Filmdagen; Dok.Fest Munich; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; East End Film Festival; Bergen International Film Festival; MIX CPH; Antenna; Filmkunsttage Sachsenanhalt; Cinedoc Tbilisi; Asterisco; Queersicht; Cottbus International Film Festival; Verzio; Slovak Queer Festival

DIRECTOR: Daniel Abma

NATIONALITY: Cuba, Germany, The Netherlands

YEAR: 2016

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish; English; Dutch; Other languages

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: College, Adult

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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