On the Roof

(El techo)
Patricia Ramos | Comedy, Drama, Fiction, Romance

2017 | 75 minutes | Cuba, Nicaragua

A deliciously offbeat romantic comedy from Cuba, On the Roof doesn’t shy away from tackling the problems facing contemporary youth.

Synopsis

In this feel-good ensemble dramedy, a flat rooftop in an old Havana neighborhood is the natural habitat for three friends who spend their days and nights dreaming about the future.

Yasmani is an amateur pigeon fancier who is too shy to talk to a girl he likes; Victor José has convinced himself of his Sicilian descent and now prefers to go by Vito; Anita is five months pregnant and pretends that she doesn't care who the father is. In the midst of their boredom, without money and dreaming about success, they decide to set up their own business. The cost of this dream will finally lead them to personal maturity, but with some difficulty.

A deliciously off-beat romantic comedy, On the Roof doesn't shy away from tackling the problems facing contemporary Cuban youth. The film offers an impeccable balance of colloquial charm and universal appeal. Patricia Ramos and her excellent cast have crafted highly relatable characters with varying degrees of ambition, ingenuity, and quirk.

Reviews

"Ramos' stories are funny and down to earth, offering a much welcome look at contemporary Cuba." — Manuel Betancourt, Remezcla

"The rooftop terrace as a place of limited freedom could be a symbol in El Techo; it's an open space, however, teenagers there remain immersed in torpor and daily life, locked up in their own present without prospects for the future." — Irina Echarry, Havana Times

"One of the most interesting proposals of Cuban cinema in this [Havana Film] Festival." — Mayté Madruga Hernández, Cuba Cine

Citation
Main credits

Ramos, Patricia (film director)
Ramos, Patricia (screenwriter)
Jiménez, Humberto (film producer)
Galbán, Enmanuel (actor)
Doimeadiós, Andrea (actor)
Navarro Eloseguis, Jonathan (actor)
Sánchez Alonso, Noslen (actor)
Albellar Hernández, Roberto (actor)

Other credits

Director of photography, Alán González; editor, Kenia Velázquez; music, Juan Antonio Leyva, Magda Rosa Galbán.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
Cuba, Fidel Castro, Repression, romantic comedy, entrepreneurship, pregnancy, youth, friendship, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,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,economics, social class, money, capital, capitalism, class, economy, prejudice, intersectionality, inequality, poverty, income gap, wage gap, class warfare, elitism, snobbery, bourgeois, poverty, upper class, middle class, lower class, nouveau riche,migration studies, migrant studies, immigration studies, refugee studies, diaspora studies, resettlement studies, settlement studies, migration, migrant, immigration, refugee, diaspora, resettlement, settlement, refugees, international migration, continental migration, resettling, settlers, settler, migrant, migrant studies, first generation immigrant, first generation immigration, new americans, new spaniards,family, kin, fellowship, household, immediate family, extended family, multigenerational family, multigenerational household, kinfolk, family tree, genealogy, nuclear family, modern family, family tree,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 ,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,migration studies, migrant studies, immigration studies, refugee studies, diaspora studies, resettlement studies, settlement studies, migration, migrant, immigration, refugee, diaspora, resettlement, settlement, refugees, international migration, continental migration, resettling, settlers, settler, migrant, migrant studies, first generation immigrant, first generation immigration, new americans, new spaniards,child, children, childhood, kid, girl, girlhood, boy, boyhood, teen, teenager, puberty, adolescence, adolescent, coming-of-age, minor, kiddo, kids, juvenile, stripling, moppet, tyke, tween, tot, toddler, sonny, girlie, underaged, dependent, youngster, infancy, babyhood, girlhood, boyhood, friendships, juvenescence, juvenility, springtime, early life,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,el techo,on the roof,en el techo,techo,pregnant,from the roof,julieta,comedy,The Roof,The Rooftop,cuban,patricia ramos,El techno,el internado,roof,sicilian,romantic comedy,havana,rooftop,victor mature,cast away,el no,cuban films,feel good,on the roof havana; "On the Roof"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival - Best Narrative Feature
Havana Film Festival - Sarah Gomez Award
Cuba's Journalist Union Award (UPEC)
Providence Latin American Film Festival - Best Director, Best Supporting Actress
Chicago Latino Film Festival
Miami Film Festival
Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival - Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature

DIRECTOR: Patricia Ramos

NATIONALITY: Cuba, Nicaragua

YEAR: 2017

GENRE: Comedy, Drama, Fiction, Romance

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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