Sons of Cuba
In the wake of the 50th year of the Cuban Revolution, this is one of the most intimate access films ever made in the Communist state.
Access has rarely, if ever, been granted to film freely in a state institution.
Sons of Cuba is set in the legendary Havana Boxing Academy, and this is no ordinary institution: This is a boarding school that hand picks 9- year-old boys, and turns them into the best boxers in the world.
The results have been stunning: Cuba has dominated Olympic boxing for the past quarter of a century.
The boys duties extend far beyond the ring: They are groomed not only as world-class fighters, but also to be international symbols for their country, dubbed by Castro: "the standard bearers of the Revolution".
Sons of Cuba follows the stories of three young hopefuls through 8 dramatic months of training and schooling as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives: Cuba's National Boxing Championship for Under-12's.
During the season, crisis strikes: Fidel Castro, the boys leader and inspiration, is taken ill, and all of Cuba's Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA, leaving the boys contemplating a
future which is altogether different from the one they have been taught to believe in.
In this rare documentary, the filmmakers gain extraordinary access to deeply personal subject matter.
The film combines tender observational sequences with heartfelt interviews to generate the narrative tension of a dramatic feature film. Sons of Cuba is perhaps one of the most emotionally charged documentaries you’ll see all year.
Sons of Cuba is released 19th March