Bye Bye Havana is a 2005 fast-paced stream of consciousness documentary that presents a vibrant portrayal of Cuban life.[1] The film juxtaposes commercialism with vintage anti-communist propaganda and the elementary difficulties that everyday Cubans face.[2] Directed by J. Michael Seyfert the film was shot and edited in Cuba over the course of 2 years. For its enduring images, Carlos Alberto Montaner of Foreign Policy calls Seyfert's film "A colorful and sobering picture of the Cuba that Fidel has left behind".[3]

Bye Bye Havana
Film Poster & First Edition DVD Sleeve
Directed byJ. Michael Seyfert
Written byJ. Michael Seyfert
StarringRoger Bunn
CinematographyJ. Michael Seyfert
Edited byAndros Barroso
Manuel Iglesias
Distributed byJourneyman Pictures
Release date
  • 2005 (2005)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryCuba
LanguagesSpanish, English

Official Selections edit

Bye Bye Havana premiered in the United States on October 16, 2005 at 20th Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival [4] and screened at numerous festivals around the world including on April 22, 2006 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival[5] in Austin and 5th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival.[6] On Dec 6th and 8th 2006 the film screened at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival[7] in Estonia. On February 21, 2007 Bye Bye Havana was broadcast four times on Free Speech TV and Dish Satellite Channel 9415 and 150 community access cable stations reaching a potential audience of over 25 million people. The film was broadcast on Mongolia State TV and continues to figure prominently among post-revolutionary documentaries. [8]

Awards edit

Best Post Production[9] 2006 Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival.

Soundtrack edit

Bye Bye Havana's soundtrack featuring hip hop and afro-rock musician X Alfonso and Free Hole Negro, a hip hop underground band, jazz pianist Roberto Carcasses and Cuban rapper and spoken-word artist Telmary. The film's theme song was composed and performed by the singer Francis Del Rio.

Non-Cuban contributions were made by Roger Bunn, British rock musician who narrated the film and contributed three tracks from his posthumously released album Piece of Mind featuring the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. American songwriter T Bone Burnett's song Humans From Earth was recorded in Bristol by British indie pop band The Flatmates produced by Paul Cooke,[10] drummer and founding member of the British smooth jazz band SADE. Cooke also co-produced a trance dub with London DJ Herbus K. Dubington of Lagrimas Negras a 1929 bolero-son by the Cuban composer and singer Miguel Matamoros. The Cuban classic was used as a theme throughout the film in various interpretations including an acoustic guitarist and a nameless Cuban street violinist.

Reviews edit

  • The Culture Trip "The Best Documentaries to Watch About Cuba"[11]
  • inCUBAdora "Cuba Underground Guide"[12]
  • DVD Talk Film Review[13]
  • Academia.edu "El cine en español en los Estados Unidos"[14]
  • Ramonet vs. Montaner: el gran debate sobre Cuba[15]

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog. 2006. OCLC 794308989. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  2. ^ "Bye Bye Havana". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  3. ^ "Ramonet vs. Montaner: el gran debate sobre Cuba en Noticias24.com". www.noticias24.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  4. ^ "Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Annual independent and foreign cinema event in Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Florida, USA. Host to Cinema Paradiso". 2005-10-13. Archived from the original on 2005-10-13. Retrieved 2017-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Cine Las Americas". Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  6. ^ "Tiburon International Film Festival". www.tiburonfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  7. ^ "10th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival".
  8. ^ Salvador Jiménez Murguía (2020). "A Cuban Cinema Companion". Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538107744.
  9. ^ "DocuFest Atlanta would like to give thanks to the incredible filmmakers who have screened their incredible films with us". 2009-02-28. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2017-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Make Tea not War (Vol 2) - Paul Cooke. Listen @cdbaby, retrieved 2017-02-13
  11. ^ "The Best Documentaries to Watch About Cuba". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  12. ^ "FreeCinema: ·Bye Bye Havana·". inCUBAdora. 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  13. ^ "Bye Bye Havana". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  14. ^ Badajoz, Joaquin. "El cine en español en los Estados Unidos". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^ "Ramonet vs. Montaner: el gran debate sobre Cuba en Noticias24.com". www.noticias24.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2017-02-13.