Free Havana: Six LGBT Cubans speak openly about their lives

Chicago – In partnership with the Center on Halsted, Facets is pleased to announce a special screening of the documentary Free Havana on Sunday, March 2nd at 3 p.m. at the Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. This special event will include a Q&A and reception with Cuban Director Eliezer Perez Angueira and Chicago-based Producer Leigh Jurecka following the film. The Q&A will be moderated by Center On Halsted’s Community and Cultural Coordinator Em Vanderlinden.

From the Batista era to the Revolution to the Mariel Boatlift to present-day Cuba, Free Havana explores the evolution of gay life from a time when homosexuality was considered a punishable crime to a movement of equality that includes free gender confirmation surgeries. Honest in approach and poignant in content, the stories of these six Cubans will inform and inspire as they touch your heart. In 2006, a shorter version of Free Havana, or Habana Libre, became the first documentary of its kind to be screened at Havana’s International Festival of New Latin Cinema, a milestone for LGBT cinema given the tight controls in Cuba.

For more information, contact Abbey Rose at abbey@facets.org.