From November 15 to 18, 2014, Afro-Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando was in Milwaukee to present several of her at the UWM Union Theater and at MATC. Ms. Rolando is a prolific celebrated producer/director from Havana whose career in film spans over 35 years within the Cuban National Film Institute and with focus on the African diaspora in the Caribbean. Below are related articles/reviews from USA Today and The Militant, plus a 9 minute USA Today video interview, followed by a list of her films as presented here.
USA Today: Cuba Filmmaker on African diaspora, 1912 Massacre of Black Leaders (Video)
The Militant: Film tells Story of Haitian Workers in Cuba in 1930s
USA Today: Cuban Filmmaker Turns Lens of African Diaspora
Film Summaries
Re-embark/Reshipment
(Gloria Rolando, Cuba, Spanish w/Eng st. 53 min., Digital Video, 2014)
A “forgotten chapter” in the history of Haitian immigrants brought to Cuba in the early 20th century to work in the Sugar Cane fields and Coffee Plantations-and their forced repatriation following the crash of the Sugar Market.
Eyes of the Rainbow
(Assata Shakur, Cuba, Spanish w/Eng st., 52min., Digital Video, 1997)
Assata Shakur is the Black Panther and Black Liberation Army leader who took refuge in Cuba after years of struggles in the US. The film integrates AfroCuban culture, including the Orisha Oya, to show Assata’s context in Cuba, where she has lived for close to 20 years.
Roots of my Heart, 2001, 51 mins
(Gloria Rolando, Digital Video)
When over 6,000 members of the Independents of Color, the first black political party outside of Haiti, were massacred by the Cuban Army. This independently produced feature film follows a young woman as she finds out about her families roots, which includes disturbing revelations around the 1912 Genocide (El Doce).
My footsteps in Baragua
(Gloria Rolando, Cuba, Spanish w/Eng st., 53min., Digital Video)
1996, on the history in Cuba of an extensive West Indian community (consisting of people from Jamaica, Barbados, & many others.
Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba 