María Carla del Rio

Natural Phenomena

It's the late 1980s in Cuba, and in an isolated ranch in a small town near Santa Clara, lives Vilma, a young nurse who dreams of a better place to raise her upcoming baby, along with her disabled husband Ivan. However, neither her skills as a nurse nor as a shooter will free Vilma from her harsh reality until a natural phenomena sweeps her away and Vilma wakes up in a place where it seems her dream will come true.

Option Zero

There are countless stories of Cubans reaching their dream destination of Florida as boat refugees. A lesser known route to the United States starts with a flight in a ramshackle plane to Guyana. Then the refugees travel to Colombia where they cross the jungle to arrive in Central America, from where they hope to reach the promised land of America—a hard and dangerous journey. Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltrán visits them in a refugee camp in Panama, where one of the residents gives him an idea. Many people here have filmed their journey, she says, and these videos tell their real story. These jerky, shocking videos are interspersed with Beltrán’s footage of the camp, tangibly illustrating the difference between the hectic pace of the journey and the insecure life at the reception center.

Manos de padre

Regina and Mauricio set out on a trip to meaningful places from their 30 years of marriage, places they had never imagined they would return to. Halfway through the trip, they split up when Regina goes to celebrate her mother's birthday. Everardo, Regina's father, never accepted a husband for his daughter who didn't measure up to his expectations. During the family celebration, a phone call from Mauricio surprises everyone.