Havana Cuba DVX experience

[Haskell]

Havana Cuba DVX experience

Greetings,

My name is Clayton Haskell and I shot directed and produced (almost in that order) this short film in Havana Cuba last year. I visited Cuba on a global exchange Spanish language program and ended up shooting my senior thesis. Cuba is an extraordinary place and I simply fell in love with the island and its people. My goal was to capture some life and share it with the world and help open some positive discussion for this island nation only 100 miles off the Florida coast.

I used all available light and armed myself with the trusty DVX100 and was good to go. All crew and acting positions were filled in by friends I met there and locals on location. The film has screen all over the world and we have received wonderful feedback. I have been following this community for a long time now and today I decided is about time I started to contribute.

You can see a trailer for the film here on my website



http://www.haskellfilms.com



I am still sending off to festivals but plan to screen the whole film online soon.
Thanks for such a solid community and good luck with all your projects,

Cheers

[donatello]

i like it !!!! can't wait to see more !!! ...
i was there end of 2003 or was it 04 ? ..
thanks for the preview ..

[MojoTrancer]

Very nice preview. Looking real good. The DVX still has a lot of life left in it :)

You might want to revisit the compression though. It was a bit blocky in parts.

[Haskell]

Hey Mojo,

Yes I need to make a better quicktime thats less blocky, I will post one soon. The DVX certainly does have life left I believe, this camera was the right size for low profile cuba film making and yielded the image that has been holding up next to the big budget film projects in festivals. If you have a DVX dont spring for HD just because...I still find myself using my DVX more then my HVX for many applications.

[Erik Olson]

I love the line about the ocean drying up and the people being able to walk anywhere. I've wanted to go to Cuba for a long time - please update us if you post more footage!

http://cigarpuro.com/romeo.gif

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[zev]

There is no denying that the Cubans are trying hard to deal with whatever the political situations have given them. Whether we blame the U.S. and it's sanctions or Cuba's ongoing (Pre-Castro and/or Post-Castro) political/historical disasters. My parents were poverty stricken when they left Cuba in their teens. I've seen the pictures of the beautiful buildings and the cars not to mention the smiles before they left Havana. When I see the pictures of todays Cuba I'm saddened. There is quite a contrast in the quality of life. However, I see hope in it's people. I also see how strong those that wanted to stay and those that felt they needed to stay are. My generation of Cuban's (raised and born in the United States) have to come to accept that the Cuba of our parents no longer exists. Films like yours put us "in-touch" with our brothers. I look forward to watching your film.

[ianmcc]

wow the trailer looks wonderful! Great job!

[ernesto]

I was born in Cuba and just went back a couple of years ago for the first time since I left. When I went back, I instantly decided that I had to make a movie there sometime. It's just beautiful, and the people are just so unique and different. The movie looks very, very good as well. The shots of the girl standing in front of the curtains looks very good and the timelapse of the city is great as well. Good luck with festivals and keep us updated. :)

[Bus No. 8]

Very nice - and the rest of your show reel looks great, too. The compression of the Cuba trailer was much better when viewed via the show reel, I was able to read the subtitles.

[dougspice]

Looks like a very nice film! Thanks Robert for the tip; I was having a hard time reading them in the standalone version!

[Haskell]

Hello,

I am glad to see a discussion has begun here...this was my intention! I will post a better compression of the trailer soon and perhaps some extra shots that were not in the film. Thanks for the feedback!

[Capt Quirk]

With the politics as they are between the US and Cuba, how do tourists get along there?

[XCheck]

With the politics as they are between the US and Cuba, how do tourists get along there?Never been to Cuba myself, but I know quite a few people who have, and from what I can tell, it's a non-issue as long as you don't get caught in the eye of Castro's secret police. That means - lay low. Ordinary Cubans are desperate, and yes, they are friendly (and unmotivated). They couldn't care less about political relations with any country. The side "benefit" of being a police state is that it's very safe for tourists. Anybody who would dare to hurt Cuba's reputation abroad would get severly punished.

I myself am conflicted. As a Canadian, I can travel freely to Cuba, but: knowing that VAST majority of my vacation money would go to support the totalitarian regime, NOT the Cuban people, I'll probably stay out for quite some time.

[XCheck]

Oh, and BTW, I loved the reel, too. Very interesting.

[Haskell]

Yes

much of my small budget of the film Lyra Lezama http://haskellfilms.com/lyra.php did find its way into the hands of Fidel's regime but from what I witnessed that same regime was responsable for new programs in the schools, and keeping healthcare and education free. Dont get me wrong, the red tape is thick and Xcheck's point to lay low from the state cops is a good one for they can pull the plug (on that particular shoot) . Please dont hesitate to ask questions or concerns about anything.

more to come

cheers

[Buqui Productions]

Us Cubans can't keep our mouths shut, so I am putting in my two cents. My grandparents came to the United States (Puerto Rico to be exact) with nothing. They left because they knew what Communism meant. Their intuition proved correct. When an entire movie has to be made about a person winning the right to travel where ever she wants, that's sad. It shows the deplorable situation of my brethren on the island. I would never travel to Cuba under this regime because they get all the money. If you think there is any ounce of good in the Cuban Government, think again. The best Communist is a dead one.

¡Viva Cuba libre, sin Fidel, sin Comunistas, sin represión!

[Buqui Productions]

Oh, yeah, your movie. It looks good. Good settings on the camera. You seem to have nice story, and I hope you capture the essence of the struggle.

[dougspice]

Anyone here seen The Lost City? I've been trying to track down a copy.