Anyone travel to Cuba to shoot?

J

jchenier

Well-known member
I'm not sure where to post this, so I thought I'd try cinematography. I'm travelling with a radio station and a bunch of contest winners to Cuba in March. I'd like to take my gear to shoot some station commercials and b-roll of the beaches, but was a little scared off by the whole "Journalist Visa" requirements by the Cuban Government.

Has anyone here travelled to Cuba with gear to shoot? Any problems? Any harrasment?

Thanks,
Justin
 
i was there in fall 2003? or 2004 ?( just before bush made travel to cuba very difficult) ... i didn't see any body using hand size DV camera's being asked/approached/questioned not to tape by cuban persons/police/military ..
some of the street performers may approach you for $$ if they think you taped them = you can say NO and they may stay speaking to you for few minutes or you give them a $1 and they go away or perform more for the camera ...

i used a palm size camera ( elura) ..
i shot everywhere i went except in a few area's that had "no photo's " posted..... i did see persons with eng type camera's shooting but never asked them info on their projects ....

you will see some cubans out taping events with those old quite large size VHS camcorders ....
 
I went about 5 years ago with a Sony PD150 and a pair of still cameras with no problem and I was traveling with someone with a US passport (which if anything would have made it worse I would think).
 
Cuba is a paradise, and yes you will need a sort of work visa which is cheep and can be easily gotten from a local production company. Dont worry about crime, it is almost non existent as the government is super hard on crime. I came there with truckloads of equipment and was working mostly at night. Cuban's are some of the nicest most helpful people out there, many well educated and peaceful. We had exactly 0 problems the 10 days we worked there. On the other hand government related stuff is a pain in the ass just as in the US, endless bureaucracy and if you step over the white line, they ***** about it. So i would recommend contacting a production company, even if it is just to sort out the visas and get you the fast way through customs. Besides that money is king in cuba and there is almost not a problem that cant be fixed for a 100. It is amazing to work there cause you can shoot what you want where you want. Food is shi* everywhere but in private restaurants, and the hotel to stay in is the National. There are two main production companies, the one i worked with is called "Island film" www.islandfilmcuba.com.

hope this helps
 
I just checked out the Island Films website - looks like a great resource. They even have a "Permits and Customs Assistance" link, which reads,

"Permits are required to work in Cuba. However, Island films will handle all the leg work. After all the productions we have completed, we are well respected and connected to the Cuban Cultural institutions. This will allow us to help bridge the gap between you and the Government and allow permits to be obtained with ease.

Film productions are welcome in Cuba. Our partnership with the Cuban Film Industry allows us to clear any Equipment and wardrobes entering Cuba. To insure the ease of custom clearance a Cuban laison from our company will meet you at the airport to assist you with this procedure when needed. "

That was awesome advice, HVX2006 - makes me want to run to Cuba to shoot right now! Does Island Films charge for these services?
 
Thanks HVX2006 and Bus No. 8

I emailed Island Films to find out about pricing and how they can help. I'm brining my own gear, but wanted the "least hassle" route. I'll keep you posted.

Justin
 
Bus No. 8 said:
Does Island Films charge for these services?
Click to expand...


Yes but reasonable pricing, not sure how much though as this was part of a larger production budget, which was great value for money and incredible level of professionalism.
 
canadians will have no problems in cuba HOWEVER a USA company/persons will have to look into tranferring/paying a cuban company as there are many restrictions here imposed by US gov't ... when i looked into it back in 2004 it was next to impossible to hire any cuban company ( well you could hire them -you just could not pay them) as the exchange of $$ might be considered trading with the enemy !!
 
not for cubans but for USA citizens - cuba is on the US no trade list ... takes special US permits ( US poultry industry is OK ... so far US oil company's cannot -they've have been trying for few years to get permission to do explore for oil - canada & european oil company's are exploring off cuba) ... there's US limits on how much US citizen ( & cuban exiles) can spend/send to cuba...
cubans have no problem spending US $$$ ... when i was there everything was in US $$$ .... you cannot use US issued credit cards in cuba ( US policy forbids US credit card company's from doing business with Cuba) so if US citizen bring CASH !!
 
"Dont worry about crime, it is almost non existent as the government is super hard on crime."
Do u really know what you're saying? That crime is almost non existent. I'm cuban now residing in Miami, I have to leave your so call "paradise" because there is no freedom of speech and no respect for human rights in Cuba, You can not express what you think because you may end up in prison and sometimes get torture and for crime is the same of everywhere the only thing is that as a communist country they control everything including the media, so you won't see many crimes in the news or newspaper because they want you to believe that there is no crime, but trust me there is crime mostly due to necessity. Next time you go to cuba visit the city people and not the tourist zone you might change your opinion of Cuba as a paradise.
 
I hate to be bearer of bad news Miami Video but it is the same in any country. Whenever you venture into poverty stricken regions it is not quite as beautiful.

tourists dont venture to East LA when they visit Southern California. I do believe when he said it is a paradise he meant the geography and climate are beautiful...not necessarily Castro's political philosophies.

best of luck Jchenier and make sure to keep us updated...very interesting thread topic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top