Gloria Rolando films in Richmond, CA
Reembarque/Reshipment and Assata

Films on Cuba: June 13, 2015

The Richmond-Regla Friendship Committee, linking Richmond, Calif., with Regla, Cuba, presents a timely double feature of films by prize winning Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando, whose career spans over 35 years at the Cuban National Film Institute. Ms. Rolando also heads an independent filmmaking group, Imágenes del Caribe, based in Havana.

Gloria Rolando films screen Saturday, June 13, 6 p.m., at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, 339 11th St. at Macdonald Ave., Richmond. The event also includes a Cuba update by Walter Turner, host of Africa Today on KPFA. The two films offer two historical perspectives on the hope and tragedy of immigration and exile to Cuba: “Reembarque / Reshipment,” 2014, is Gloria Rolando’s latest film, the story of Haitian immigrants sent to Oriente, Cuba, in the early 20th century and their forced repatriation after the sugar market crashed. The film has English subtitles and runs 58 minutes.

“Eyes of the Rainbow,” 1997, is the legendary film about Assata Shakur, the Black Panther and Black Liberation Army leader who took refuge in Cuba after years of struggles in the U.S. 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. The film is in English and runs 47 minutes. This is a rare chance to see this film, as this remastered version is not commercially available.

Suggested donation is $15, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Tickets will be available at the door or buy them now through www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, call 510-620-6581 or 510-375-2590.

This event is a fundraiser in support of the Richmond Regla, Cuba Friendship Committee projects.

Co-sponsors: Priority Africa Network, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Haiti Action Committee.