En La Otra Isla (1968, 41 minutes), Y Tenemos Sabor (1967, 30 minutes)

En La Otra Isla and Y Tenemos Sabor are streaming for free in our #VirtualCinema from June 18-July 1.

In celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Maysles Documentary Center presents two short documentaries by Sara Gómez, digitized and co-presented by Havana Glasgow with permission from the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Gómez began working with the ICAIC in 1961 as an apprentice and directed almost a dozen films by the time of her death in 1974. The two shorts presented here exemplify her joyful exaltation of Black Cuban culture and the free-flowing stylistic ease which allows her subjects to radiate beyond the screen. 

En La Otra Isla/On the Other Island (1968, 41 minutes)

South of mainland Cuba sits a large island called Isla de Juventud— known as Isla de Piños at the time this film was made, with a promise from Castro that the new name would take effect once the youth work colony that populated it had realized the island’s revolutionary potential. Gómez profiles these young people with a sympathetic ear for their thoughts and dreams, eliciting frank testimonies of a culturally rich but racially stratified society. Her dynamic interview set-ups give visual momentum to her subjects’ earnest reflections. In one particularly striking, prolonged composition, we see Gómez herself seated next to a subject, smoking a cigarette and listening with the same intensity that characterizes her camera’s dignifying gaze. 

Y Tenemos Sabor/We’ve Got Rhythm (1967, 30 minutes)

Cuban musicians demonstrate and explain the nation’s traditional instruments, drawing connections to Spanish and African cultures while highlighting unique cultural contributions. Geographical bridges turn generational as Gómez shifts to the traditional influence embodied by a younger subculture embracing new global sounds.