The program will feature a block of five shorts from across the Caribbean, which you can read about here, and the feature-length fiction film Freda, directed by Gessica Geneus, who will be in attendance. We are honored that Gessica will be present for the screening, and engage in a post-film conversation.

The women known as Madan Sara in Haiti work tirelessly to buy, distribute, and sell food and other essentials in markets through the country. Despite the obstacles faced by the women working in a sector that lacks investment, infrastructure and state assistance, the Madan Sara continue to be one of the most critical parts of the Haitian economy and of who we are as a country.

Co-sponsored by: Cuban Heritage Collection and Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuba and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, Tulane University, Atlanta Global Studies Center, The Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University

"Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think. Perhaps instead of thinking of identity as an already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent, we should think, instead, of identity as a “production,” within, not outside, representation."

"In Santiago de Cuba, rival conga bands scour the sparse marketplace for materials to create show-stopping numbers for the annual Carnival competition. O’Reilly’s film follows young, innovative Lazaro, who is determined to beat “the Shark,” his older and more establishment-favored competitor. Tensions build and tempers flare as the government restrictions and scarcity of present-day Cuba come to bear on one of the world’s poorest Carnivals. " – Jaie Laplante.

The film screening will be followed by Q and A with the executive producers, Tomás Montoya González, and Antonia Zennaro,