Havana Libre

Date: Thursday, June 22, 2023
Location: Maine Studio Works, 170 Anderson St, Portland, ME 04101
Time: Doors open at 7 pm, film starts at 8 pm, panel discussion will begin around 9:30pm
Tickets: $15 adv on Eventbrite / $20 at door
Food and drink: Baxter Beer Co (official beer partner of MOFF) and Meet On The Street Food Truck
Notes: This is a 21+ event.
Hosted by: Maine Outdoor Film Festival
Non-Profit Involvement: Surfrider Foundation

Schedule:

• 7 PM: Doors Open – drinks and food trucks
• 8 PM: Film Begins
• 9:30 PM: Q&A With Film Crew

Film Program

Havana Libre – 81 minutes – (official film site) – In Cuba, where people fled en masse from Fidel Castro’s regime, surfing and other water activities have been banned for decades. Today, surfing exists in a murky legal gray area and is viewed with suspicion by the Cuban authorities.

Despite these challenges, a group of passionate Cuban surfers is determined to carve out a place for surfing in the country’s culture of athletic excellence. Frank is one of the most established surfers and to many the best surfer on the island. Yaya is a community leader and surfer who has made it her mission to ensure that the next generation can surf freely. When surfing is announced as an official sport for the Tokyo Olympics, they see their chance to bring their sport out of the shadows and on to the world stage. What follows is a tale of underground surfers building their own boards from scratch, dodging the authorities as they travel the island looking for the perfect wave, and attempting to legitimize their passion by persuading the Cuban authorities to field an Olympic team.

When Frank is invited to participate in a qualifier event out of the country, he must decide whether to compete, which would mean embarking on an illegal journey and risking permanent separation from his wife and newborn baby. Yaya is similarly torn when she is invited to participate in a surf symposium in Hawaii. Havana Libre is a story of people following their passion at great danger to themselves and ultimately begs the question: what would you risk to chase your dreams?