The Cuban

2019 Canadian drama film

The Cuban

Film poster

Directed by| Sergio Navarretta
Written by| Alessandra Piccione
Produced by|

* Alessandra Piccione
* Sergio Navarretta
* Taras Koltun
* Ana Golja

Starring|

* Louis Gossett Jr.
* Ana Golja
* Lauren Holly
* Giacomo Gianniotti
* Shohreh Aghdashloo

Cinematography| Celiana Cárdenas
Edited by| Jane MacRae
Music by| Hilario Durán

Production
company

S.N.A.P. Films Inc.

Distributed by| A71 Entertainment Brainstorm Media

Release date

* December 7, 2019 (2019-12-07) (Whistler)

Running time

| 109 minutes
Country| Canada
Language| English

The Cuban is a 2019 Canadian drama film, directed by Sergio Navarretta and written by Alessandra Piccione.[1] The film stars Ana Golja as Mina, a young woman working at a nursing home managed by her aunt Bano (Shohreh Aghdashloo) while preparing for medical school, whose outlook on life is profoundly changed when she meets and befriends Luis Garcia (Louis Gossett Jr.), a former Cuban jazz musician who has been living in the home since being diagnosed with dementia.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

An unexpected friendship begins between an elderly Cuban musician with dementia who is brought out of his shell by his care worker, and a disillusioned young pre-med Afghan student named Mina. Through a shared loved of music, both their lives are changed.[3]

## Cast

[edit]

* Louis Gossett Jr. as Luis Garcia
* Ana Golja as Mina Ayoub
* Lauren Holly as Nurse Baker
* Shiva Negar as Zahra Karzai
* Jonathan Keltz as Ethan
* Layla Alzida as Shireen Karzai
* Kane Mahon as Atesh Karzai
* Taborah Johnson as Clarita
* Giacomo Gianniotti as Kris
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Bano Ayoub
* Tanner Zipchen as Orderly

In addition, Gabriel Sanchez Hernandez is seen throughout the film when Luis' addled memories conjure up the young Elena.

## Release

[edit]

The film premiered on December 7, 2019 at the Whistler Film Festival,[4] where Celiana Cárdenas won the Borsos Competition award for Best Cinematography in a Canadian Film.[5] It had its American premiere in February 2020 at the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for Narrative Feature and the Special Programmer's Award.[6]

In April 2020, the film aired on Super Channel as part of its special program of airing the films that had been slated to run at the Canadian Film Festival prior to its cancellation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

The film was released at drive-ins and traditional theatres across Canada on July 28, 2020 and in virtual cinemas across the United States on July 31, 2020.

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Award  | Date of Ceremony  | Category  | Nominees  | Result  | Reference

|
|
|
|
|

Canadian Screen Awards | May 20, 2021 | Best Editing | Jane MacRae | Nominated  | [8]
Best Original Song | Hilario Durán, "El Milagro"  | Nominated
Hilario Durán, "Mambo in Dominante"  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Etan Vlessing, "Louis Gossett Jr., Shohreh Aghdashloo Starrer 'The Cuban' Lands at Brainstorm Media". The Hollywood Reporter, July 1, 2020.
2. ^ Sheri Linden, "'The Cuban': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter, July 28, 2020.
3. ^ "'The Cuban': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
4. ^ Katherine Brodsky, "Canadian and World Premieres Abound at Annual Whistler Film Festival". Variety, November 26, 2019.
5. ^ Adrian Mack, "Antigone sweeps as Whistler film festival wraps". The Georgia Straight, December 11, 2019.
6. ^ "The Pan African Film Festival Wraps, Screening a Record-Breaking 225 Films, Representing 52 Countries in 26 Languages!". pitchengine.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
7. ^ "Postponed Canadian Film Fest finds new home on Super Channel". Canadian Press, April 20, 2020.
8. ^ Brent Furdyk (March 30, 2021). "Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations". ET Canada. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Cuban at IMDb
* The Cuban at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Cuban at Metacritic
* The Cuban at Library and Archives Canada

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