Tania Martins

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the DVD launch of the award-winning documentary "Sons of Cuba". 

We got the opportunity to watch the film. As I had not heard of it, but had seen the poster laden with crowns of laurel from film festivals, I was quite curious to find out what it was all about.  

Needless to say, I was more than a little impressed by the film. Especially as I had a chance to chat to film director, Andrew Lang, who told me that he had no previous experience in filmmaking or documentary making prior to the film. 

The film centers around the lives of three youngsters in Havana, Cuba. The three of them attend Boxing Academy. They get up at 4am everyday to exercise, got to school and then return to a few more hours of boxing training. All this is the name of sport and to keep Cuba amongst the best countries in the world in the modality. However, if you think they are being hard on the kids and they shouldn't be treated like that - just like I felt - this is all before you even hear it straight from the kids themselves. They see boxing as a way to be loyal to their country, as well as, being a career in which they can successfully support their families in the future. These kids are not treated like kids, but then they don't act like kids. They feel the responsibility to give their parents the pride and the better life they deserve, and for that, these kids are happy to sacrifice seeing their parents in a regular basis and put themselves through a grueling exercise regime.

It is an emotional film. You grow to know the youngsters, Junior, Cristian and Santos, and feel their pain. You empathize with them, their family situations and their coach, who thinks of them as his own children. They have everything riding on championships - from local to international - and you can't but see their need to make something of themselves.

Afterwards, we had the pleasure of a 30 minute long Q&A with Andrew Lang which he answered questions about the filming process, his previous film experience and how he went about funding the film (luck, in his own words).  

A band came onstage to perform those exotic sounds and words hailing from a small island called Cuba and we danced the night away.  

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYR3hpkkG5A