Balseros (Film)

Balseros (Spanish for rafters ) the name of a published in 2002 Spanish documentary film by directors Carlos Bosch and Josep Maria Domènech.

Background and action

The film is about the so-called Balseros, boat refugees who fled during the so-called periodo especial from Cuba to the United States.

Background is the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1990 and the consequent lack of subsidies from the Soviet Union to Cuba, which caused a rapid increase in poverty in Cuba. This resulted in an influx of refugees, in the run of 50,000 Cubans, partly by the Cuban government unhindered, culminating in 1994. For this purpose, the most adventurous boats were built from all aufzutreibenden materials in order to cross the approximately 90 miles or 150 kilometers of sea to Florida. Carlos Bosch said in the intro of the film that this is. Less political, but rather RELATES to economic refugees

The documentation consists of longer interviews with the boat builders, the Balseros and looks at the lives of seven refugees over seven years to build a new life in the United States by building a raft to their attempts. This insight into the daily life in Cuba be granted in those years, and the United States.

The film lasts two hours. The first half was filmed in Cuba, including the end some scenes from the prison camp of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where the lot decided whether the refugees were allowed to enter the United States or not, and all this while the family members were not aware of their whereabouts. The second hour is about the lives of those Cubans who made it to the U.S. and were spread across the country. These people were five years later again filmed to show their difficulties in adapting to the new society and the resulting homesickness, a "human adventure of people who were shipwrecked between two worlds."

Prices

  • Best Foreign Language Film at the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, Havana, 2002
  • Best Spanish-language documentation for the Ajijic Festival Internacional de Cine, Mexico, 2002
  • Winner of the IDA Award from the International Documentary Association, 2003
  • Nominated for an Academy Award, Best Documentary, 2004
  • Winner of the Peabody Awards, 2004
  • Winner of Emmys for cinematography for Josep Maria Domènech ( Best Photography ), 2005
  • Nominated for Best Documentary, Goya. 2003

Specifications

  • Production: Bausan Films & TVC
  • Director: Carlos Bosch & Josep M ª Domènech
  • Book: David Trueba & Carlos Bosch
  • Camera: Josep M ª Domènech
  • Producer: Loris Omedes
  • Executive Producer: M ª José Solera
  • TVC Executive Producer: Tom Roca
  • Director of Production: Tono Folguera
  • Production Manager: Richard Schweid
  • Music: Lucrecia
  • Sound: Juan Sánchez " Cuti "
  • Editing: Ernest Blasi
  • Graphics: Philip Stanton
  • Language: Spanish & English
  • Budget: 770.000 €
2002 in film Screenplay Balseros (rafters) Emmy Award
102048
de