Andrew Lang, director of Sons of Cuba
Just how this impoverished country achieved such results was unknown outside Cuba until first-time British director ANDREW LANG gained unprecedented access to the Havana Boxing Academy to make his film Sons of Cuba.
The hand-picked group of 10-year-old boys who attend the Academy eat, breath, and sleep boxing.
Lang’s film focuses on three of these boys – Cristian, Santos, and Junior – and their journey to the country’s National Boxing Championship.
The tears, the sacrifice, the hope of these young boys, their families, and their coaches is set against the backdrop of Fidel Castro’s final days in power.
Sons of Cuba is much more than a run-of-the-mill sports documentary. This is a knockout film that pulls no punches.
Click on the audio file below to hear director Andrew Lang chat to film journalist Jan Gilbert about filming Cuban history in the making, hoodwinking the authorities, and crying behind the camera.
ANDREW LANG INTERVIEW:
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Cristian 'The Old Man', one of the stars of Sons of Cuba
SCREENING DATES:
18 March – 8 April 2010, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, Various times
30 March & 1 April 2010, Electric Cinema, Birmingham, Times TBC
11 April 2010, BFI London, NFT 3, 3.50pm followed by Q&A
11 April 2010, Electric Theatre, Guildford, 7.45pm
12 – 14 April 2010, Film Theatre, Glasgow, Times TBC
13 April 2010, Riverside Studios, London, 9pm
14 & 15 April 2010, Film House, Edinburgh, Times TBC
April 2010, Side Cinema, Newcastle, Times TBC
20 – 22 April 2010, Chapter Cinema, Cardiff, Times TBC
