September 20 screening at Miami Beach’s Colony Theatre
Vivien Lesnik Weisman did not grow up in a typical American home, or even a typical Cuban-American home. Daughter of activist and journalist Max Lesnik, she was born in Havana, Cuba, but soon came to Miami, Florida when her father, a revolutionary and friend of Fidel Castro, fell out with the Cuban government due to ideological differences. In Miami, her father was both against the Cuban regime but also opposed to U.S. policy toward Cuba, espousing open debate and eventually dialogue and reconciliation through the publications and radio programs he produced. He earned the ire of much of the exile community, with bombings, death threats and drive by shootings becoming a daily occurrence at the Lesnik home. Not your typical childhood.
Lesnik the daughter went on to become Lesnik the filmmaker, and in her controversial and poignant new documentary, The Man of Two Havanas, she tells not only her father’s fascinating story, but the journey she takes to understand her roots, her family, and the social and political currents that swirled around them. The film makes its Miami premiere at 7:30pm, Saturday, September 20, at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road on Miami Beach.
Though the film premiered at the prestigious 2007 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City to packed houses, until now the filmmaker has not has not been able to secure a screening in what would arguably be its natural venue, South Florida, including, most notably, not screening at this year’s Miami International Film Festival. However, The Man of Two Havanas has won numerous awards over the past year, received critical acclaim and screened around the world, including winning the 2006 IFP Fledgling Fund Award for Best WIP Emerging Latino Filmmaker and the First Coral at the 2007 Festival Internacional de Nuevo Cine Latino Americano (Havana International Film Festival.
The Man of Two Havanas is presented by Miami’s own Lynn & Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, the most important regional film and video archive, which supplied much of the footage used in the film. “We are always pleased to show films that make use of the invaluable historical resource that we have here at the Wolfson Archives, especially one like this that challenges us to revisit the past and deepen our understanding of the world around us,” says Donald Chauncey, Director of the Archives. The screening is presented in cooperation with the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
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