About the film

This is an Irish movie set in Havana, where it was filmed with a keen eye to that city’s dinginess in tropical light. Its hero, Jesus (Héctor Medina), is a gay hairdresser who dreams of becoming a drag entertainer at the nightclub where he coifs the noisy, squabbling divas. Jesus, whose mother is dead and whose father abandoned him, lives in a slum, and is watched over by the club’s tough but caring star, an aging drag queen known as Mama. Complicating Jesus’s precarious existence is the sudden reappearance of his father, Angel, a former boxer released from prison who likes his rum and is rumored to have killed a man. Angel’s initial reaction to his son’s homosexuality and fondness for drag is all too predictable: Viva doesn’t amplify Angel’s hostility to tell a prolonged tale of persecution and liberation.

About Minnesota Cuban Film Festival

The Minnesota Cuban Film Festival is organized by the Minnesota Cuba Committee, in collaboration with MSP Film Society and ICAIC (Cuban Film Institute). The Minnesota Cuba Committee is responsible for the film selection and program information. The 15th Minnesota Cuban Film Festival features films that address the achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the eyes of its filmmakers. The festival highlights diverse and challenging films of social change, human struggle and the boldness of the human spirit. The festival starts Wednesday, February 28 and runs for five consecutive Thursdays through April 4, 2024.

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