On Location in Cuba

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368 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 41 illus., notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-5940-7
Published: May 2009
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-9419-4
Published: May 2009
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-8411-4
Published: May 2009

Envisioning Cuba

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The 1990s were a time of dramatic transformation for Cuba. With the collapse of its Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union, the island nation plummeted into an era of scarcity and uncertainty known as the Special Period, a time from which it emerged only slowly in the new century. On Location in Cuba views these pivotal decades through the lens of cinema. Ann Marie Stock conducted hundreds of interviews and conversations in Cuba to examine individual artists' lives and creative output--including film, video, and audiovisual art. She explores the impact of the Cold War's end, the economic crisis that ensued, and the decentralization of the state's political, economic, and cultural apparatus.

Stock focuses on what she calls Street Filmmaking--the production of emerging audiovisual artists who work outside the state film industry--to examine the island's transformation and changing notions of Cuban identity. Employing entrepreneurial approaches to producing art and to negotiating the exigencies of globalization, this younger generation of filmmakers offers fresh perspectives on what it means to be Cuban in an increasingly complex and connected world.

About the Author

Ann Marie Stock is associate professor of Hispanic studies and film studies at the College of William and Mary. She is editor of Framing Latin American Cinema: Contemporary Critical Perspectives.
For more information about Ann Marie Stock, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"The first book-length study in any language that renders a full picture of the island's changing audiovisual landscape so as to make sense of the larger shift occurring in Cuba."--The Virginia Gazette

"An informative first-person account of the recent emergence in Cuba of an independent audiovisual movement. . . . Groundbreaking and well documented. Recommended."--Choice

"[An] absorbing, closely documented, refreshingly original, and well-written book. . . . Offers an elegant blend of textual analysis, contextual mappings, and comments from the directors themselves. . . . A lively and indispensable guide to this transitional moment in Cuban culture and society."--The Americas

“Fascinating.”--EIAL

"I am happy to see a new book on Cuban cinema that focuses on the independent film/video movement that began to develop in the 1990s. Covering the important recent cultural debates and the opening up of Cuban screens to new work, On Location in Cuba makes a significant contribution."--Michael Chanan, Roehampton University