About Cuba Mia

Cuba Mia tells the story of a group of Cuban Jews who embark on a mission to Cuba through the Jewish Solidarity Foundation. The journey turns into something magical as the group is transported back to their homeland, an island that has hardly changed in the forty years they have been gone.

While the politics of Post-Castro Cuba exist as an undercurrent in this story, the film strikes a more personal note as we share each character's rediscovery of their lost childhood while they retrace their history in Cuba. We follow Luis Stabinski to his father's guayavera store and Male Nick to her elementary school and begin to understand the intimacy of their tight-knit community. We also visit the synagogue where the community congregated for social gatherings and juxtapose its decrepit condition with images that reveal its rich past. As these emotional events unfold, so does the story of their families' sudden migration to the United States during the revolution.

As each day passes, we visit a new landmark, a home, or a relative. The informal relationship between the filmmaker and the characters creates an intimate portrait of a people struggling to resolve their displaced identities.

The story ends with a visit to the cemetery where the group is able to pay their respects to their grandparents. It is here that the film climaxes as we watch the visitors discover a link to their heritage that cannot be erased with the passing of time or changing of governments.

This film explores the mixing of cultures as a result of migration. Through the eyes of their friend, Rhonda Mitrani, the camera documents the traditions of Cuban and Jewish culture in a once thriving community.

Through in-depth conversations with Mitrani, we witness how each couple is able to come to terms with the community they left behind, their inner struggle as Cuban American Jews, and their rekindled relationship with their homeland.