'Forbidden Shore' Is LatAm Music You Haven't Heard Sandra Guzman - NBC News
go to original April 8, 2017

The Forbidden Shore by Ron Chapman - Trailer (MiamiFilmFestival)

If there is one film that can serve as a metaphor for how little the world knows about Cuba, Latin America, and the rest of the region, it's "The Forbidden Shore," a marvelous documentary that introduces the world to forty Cuban artists.

It was one of thirty-seven films shown at the Havana Film Festival New York, the longest running festival featuring the work of Cuban and Latin American filmmakers, now in its 18th year.

The film's director, Canadian-born Ron Chapman, said that when he first visited Cuba eight years ago, "I was overwhelmed at what I didn't know. I was amazed at the diversity of its music and how very little Cuban music is known or played internationally other than The Buena Vista Social Club."

The same could be said of the rest of the region, but that has been changing, partly due to the work of today's Latino and Latina filmmakers, as evidenced in this festival.

"We wanted to show a snapshot of the work that is being produced today," said Diana Vargas, the festival's artistic director for the past seventeen years.

"Cinema coming out of the area is fresh and innovative and artists of the region are eager to tell stories that correct many misconceptions of Latin America," Vargas said.

Read the interview with Ron Chapman about his film at NBC News

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