Spain / France / Switzerland / Cuba 2019, 80 min, English, French and Spanish, Hebrew & English subtitles
Winner of the IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. When they were film students, Patricia and Heidi dreamed of becoming great directors, but 1970s communist Cuba was not the ideal place to make meaningful art. Patricia was the first to “defect” without saying goodbye. Heidi soon followed, and the two lost contact for many years. Now, the childhood friends are trying to reconnect via beautiful and personal video letters.
The films they send from Spain (Patty) to Switzerland (Heidi) and back include childhood memories, excerpts from films they had made together in Cuba, and video diaries documenting the places their paths have taken them since leaving their homeland. Each has her own distinct cinematic voice and narration style, and each finds different ways to cope with the guilt, homesickness, disappointments, and love that her life choices have brought.
Previous Festivals: IDFA (Best Feature-Length Documentary)