Parole, a short film by Lázaro González, a doctoral candidate in the UC Berkeley Department of Film & Media, will be screened at BAMPFA on November 2, 2024 as part of the series Cuban Contemporary Short Films II: Voices of Displacement.
Parole was produced during the Spring 2024 semester with the support of Berkeley Media Lab. This "accented" short film explores the liminal state of exile and delves into the complex interplay between the “American dream” and the challenges faced by new arrivals. It sheds light on how language barriers, cultural differences, and technological innovations can both bridge and deepen divides among individuals separated by distance and circumstance.
The screening on November 2 will feature a conversation with Lázaro González and UC Berkeley Department of Film & Media doctoral candidate Caleb Murray-Bozeman.
This second showcase of Cuban contemporary short films privileges first-person explorations of cultural alterity and deterritorialization. Ángela follows a Cuban immigrant in New York City, while Petricor uses plants to symbolize uprootedness and nostalgia. Souvenir critiques the Western touristic gaze that romanticizes Cuba’s past while ignoring its present. In Parole, a mother’s WhatsApp messages connect her with her exiled son in San Francisco, highlighting migrant burdens. Finally, History Is Written at Night depicts a dystopian Cuba during a blackout, haunted by the imagination of another mother. Through their formal heterogeneity, the films all offer nuanced perspectives on diaspora, exile, and nation building amidst Cuba’s ongoing historical exodus.
Tickets can be purchased via BAMPFA's website.
Parole is one of four Cuban films in competition at this year's V INSTAR Film Festival and has been officially selected for several film festivals, including the Seattle Latino Film Festival, Latino and Iberian Film Festival at Yale (LIFFY), San Francisco Latino Film Festival, Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, and Vitafest. The film has also earned an Honorable Mention at Berkeley's Eisner Award and showcased at Archipiélago Fílmico in Mexico City, the Caribbean International Film Festival in the UK, and the Diaspora Film Festival. Watch the film's trailer on YouTube.