The Last Jews of Guantanamo

Description

Synopsis

There are a little over 200,000 people living in Guantanamo, roughly 50 of whom are Jewish. In 1959, Cuba underwent a revolution, and in its aftermath, all public displays of religion were prohibited. In 1991, the Cuban government repealed this ban on religious practice, allowing people of all faiths to practice publicly. This film follows two octogenarians, Fortuna and Lidia, as they prepare for their Bat Mitzvah.

We observe the women and their families as their daily lives intersect with Judaism—grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, lighting Chanukah candles, and preparing for the ceremony. They share their feelings of trepidation and awe as the event approaches. Set in Guantanamo, the film also captures the local atmosphere, with scenes of horses and buggies passing by and children playing soccer in the streets.

Director

Yael Bridge

Yael Bridge is an Emmy-nominated documentary producer and director. Her directorial feature debut, The Big Scary “S” Word, premiered at Hot Docs in 2020 and was released on Hulu in 2022. Previously, she produced Left on Purpose, which won the Audience Award at DOC NYC, as well as the Netflix Original film Saving Capitalism, starring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in Business and Economics.

Yael served as Head of Production at Inequality Media, where her viral videos tackling complex political issues have garnered over 500 million views. She was named to DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 list in 2021 and was a 2022 resident at the Jewish Film Institute. Currently, she is the President of the Documentary Producers Alliance and proudly chairs its Labor Committee. Yael holds an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University and an MA in Media Studies from The New School.