Embargo, The Story of Politics and Collusion Behind the Cuban Embargo (blockade) screening at 11am Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22 at the Laemmle Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Best movie I’ve seen on this subject. - Robert Scheer
GET TICKETS AT: www.laemmle.com
Next Year In Havana Films presents Embargo, a film by first-time, female director, Jeri Rice. The 90-minute documentary will screen during the week of the 55th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Embargo follows Rice’s quest for truth, beginning with a rare encounter with Cuban President, Fidel Castro. In 2002, Rice traveled to Cuba with 40 influential women from the Pacific Northwest; the University of Washington and U.S. Senator, Maria Cantwell. The Communist leader, Fidel Castro confesses to her that the utopia he tried to create, did not succeed and he had no time to fix it. Rice sets out to find why her country's unprecedented embargo of Cuba has persisted unabated, long after the Cold War. Embargo is the result of 14 years of research. From a 30-year career in fashion to foreign policy, and finally to the art of filmmaking, Rice’s passion for truth telling is the final result.
Along with information from recently declassified documents and original interviews with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Sergei Khrushchev, Ted Sorensen, and Lucie Arnaz—among others—an unprecedented array of historical, political, social and cultural perspectives is revealed in Embargo. New insights into: the Fulgencio Batista-Richard Nixon- CIA connections; Nixon’s link to the failed Bay of Pig invasion; behind the scenes with Ted Sorensen during the Cuban Missile Crisis; Watergate and more.
The film's compelling truths ultimately link the threads of an untold history, as it exposes a foreign policy that has failed both countries. Now is a time of change between Cuba and the United States – forward or backward, and the future of the embargo hangs in the balance. A new Cold War developing with the threat of nuclear confrontations, Embargo’s relevance to today’s political climate is a perfect point to begin a new conversation.
Embargo Exclusive Interviews
ANN LOUISE BARDACH: Author; FRANK MANKIEWICZ: Press Secretary for RFK Jr.; LAURENCE WILKERSON: Chief of Staff to Colin Powell; LUCIE ARNAZ: Daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucile Ball; ROBERT KENNEDY, JR: Son of RFK; SERGEI KHRUSHCHEV: Son of Nikita Khrushchev; TED SORENSEN: Speech writer for JFK; RUSS BAKER: Author; PETER KORNBLUH: Director of the Cuba Project, National Security Archives, GWU; JOSE PERTIERRA: Human rights lawyer; JORGE M. PEREZ: Developer and philanthropist; and ANTONIO ZAMORA: Former corporate council to the Cuban American Foundation; PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON; T. J. ENGLISH: Author; RON KLEIN: Former US Congressman; MAX LESNIK: Journalist; Rep. JIM McDERMOTT: Former US Congressman; JACK O'HALLORAN: Son of Albert Anastasia; NOMI PRINS: Author; LAMAR WALDRON: Author; and STEPHEN ZACK: Former President of the American Bar Association.
Embargo Crew
Director and Producer: JERI RICE; Executive Producers: ARIS ANAGNOS, GERALYN WHITE DREYFOUS, KATHLEEN LEWIS, GREGORY D. LUTIN, JORGE M. PEREZ, JERI RICE and SUZANNE THOMPSON; Co-Producers: JOANNA CHARNES and TODD SALI; Cinematographer: TODD SALI; Co-Writers: MARK MONROE and JERI RICE; Editors: ALEX CHAVEZ, DANNY DANEAU, ZACH GOUZ, and RAJEANA PRICE; Associate Producers: ALISON NAROD, ROBERT PASKUS, SOFIA BAUM, and DARIUS FISHER; Original Sound Track and Music Supervisor: KULLY B and GUSSY G.; Postproduction Producer and Sound design: EDWARD OLESCHAK PGA; and Special Thanks to: ARTS AND CULTURAL BRIDGE FOUNDATION; THE ROSENTHAL FOUNDATION; and the UTAH FILM CENTER.
Embargo screened in Santa Monica at the Monica Laemmle Film Center beginning with a benefit screening on September 7, followed by Q&A with: Director: Jeri Rice, Vice President Los Angeles Port Commissioners: Dave Arian, Editor in Chief of Truthdig: Bob Scheer, American Author, Journalist and Public Speaker: Nomi Prins and author and American investigative journalist: Russ Baker. The event was hosted by: Aris Anagnos, Edward Asner, Jackson Browne, Hector Elizondo, Jan Goodman, Ed Harris, Brad Horwitz, Jerry Manpearl, Susan Sarandon, and the Arts and Cultural Bridge Foundation. The film opened to the public on Friday, September 8. Embargo then moved on to open in New York City at the Village East Cinema on September 15-21. Opening night was followed by Q&A with: Jeri Rice, Director; Peter Kornbluh, Director of the National Security Archive's Cuba Documentation Project; and Sandra Levinson, Executive Director, Center for Cuban Studies. Ambassador Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations attended the opening and addressed the audience following the 5:30pm screening.
Some of the press coverage includes:
Review in Cuba Business Report by Willard Morgan (10/14/17)
Live interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now with guest Jose Pertierra from La Habana (9/20/17)
Democracy Now Part 2: Web Exclusive (9/29/17)
Live podcast on TruthDig with Robert Scheer and Sarah Wesley (9/21/17)
Some of the highlights from the screenings are captured below.
Screenings are sponsored by the Arts and Cultural Bridge Foundation whose purpose is to foster opportunities to promote dialogue, cultural exchanges, support actions and initiatives that contribute to the normalization of relations and for a better understanding between the people of Cuba and the United States.
Contact
Suzanne Thompson (310) 570-5419
Suzannethompson55@gmail.com