When on a movie set someone yells “lights, camera, action!” one may think that everything is set and ready to go, and in an ideal world it would be. However when shooting a short film, a documentary or a full length film, something’s always about to come up and thus the ability to foresee any trouble up ahead becomes imperative. Because making a movie is not a piece of cake, especially when there are things out of your control constantly getting in the way.

In order to make a movie the steps to be take are simple but many. The problem is not the shooting of the movie itself but in how to get to the moment when the camera starts rolling. According to Marta María Ramírez, independent film producer, “Making an independent film can be hard anywhere in the world. However, making independent films in Cuba is a near impossible adventure. It’s madness”.

However funny or bold this may sound, it’s as real as it gets. There are two basic ways to produce a film in Cuba: through the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) or independently. As one would say in good old fashioned Cuban slang,“With the Indians or with the cowboys”. The fact that the world of film is both an industry and a creative, artistic production, makes everything even more complicated than normal. Any production, even the smallest of them, cannot be compared to a painter with a canvas and some brushes; a musician with a melody in his head. In the film industry, however small the project, there’s always a large group of people working on it.

It’s quite absurd that film production in Cuba has become such a struggle. It’s also sad because Cuba has always upheld its film production as a part of our artistic traditions. However, the time when Cuban cinema was a reference around the world is long gone and with it the idea of film as society’s self reflecting mirror.

Young Cuban film producer Claudia Calviño, considers that “Cuban institutions perceive Cuban film productions as if they were out to get them; an art form interested in showing only our problems and miseries; and therefore, their understanding of not only film but of film production and the film industry itself, especially independent filmmaking, is not exactly a positive one”.

Regardless of wether we’re dealing with a new production business or a longtime established production company, no road is free of obstacles. Being able to get film permits for independent film productions in Cuba is more than complicated, firstly because they are not legally recognized as such. The same thing happens with equipment rental companies for movies. This is precisely the thorn in the way. Most —if not all— of the problems with filmmaking has nothing to do with the artistic part of it, we have many skilled and talented people, but with the process needed to produce a movie.

Although the scenario for independent producers in Cuba may  shortly change for the better, this “a-legal” situation is frankly frustrating and it adds to a long list of many frustrations entrepreneurs and self-employed people living on the island today have to endure.

Recently, a series of regulations and changes that the Cuban film industry needs to resuscitate have been discussed. The need to reform itself to be more in tune with the dynamics in which it operates internationally has also been discussed. The country’s leadership, along with other institutions and ICAIC, are working to develop a Cuban film industry that is more in tune with the world we live in.

One of the main obstacles to overcome is getting financing. ICAIC has access to State resources but the independent filmmakers are left out. In this regard, Claudia Calviño also points out the need activate funds, as in many other Latin American countries, and mechanisms through which the production, distribution and existence of Cuban cinema is encouraged.

“There are no private companies investing in the film industry. And if they were, these investments could not provide any sort of benefits. However, if they were able to do so we would be really supporting the film industry, by solving the financial issue, whether public or private” Claudia pointed out.

Even actress Isabel Santos, who recently ventured into documentary film direction, stated in an interview that “Making movies is fun but very expensive, and a producer will always bet on a sure thing and not on someone who’s just starting out”.

Another young Cuban film producer, Amalia Rojas, has been trying to start shooting an independent film for almost six months and “I’m still waiting for the permits. You have apply for them through a Cuban State institution. The Cuban Audiovisual Association has been very helpful to get a lot of these, but it’s never an easy thing to do”.

Our movies attract thousands of spectators each year, specially during the film festival. Confining the film industry to a State yearly production when we have so much independent talent, is to constrict art to a mere bureaucratic whim.

It’s in our movies where, in many cases, Cuba reflects upon itself, its society and Cubans’ lives. Only film, our films, have had the audacity, ability and genius to better understand our country and ourselves.