Transit Havana

Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuba's head of state, has taken up the cause of the island's transgender citizens: In Havana, with the help of plastic surgeons from The Netherlands and Belgium, sex reassignment surgery is carried out. Places on the programme are few and far between however, and the criteria, according to which they are allocated, are not wholly transparent. What's more, it is open for discussion what exactly this programme changes in terms of the general situation of Cuban transsexuals and the daily battle they fight against poverty and ignorance.

Daniel Abma accompanies Odette, Juani and Malú, all of whom are waiting for operations, portraying in the process not only Castro's commitment to a Cuban socialism that has space for LGBT rights, but also the social pressures exerted on the film's protagonists by their religiously conservative families. In addition the film also offers insight into the island's economic troubles, everyday struggles and general dependence on party committee edicts. Daniel Abma is co-curator of this year's FilmFestival Cottbus Cuba Focus. WHM