Cuba in Africa

The Antonio Maceo Brigade consists of fifty-five children of Cuban families that escaped the revolution and settled down in Miami. To the annoyance of their parents, the children developed pro-Castro ideas. This documentary follows the Brigade on its first visit to Cuba. When they meet family members and embrace old neighbours, childhood memories surface.

With Nelson Mandela freed from prison, South Africa is changing fast - but big challenges lie ahead. In the township of Soweto children have taken charge of their schools, trading formal (albeit poorly-funded) education for incitement of rebellion against the injustices between the black and the white populations.

Rugby Union has long been viewed in South Africa as a game for the white population, and the country’s success in the sport has been a true source of Afrikaner pride. When the 50-year-old policies and entrenched injustices of apartheid were finally overthrown in 1994, Nelson Mandela’s new government began rebuilding a nation badly in need of racial unity. So the world was watching when South Africa played host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Though they had only one non-white player, the South African Springboks gained supporters of all colors as they made an improbable run into the final match where they beat the heavily favored New Zealand team. When Mandela himself marched to the center of the pitch cloaked in a Springbok jersey and shook hands with the captain of the South African team, two nations became one. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and director Cliff Bestall will tell the emotional story of that cornerstone moment and what it meant to South Africa’s healing process.

A&E's long-running biography series takes a look at one of the 20th century's most emblematic figures, Ernest Hemingway. Through a collection of still photography, narration by granddaughter Mariel Hemingway, commentary from author A.E. Hotchner and publisher Charles Scribner, and readings from Hemingway's writing (including personal letters and unpublished works) by Scott Glenn, the film takes us from the man's Midwestern childhood roots up through the tragic suicide that serves as a bittersweet exclamation on what is otherwise considered to be a life of profound accomplishment.

Major League Baseball has been transformed by the influx of Cuban players such as Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu. But a special debt of gratitude is owed to two half-brothers, whose courage two decades ago paved the way for their stardom. "Brothers in Exile" tells the incredible story of Livan and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who risked their lives to get off the island.

Photographer Joe Guerriero sets out to make sense of the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba. Through conversations with people from all walks of life, in and outside of Cuba, he tries to shed light on the political and human sides of this conflict.

A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time.

In a culture where cremation is unusual, cemeteries fill up rapidly. In Latin America and in some other places, to solve the problem, remains are frequently exhumed. In Cuba, two year after interment. Relatives are invited to observe the little ritual. The music of the film is drawn from requiems from different periods. Twelve pieces by seven different composers are quoted. Together, they make up a traditional requiem, although only a few passages from the "dies irae" have been included, and other sections are slightly abbreviated.

This revealing portrait of Cuba follows the lives of Fidel Castro and three Cuban families affected by his policies over the last four decades.

Documentary on the German luxury liner St. Louis that sailed from Hamburg to Cuba in 1939 carrying 937 German Jews. For 30 excruciating days the ship wandered the seas and was refused haven by every country in the Americas.

Documentary about Fidel Castro, covering 40 years of Cuban Revolution. Rare Fidel Castro footage: he appears swimming with a bodyguard, visiting his childhood home and school, playing with his friend Nelson Mandela, meeting kid Elián Gonzalez, and celebrating his birthday with the Buena Vista Social Club group.

Oliver Stone's second documentary on/interview with Fidel Castro specifically addresses his country's recent crackdown on Cuban dissidents; namely, the execution of three men who hijacked a ferry to the United States.

When an academic unearths a forgotten history, residents of the small township of Pukekohe, including kaumātua who have never told their personal stories before, confront its deep and dark racist past.

Lázaro Escarze, an 87 years old revolutionary Cuban man, lives in a small village and will have his phone installed for the first time in his life. To whom will he call?

During his stay in Cape Town as a film student, Shatho Tibone was inspired by an initial casual trip he took to the scenic but informal settlement of Hangberg. This film focuses on the uncertainties and inhumane acts of police and state brutality faced by the predominantly Rastafarian, KhoiSan identifying community of Hangberg in Cape Town, South Africa. So, through the participatory collective effort of a few journalists, filmmaker and community leaders Shatho went on a 5 year journey to document the story of this community which has become an enigma in South African imagination,

The Kafkaesque world of Cuba under Castro's rule is brought to light in this reconstruction of the 1989 trial and execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, the highest-ranking general and hero of the revolution, and commander of the Angolan and Ethiopian campaigns.

In the year of Nelson Mandela’s centenary, Glasgow, Love and Apartheid is the story of one family’s fight against apartheid from Scotland and South Africa. Director, Dhivya Kate Chetty, follows her parents – a mixed, and once ‘illegal’, couple – on a trip back to South Africa where the family stories begin to unfold – protests, an uncle in jail, an ANC arms cache, a doctor on the run and a surprise connection with Mandela in hiding.

Leysi over media in Cuba

The short film captures the tireless battle of Namibia Flores Rodriguez, the only known female boxer in the Caribbean nation. Training at Havana’s Rafael Trejo arena in defiance of the ban, the athlete undertakes the same unrelenting regime as her male counterparts—running the same circuits, lifting the same truck tires—but without the hope that she might one day represent her country.