Cuba is currently in the throes of unparalleled change. Cubans are encountering U.S. citizens as new tourists to their country while Americans are being transformed by their recent engagement with the island. The mystique of change and the intensity of encounter rarely afford U.S. audiences a deep knowledge of contemporary Cuban culture in its sophistication, tradition and breadth. Cuban cinema is a powerful force that can help to shape the moment.

Cuban Lens, a one-day film showcase at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center**,**offers context and clarity about those recent Cuban changes through film. It presents emerging filmmakers whose short works capture that transformation.

The screenings and conversations with filmmakers will engage New York audiences and reflect on important subjects like race, emigration, gender, and tensions around identity: subjects newly imagined by young and diverse filmmakers. The evening will include conversations with directors Marcel Beltrán, Zoe Miranda and scriptwriter Alán González.

Cuban Lens is curated by Jesús Hernández. It offers a glimpse of Cuban film rarely seen in the United States. For Hernández, a producer and filmmaker who runs Bach Media, mounting such an effort is personal. “As a Cuban, I felt compelled to feature a new generation of filmmakers, the ones capturing the seismic shift taking place in my country. Plenty of festivals and series feature Cuban cinema but I specifically wanted these emerging artists – those that might otherwise be overlooked – to have a platform in New York City to showcase their enormous talent,” he said.

Program:

-Casa de la noche, 2016 | Directed by Marcel Beltrán. 13 minutes.

**-Conectifai, **2016 | Directed by Zoe Miranda. 16 minutes.

**-Abecé,**2013 | Directed by Diana Montero. 15 minutes.

-El hijo del sueño, 2016 | Directed by Alejandro Alonso. 9 minutes.

-Limbo, 2016 | Directed by Rafael Ramírez, 12 minutes.

-Batería, 2016 | Directed by Damian Sáinz, 15 minutes.

All films have English subtitles.

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Bach Media, the primary producer of Cuban Lens, is a New York City based production company that distributes Cuban cinema to audiences in the United States. The company produces conferences and events year round both within the United States and internationally.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Cuban Futures Beyond the Market at New York University.

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.