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On April 3, SCM Digital Media Associate Professor Beverly Peterson and Filmmaking Assistant Professor Karl Nussbaum will be taking nine students from the school to Cuba to participate in the biannual International Video Art Festival of Camagüey.  The event, which will run until April 10, features the latest Cuban and international experimental video creations and also provides participants and the general public with an opportunity to explore the city and exchange ideas with artists, curators, art students and academicians openly and spontaneously.

In advance of the trip, two acclaimed Cuban filmmakers, Jorge Luis Santana Pérez and Diana Rosa Pérez Legón (featured above) returned to Montclair to be interviewed by Peterson’s class on February 21.  The two filmmakers had previously visited the school in the spring of 2015.  According to Peterson, “The visit to my class also exposed my Documentary students to experimental documentary work.”  After that, Legón premiered a short documentary at the Film Forum that evening.

Jorge Luis Santana Pérez is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and founder/president of the FIVAC, International Video Art Festival in Camagüey, Cuba.  He is a Member of the National Guild of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and also the founder and director of the cultural center CEDINM in Camagüey. He has been exhibiting work since the early 1990s.

Diana Rosa Pérez Legón is a film director and producer at FIVAC, International Video Art Festival in Camagüey and also a member of UNEAC.  She has been directing and producing documentaries, short films and video art installations since the early 1990s.   Diana premiered a short documentary at the Film Forum on February 21.

In an interview in The Montclarion from April 2015, Peterson spoke about the impact the visit by Santana and Legon had on her students back then.  Her comments are equally pertinent this year as well.

“As an educator, it was fantastic to see my students so inspired by Legón and Santana’s visit to our class,” said Peterson. “It is exciting that the Global Education program here at [��Ʒ���˸�������] is playing an important role in this historic opening dialog between two countries.”

In advance of the trip, the students and faculty who will be traveling, will participate in an orientation event in Schmitt Hall sponsored by Wendy Gilbert-Simon of Global Education on March 1.

One of the students who is inspired, is filmmaking sophomore Peter Chapman.  Chapman, along with senior Will Monahan, will be showing his film at the festival.  “The name of my piece is “The Strings of Things.”  It’s a short silent film that tells the story of a young man who struggles with substance abuse.”  Chapman adds, “I have been extremely honored to have my film screened at an experimental film festival in Cuba this April.”

“The chance to go visit such a unique place such as Cuba is extremely exciting to me.  It’s been on my bucket list,” says Chapman.

Even the adults are excited about the visit, Nussbaum especially, who notes that he is the instructor of the school’s experimental film class, and two of his students, Chapman and  Monahan, will be screening films at the festival.  Nussbaum will also be showcasing one of his works.

“We’ll be going to screenings, workshops, participating in panel discussions, and making invaluable connections.  I’ll also be taking a reel of my students’ work.”

Nussbaum echoes the excitement of his students.  “It’s my first trip to Cuba, and I am really looking forward to it.  What makes it more exciting is being part of a film festival.  I love the dynamic of screening work for an audience and getting their feedback.”

Peterson will be making a return trip to the festival, having participated in the festival in the spring of 2015, when she showcased her work.

During Peterson’s initial visit to Cuba, she screened her transmedia documentary, “What Killed Kevin.”  This time, she will be showcasing a new experimental Virtual Reality documentary experience called “Memory Rooms.”

This time, it’s a little different, as Peterson notes.  “We’re really excited about taking our students to Cuba to expose them both to a new culture that has been closed to Americans for decades.” 

For almost 60 years, the United States had imposed a commercial, economic and financial embargo against the country, making communication and travel more difficult for both Cuban and American citizens.

Only in 2009 did President Barack Obama begin to ease constrictions. In January of 2015, the policy of détente had become much more lenient, allowing open travel to Cuba for Cuban-Americans and selective visas for students and missionaries. Santana and Legón are only two of the several artists allowed “artist visas.”

The Cuban trip will provide a lifetime of memories to the students and faculty, but the trip augurs well for a far broader warming of the relationship between the United States and the Caribbean nation.