Sexual Diversity in Young Cuban Cinema

Book excerpt: "This book is especially valuable for Frohlich's insightful analysis of the filmmakers' use of new media technologies, original cinematic language, and engagement with the rich Cuban film tradition, while assessing how the younger generations are negotiating their contemporary sense of identities with the evolving project of the nation. This is a must read for anyone interested in Cuban film, gender and sexuality studies, and contemporary Cuban society." - Michael J. Horswell, Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature, co-editor of Sumergido: Cine Alternativo Cubano, Florida Atlantic University, USA "Margaret Frohlich's sparkling book is a welcomed addition to the Cuban cinema bookshelf. It addresses cine joven's contributions to civil society/state debates of the past 40-30 years focused on issues of sexual diversity, participation, and identity and its intervention could not be timelier: Cuba's young filmmakers continue to explore intersecting discourses of youth/sexuality and queer subjectivities in the face of a state that continues to sharpen the edges of what is considered acceptable. Frohlich's book offers us many tools through which to understand the complex landscape of sexual diversity and civil discourse in Cuba today." -Ana Lopez, Professor of Communication and Director of the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, Tulane University, USA This book explores how young Cuban filmmakers have greatly expanded the range of sexual subjectivities on screen. It analyzes cine joven (films made by young directors) from the late 1980s to the early 2020s, film reviews, articles, and materials from the Cinematheque of Cuba's archive to illustrate the confluence of sexuality, cinema, and discourses of youth. While sexual and cinematic cultures have their own unique relation to the public sphere, state institutions, and transnational flows, this book explores tensions, debates, and expressions that unite them. In an investigation of how young filmmakers employ queer strategies of self-making to bring sexual diversity to the screen, Margaret G. Frohlich shows us how cine joven takes part in the socialization of power in Cuba. Margaret G. Frohlich is associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at Dickinson College, USA.