Lessons For Luca (2021) Trailer

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LESSONS FOR LUCA (2021)

In Cuba—modern Cuba—a farmer gets a six-year sentence for selling his own cow. In this mesmerizing family saga, we discover how a small family story is inseparably intertwined with the greater Cuban history.

1h 27m WITFILM, written, filmed and directed by Salvador Gieling, produced by Iris Lammertsma & Boudewijn Koole, executive producer Mathilde Niekamp, Lieke van Ouwelant, sound Belga Tamayo Ramirez, Ruben Cuellar, Elaine del Valle Cala, original music by Ernst Reijseger, sound design Tom Jansen

Synopsis
Uncle Ezequiel is serving a six-year prison sentence. So, what crime did this Cuban farmer commit? Answer: He sold his own cow. Filmmaker Salvador Gieling, a cousin by marriage, just can’t get his head around it. And if he can’t, how will Luca – Salvador’s two-year-old son and Ezequiel’s nephew – ever understand it? So, Salvador and his wife Belga travel to the heart of the Cuban countryside and together with the family members they undertake the almost impossible mission by trying to explain their 2-year-old son Luca the story of his uncle Ezequiel. The film intertwines the country’s history, that’s been corrupted by economic mismanagement and ideological calcification, with the truth-finding about Ezequiel’s case, the intimate story of Gieling’s wife Belga (who managed to get out of Cuba) and the question of what freedom actually is. And bit by bit, through scenes and conversations with family members, the film reveals how the personal struggle of all the individuals seem to root from the same place. But Lessons for Luca is also an affectionate family portrait, framed by the captivating music of cellist Ernst Reijseger, whose melancholic accompaniments are interspersed with playful moments and scenes that highlight the joy and vitality of life.