Documentary Achievement Award

Cuban migration to the United States has come to be associated with the balseros phenomenon but, nowadays, the new migrants have come to use other means. After obtaining a visa that allows them to leave the country, many have to travel the hemisphere from end to end to reach their goal. All possible routes have a path in common: the dense and dangerous Darién Gap, on the border between Colombia and Panama. In this fascinating film, a group of Cuban migrants use their mobile devices to record and stream through social networks the most intimate moments of their journey. Upon arriving at the border, they are informed about the change in policy of the so-called "wet foot, dry foot" law, and are forbidden to continue. Stranded in Panama City, in an illegal situation, they are welcomed by the Pastoral Social Cáritas. In this migratory limbo, Cuban director Marcel Beltrán films the passing of the hours at the camp, and is given access by the migrants to their personal recordings of the journey through the jungle, captured in over 100 hours of footage from their cell phones.

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Marcel Beltrán is a Cuban film director and producer based in São Paulo, Brazil. His previous films include La Música de las Esferas, Casa de la Noche, and The Cloud, all of which have screened at previous editions of Miami Film Festival. He is the founder of Mediocielo Films, doing international project consulting and facilitating of sustainability within the arts.

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