LAZARO AND THE SHARK
Saturday, April 1, 2023, 7:00 PM | Bajo El Sol Gallery St John Film Society and Bajo El Sol present LAZARO AND THE SHARK 76-minute documentary film Filmmaker William Sabourin O’Reilly will be present for the screening Seating is limited, so arrive early! “There has been no other film, produced either in or outside Cuba, that goes as deep into the fascinating underground of the most African of Cuban cities, Santiago de Cuba.” FILM SYNOPSIS: Lazaro and The Shark: Cuba Under the Surface is a feature documentary that brings us to the world of Conga Competitions in the Carnival of Santiago de Cuba – one of the poorest Carnival in the world. Lázaro, the leader of the Conga de Los Hoyos, is determined to win the coveted award bestowed to the neighborhood that presents the most spectacular Conga. Like leaders of rival congas, Lazaro must join with his neighbors and scour the strictly rationed marketplace to find the necessary materials to create a show-stopping performance. Director William Sabourin O’Reilly, an Afrocuban native to Havana, offers a rare window into communist Cuba, a country that is often romanticized, and almost always portrayed through the eyes of an outsider. Sabourin seamlessly weaves wrenching moments of senseless police violence with intimate scenes of distant lovers aching to reunite. As the competition approaches, we see much more than Lazaro’s desire to win a local honor. We are immersed in the essential fight of the Cuban nation: to continue to live in the legacy of a revolution that has left its people in a constant struggle of poverty, or embrace a more dangerous, vital vision of living in freedom. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: “Cuba, my native country, is at a crossroads, where it has remained for years. After six decades of Communist rule, it has become quite clear that the island nation has sunk into a perpetual economic downturn resulting in poverty and political crisis. The concepts of freedom and democracy are non-existent to generations of Cubans. This reality becomes particularly heartbreaking when one bears witness to the energy, passion, and joy of the Cuban people, displayed intermittently as they experience a life of scarcity and vicissitudes. Lazaro and The Shark tells a story about life in contemporary Cuba, marked by generational conflicts and the suspense of a competition. This film is a declaration of love to my country, my people, and my culture. The music and dancing featured throughout the film emphasizes the undeniable presence and importance of the Afro-Cuban legacy on the Eastern part of the island. The evolution of these festivities, the Conga groups, and the competition between them is both provocative and entertaining. Stripped of the exotic gaze of an outsider, the film is full of compelling stories that peer into the daily lives of Cubans, and their valiant attempts to maintain traditions under extraordinary circumstances. My visceral desire to preserve this socio-cultural memory served as the initial trigger to begin this project over ten years ago. The story finally takes us out of...