Film Lens
The Strawberry Tree, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova, focuses on the lives of fishermen in Juan Antonio, Cuba, one year after Hurricane Ike devastated their village. The film captures their memories of lost homes and daily routines, intertwining personal recollections with footage taken shortly before the hurricane. This approach creates a unique narrative that blends past and present, allowing the fishermen to reflect on their experiences in a deeply personal way.
Casanova employs an unconventional filmmaking style, rejecting scripted dialogue and traditional documentary techniques. The fishermen, who are familiar with ethnography and film, engage in a dynamic dialogue with the filmmaker. This interaction challenges the typical fly-on-the-wall approach, resulting in a film that is both intimate and revealing, showcasing the complexities of memory and loss in the wake of disaster.
Why Watch
- •See Cuban fishermen recall life before Hurricane Ike.
- •Find out how non-actors shape the narrative.
- •Meet a filmmaker who rejects traditional scripts.
Did You Know
•The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2011.
•It received the Most Promising Filmmaker Award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2012.
•The Strawberry Tree ranked 33rd in Film Comment's list of the '50 Best Undistributed Films of 2012'.
•It screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2011.
Perfect For
Cuban culture enthusiastsExperimental film fansDocumentary lovers