Cuba es Mi Patria: The Homeland I Keep Inside

Directors:

Writers:

Rose Marie Perez

Producers:

Rose Marie Perez

Run Time:

1:00:00

Awarded for the following Category(s):

Awarded Category(s)

As a result of tensions between the United States and Cuba, Cuban Americans have experienced exceptional identity and relational challenges that have persisted throughout their lives. Cuban Americans have remained cut off from their homeland, yet they continue to keep it psychologically present.

Based on Dr. Rose M. Perez’s research employing the ambiguous loss framework, the film educates viewers on the historical and political backdrop leading to the post-1959 exodus that continues to the present day through the personal stories of Cuban Americans depicting how they cope with the loss of homeland and family separation. Through the interviewees' voices, this documentary tells the adjustment stories and coping strategies Cuban emigres employ.

This film will become an effective tool for caregivers, educators, and researchers to understand, on an emotive level, the depth and longevity of this traumatizing loss. By demonstrating the effect of Cuban Americans’ lifelong struggle with separation, the stories told in this film increase awareness about the “Ambiguous Loss of homeland” and suggest practical strategies for coping with this chronic, traumatic type of loss.

Submitter Statement

Rose M. Perez, PhD, MBA, Executive Producer, Director, Writer Dr. Rose M. Pérez has recruited and interviewed all film participants for this, her first film.

The structure for this film was developed based on her work with approximately 100 Cuban Americans over the past ten years. Dr. Pérez has published academic articles in social work and psychology journals based on her research on the adaptation of immigrants and refugees to US society. At Fordham University, she has taught social work courses, including research, human behavior, spirituality, and empowerment practice with immigrants and refugees. Her research and teaching are informed by her interdisciplinary education and experience in the social sciences and business administration. She holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the University of Michigan. She has clinical experience working with acculturating adults, children, and couples around issues of subjective well-being, psychological distress, and familial violence. Her work on this film is informed by her own emigration from Cuba when she was eight years old.

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