In Cuba, time seems to stand still. Alex and Edith, a young couple, live among the ruins of Cuban buildings. Milagros, an old woman, survives by selling peanuts and reading out old letters. Frank and Alain, two nine-year-old friends, dream of emigrating to the USA to become baseball stars.

Premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2023, Tommaso Santambrogio’s lush debut feature is steeped in the visual poetry of Cuba. As the specters of mass exodus and historical violence loom large, this cross-generational portrait of a nation imbues the splendorous landscape with misty melancholy.