Doc/Fest - Sheffield

For the last forty years the tiny island of Cuba has dominated Olympic boxing, thanks to Fidel Castro declaring the nurturing of young sporting talent to be vital to the Revolution. The young boys of the Havana City Boxing Academy are pursuing their dreams of becoming Olympic stars, but first their lives are consumed with being chosen to participate in the Under 12s National Championships, which only a few will attend. Sons of Cuba follows three of the Academy’s rising stars, as they awake at 4am to train, and step with dread on the scales three times a day. Coach Yosvani is their resident father and psychologist, helping prepare them to be “good communist fighters” for the dogma of the revolution is as integral to their training as daily push-ups. Driven by hunger, pressure and exhaustion, the boys are often emotional and homesick, missing the families whom they have left behind, but hope to bring fortune to one day.

“I thought it was extraordinary. I loved it. I was amazed at both the access and the confluence of history happening before our eyes on screen.” -
David Courier, Senior Programmer Sundance film festival