IDFA: Chronicles of the Absurd

Artist couple Lynn Cruz and Miguel Coyula deploy a string of secret audio recordings to expose the various forms of control and intimidation that independent artists in Cuba have to suffer. In true Kafkaesque fashion, oppression looms everywhere.

In Cuba, artists have to be recognized by one of the state-sponsored art institutions that ensure their work complies with the state’s vision and policy. Existing as an independent artist means having no income and no rights, and being subjected to various forms of control and intimidation. When independent filmmaker Miguel Coyula casts upcoming actor Lynn Cruz in his new dystopian feature Corazón azul in 2011, it marks the beginning of a professional as well as a romantic bond. It’s also the starting point of this documentary exposing a range of disturbing interactions the artists subsequently had with a wide variety of institutions and individuals—in true Kafkaesque fashion, oppression looms everywhere. Even outside of Cuba, where they are met with similar dogmatism coming from critics of the regime.

In ten elliptic chapters, Chronicles of the Absurd tells this story mostly through audio recordings, often made in secret. Verbatim transcripts, displayed in graphic text underlining the dynamics of the conversations, are paired with head shots, logos, film posters, and paintings by Cuban artist Antonia Eiriz. The austere form reflects the hardships faced by Cuban filmmakers, whose freedom of expression is daily violated by a despotic system.