Viva
Director: Paddy Breathnach
Talent: Héctor Medina, Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García, Renata Maikel,
Released: 19th August
Jesus (Medina) struggles to eke out a place for himself in the world while trying to survive in the slums of Havana. That is until he becomes inspired to audition as a drag performer, creating an alter ego named Viva. His hopes of coming into his own as a performer are dashed, however, when his alcoholic father (Perrugoría) is released from prison and supplants himself in Jesus’ life and home, forbidding him to perform due to his aversion to drag’s overt femininity.
Viva is rare in that is it heartwarming and genuine without ever once feeling maudlin — it is an uplifting and gorgeously crafted film dealing with universal themes of family, love, passion and self-actualisation. This sincerity is intermingled with a sophisticated and stimulating treatment of gender binaries and the contrast between beauty and decay, in both cases blurring the lines and questioning the delineations between supposedly opposing concepts. Perhaps fittingly then, for an Irish-made film set in Cuba, director Breathnach has achieved total authenticity and, above all, created a film that will resonate with audiences irrespective of their location.
Words: Eva Short
