THE STORY

Esta es tu Cuba is a short film brought to you by the team responsible for the Student Academy Award winning short film IT’S JUST A GUN [trailer below]. Inspired by the real life stories of the children involved in Operation Pedro Pan, the mass exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied minors. Esta es tu Cuba takes place in 1960’s Cuba. Castro has just come into power, and the country is beginning to change. Communism is beginning to take hold and divide the community; You’re either pro-revolution or a dissident. We see this world through the eyes of our main character, ANTON (10). He dances, laughs, and plays with his friends. Young revolutionaries known as Pioneros walk the streets in their uniforms. Soldiers occupy the neighborhood, harassing shop owners and other citizens.

Anton’s life begins to spiral out of control as he realizes his beloved Cuba is changing.

operation pedro pan

Over four decades ago, Cuban parents fearing indoctrination and that the Cuban government would take away their parental authority exercised one of the most fundamental human rights: the right to choose how their children would be educated.

From December 1960 to October 1962, more than fourteen thousand Cuban youths arrived alone in the United States. What is now known as Operation Pedro Pan was the largest recorded exodus of Unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere.

The exodus of the Cuban children was virtually unknown for over 30 years. Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh who is considered the Father of our Exodus states that the name had only appeared in print in March of 62' and in a Reader's Digest article in 1988. It was through the effort and work of Operation Pedro Pan Group, Inc. that the name Operation Pedro Pan became known throughout the US and the world.

Approximately, half of the minors were reunited with relatives or friends at the airport. More than half were cared for by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, directed by a young 30 year old Irish priest, Bryan O. Walsh. The children from the Cuban Refugee Children's Program were placed in temporary shelters in Miami, and relocated in 30 States. Many children of the Unaccompanied Cuban Children's program, are unaware that they were part of history in the making. Today, we are trying to locate all the children that came alone and were part of this historical exodus. Please help us locate the grown children of Pedro Pan!

BRIAN ROBAU

DIRECTOR

Brian Robau is a Cuban American award-winning director, born and raised in Miami, Florida. In 2014, Brian moved to Southern California where he is finishing his M.F.A. in Directing at Chapman University. In 2016, he was fortunate enough to win the Student Academy Award for his intermediate film It’s Just a Gun.  He is passionate about exploring the human condition through stories that have an added layer of social consciousness. Esta es tu Cuba is his thesis film inspired by the many stories of the children from Operation Pedro Pan, including his father's.

John Sayage

PRODUCER

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, John is currently in the dual MBA and MFA Film & TV Producing Program at Chapman University’s Dodge College.  2016 was a great year for him, as two films he produced won the Student Academy Award (It’s Just a Gun) and the DGA Student Film Jury Award (Black Magic). Having previously interned for Universal Pictures, United Talent Agency and Fox Searchlight Pictures, John is passionate about every facet of filmmaking and takes deep pride in all of his projects.  Esta es tu Cuba is his thesis film and the culmination of his three years in graduate school.

DANIEL KLEIN

WRITER

Daniel Klein is a writer, director and producer of award winning short films and television projects. Klein has had films featured at festivals around the world and, recently, wrote the screenplay for the 2016 Student Academy Award winning short film “It’s Just A Gun”, directed by Brian Robau. Prior to that, Klein co-wrote, directed and produced “GARY: UNDER CRISIS” with Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. Klein also wrote and directed  "AB-", which premiered at the TribecaFilm Festival and is currently wrapping up post-production on the short film “Paper Beast”.

TREVOR ROACH

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Born and raised in Indianapolis, IN, Trevor is completing his third year as a graduate student at Chapman University with an MFA in Cinematography. He was a finalist nomination for the 2016 Kodak Award Scholarship in Cinematography for the film, Look at Me. Having shot a wide variety of work--ranging from short films, music videos, and commercials--his work often features softer, naturalistic lighting with subtle, elegant camera movement.

XANDRA ROSADO

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Filmmaker Alexandra Rodríguez Rosado is close completing her bachelor in Digital Production of Cinema in the University of the Sacred Heart. She has produced films as the documentary “Canta de todas formas” made with the association of the non-profit organization San Jorge Children’s Foundation. The short films “Mirada Inocente” starring Cristina Soler and Julio Ramos and “Postponement of Suicide”, chosen to be presented at the Rincon International Film Festival, among other projects.