The Cuban public is hugely cinephile. It's a shame that most of the movie theaters are so deteriorated. The sense of spectacle has been lost a little, but even so, people continue to go.

It's true that in Cuba there are double standards, there's opportunism, and there is a lack of freedom in some ways.

Trips are part of humanity. Emigration is a part of humanity. And it's ever more dynamic due to globalization.

In Cuba and specifically in Havana there's a sort of energy that turns every situation into something unexpected.

The magic of film isn't just because of the big screen, or the acoustics, but the ineffable shared experience of going to the movies.

There was a time when emigration from Cuba was a definitive separation. There were no visits. In the '80s, '90s, it was incredibly difficult. I'm not the only one interested in this as a filmmaker - other Cuban filmmakers have dealt with it, too, because it's such a part of our reality.

I think that this necessity to travel, to see, it's part of human nature.