Más Huevos Por Favor

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity of studying abroad in Havana, Cuba, a city that was vastly different from anywhere else I’ve lived in, through my university’s documentary program. The film’s subject came to me when I noticed that our cohort got to eat eggs every morning while my Cuban classmates were having trouble finding or affording them. When I pitched my idea for approval, I knew I had something, because my Cuban professors wouldn’t stop smiling and talking about their childhood memories with eggs and their current experiences with the shortage. My choice to highlight food with filmmaking is born out of my belief that food is universally compelling and can capture people’s interests on topics they normally wouldn’t be curious about. I grew up in a culture that prioritized food as a way to show you care about others.

Access was definitely the biggest challenge I faced because nearly everyone I wanted to film were either afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, and getting in trouble with the Cuban government, or worried about being portrayed in a wrong light to an outside audience. Thus, countless variations of the documentary were conceptualized. When all seemed grim, some friends I made during my stay in the city agreed to share their stories, and I happened across some locals and bodega workers who were willing to appear on camera. I will be eternally grateful to them. It was important to me that this film wasn’t a didactic explanation of the problem told from the perspective of a complete foreigner, so while I told my perspective of making this documentary, my Cuban friends and various locals spoke about their experiences. I’m excited to give audiences the opportunity to get a peek into the lives of the people of Cuba and see how the discussion of food implies far larger aspects of society and well-being.