Experiencing Interruptions?

Two Homelands

What is the price to pay for being a political activist in Cuba?
Through their personal stories, cuban political prisoners and ex-prisoners Aymara Nieto, Xiomara Cruz and Eduardo Cardet give a lucid testimony into the Cuban reality and the multiple causes that sparked the social outbreak of July 11, 2021 and its aftermath.

  • HILDA HIDALGO-XIRINACHS
    Director
    Of love and other demons, Violeta at last
  • HILDA HIDALGO-XIRINACHS
    Writer
    Of love and other demons, Violeta at last
  • TOBIAS OVARES
    Writer
    Password,
  • HILDA HIDALGO-XIRINACHS
    Producer
    other demons, Violeta at last
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Dos Patrias
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 27, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Costa Rica
  • Country of Filming:
    Costa Rica, Cuba, United States
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • European Parliament
    Geneve
    Switzerland
    April 27, 2023
    Europe
  • Cine Magaly
    San José
    Costa Rica
    November 27, 2023
    Costa Rica
Distribution Information
  • Producciones La Tiorba
    Distributor
    Country: Costa Rica
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - HILDA HIDALGO-XIRINACHS

FILMMAKER
HILDA HIDALGO XIRINACHS
Director · Screenwriter · Producer

She is a Costa Rican film director, scriptwriter and producer.

Her most recent film is the documentary Two Homelands (Dos Patrias), about political prisoners in Cuba, released in Costa Rican theaters in december 2023.

She founded Producciones La Tiorba in 2003, which produced the narrative feature films Del Amor y Otros Demonios (Of love and other demons, 2010), based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner, Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez and Violeta al fin (Violet at last, 2017) about a 72-year-old woman willing to break all the rules to hold onto her home and her freedom.

Her filmography includes short films and documentaries on social issues, art, gender, sustainable development and Human Rights shot at Costa Rica, Cuba, Bhutan, Benin, Italy, France, the Netherlands and United States.

She also directed the Nueva Escuela de Cine y Televisión (New School of Film and Tv) at Universidad Veritas (Veritas University), the first film graduate degree in Central America.

She works as Academic Coordinator of the Lab ICAM (Interaction and Audiovisual Communication Lab) and teach directing, acting and scriptwriting at the Escuela de Ciencias de la Comunicación Colectiva (Social Communications School) at Universidad de Costa Rica (University of Costa Rica).

In 2020, she cofounded Costa Rican Women Director’s Union and became and member of CIMA, the Spanish Female Filmmakers Association; from which she actively promotes women's equality in the film industry.

https://vimeo.com/hildahidalgo
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2958840/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

hildahidalgo@yahoo.com
+506 83997592

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Director Statement

How many days would I be willing to go to prison for defending my ideas? This was one of the first questions I asked myself during the research for Dos Patrias. Xiomara was in prison 1,215 days, Eduardo 1,095 and Aymara has been in prison for 1,651 days (and counting). Losing freedom to defend it seems an unsolvable paradox.
Who are these people who confront the Cuban State? What moves them? How do they resist? What are they up to?
I knew Cuba long before making this documentary. There I studied cinema and my great- grandparents formed a family there. Cuba has always been very close to my heart. The process of making Dos Patrias was stark for me.
For a long time, Cuba represented hope. In a repressive and violent Latin America, Cuba was a symbol of resistance and social justice.
But there is another Cuba...
Xiomara, Eduardo and Aymara were violently arrested by officers of the Ministry of the Interior dressed in civilian clothes. They were subsequently charged with crimes they did not commit such as "disrespect", "resistance" or "public disorder". They were then prosecuted before biased courts and finally arbitrarily sentenced to imprisonment in which they continued (or continue) to be mistreated.
Beatings, punishment cells, denial of medical treatment, prohibition of visits and legal assistance, cruel and degrading treatment... The violations of the rights of Xiomara, Eduardo and Aymara have been fully documented before the international bodies that watch over Human Rights. Why do they remain unpunished? What would be necessary for justice to be done? How much more can Xiomara, Eduardo and Aymara and their families endure? What will happen to them and them when the movie is released?
More than answers, Dos Patrias leaves a trail of questions.