Havana Curveball

Havana Curveball (2014) was produced and directed by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider. It's a documentary about their son, Mica. Mica is obviously a great kid. He's intelligent, athletic, and empathic.

After his Bar Mitzvah, Mica decides--on his own--to do something for the world. His choice is to send baseball equipment to Cuba. He's a likable young man, and when he sets about collecting baseball equipment, people are happy to donate it.

Of course, there's was--and still is--a complete economic boycott of Cuba. There's no legal way that Mica can ship the equipment from the U.S. He and his family drive all the way to British Columbia to mail everything from Canada.

There's an extended sequence involving a staff member of the Pastors for Peace Friendshipment. This is a valuable lesson for Mica, because Friendshipments have defied the embargo, and brought material to Cuba year after year.

Ultimately, Mica flies to Cuba with his family, and brings bags of balls, bats, gloves, and shoes to a church in Cuba. He attends baseball games, and participates in youth baseball. There are some truly great moments in the movie that depict Mica's trip to Cuba.

This is a wonderful movie, which we saw at Dryden Theatre in Rochester as part of the incredible Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It will work very well on the small screen.

Note: I have been involved in support for Friendshipments to Cuba for many years. I'm also a sponsor of the Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. However, I'm not on the selection committee, so I had no knowledge of this film until I saw it listed on the program. Obviously, I'm delighted that it was chosen to be screened at RIJFF.