a great interview with my dad, Max Lesnik, the real Man of Two Havanas…
Here’s an excerpt from Field Notes 2: Miami by Stephen Kimber
Lesnik is about to tell me about how he’d first come to know one of those Miami terrorist “heroes”—Orlando Bosch—in Havana in the days before the revolution, but then he looks at his watch. He has to go. His mother, who is 100, is not well and he needs to go see her, he says. He hands me a DVD of The Man of Two Havanas, an award-winning but little seen documentary his daughter Viven Lesnik Weisman made about him two years ago. “It’s all in there,” he says simply as he makes his way out the door.
Click here for full story: Sting of the Wasp: The Cuban Five Connection
I am so happy to annouce that The Man of Two Havanas was the proud recipient of THREE awards this month.
From Canada to France, I was all over the world screening my film in October. After the wonderful reception I received in Miami, I was thrilled to take my film to Vancouver, Canada for the Vancouver International Latino Film Festival, where we won The Audience Award. Then it was off to Paris, France for the Festival Internacional du Cinema Latin de Paris where the film won TWO awards: Grand Prix Documentary AND Grand Prix Signis. Very exciting!
Happy Halloween!
I was interviewed by all the english language tv news and public publicity shows… NBS, CBS and NBC. The spanish language Univision and Telemundo stayed away, hmmm… what a surprise, with the exception of Frank Steinhart; producer of MegaTV who put us on the evening news with the charismatic Camilo Egana.
Watch Elliot Rodriguez and u will know why
xxx viv
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The film has not been able to secure a venue in Miami until now, which is why I and a few others stepped in to make sure audiences here could see it. I hope to see some of you there!
My father and I will be around to answer questions after the screening.
Robert “Robbie” Rosenberg
Buy tickets in advance from TicketMaster.
Find out more information
If you can’t make it don’t worry. We have secured more Miami Screenings!
Miami Beach Cinematheque
Showtimes:
Mon. 9/22 – 8:00P
Tue. 9/23 - 8:00P
Wed. 9/24 – 8:00P
Address:
512 Espanola Way Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: (305) 673-4567
Tickets: Buy Tickets Online
My film premiered Saturday. In the audience were the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations, his wife and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). It was amazing and we even had a standing ovation.
Sandra Levinson, from the Center for Cuban Studies in New York City came and sent me a note afterwards, part of which I wanted to share:
I wish MY daddy were alive to see this movie. It would have helped him understand ME a little better (though he would have said YOU’RE not Cuban, you’re JEWISH, why aren’t you doing this for ISRAEL?). Once he wrote me a letter that ended with: “My daughter, I too sit on the left side of the bench, but I fear that you are sitting so close to the edge you might fall off, and that would hurt your mother and me terribly.” I suppose he wrote that after the Center was blown up by a bomb, with me in it, though he never in his lifetime referred to it directly (I never told my parents but I suppose someone might have). Max had the support of three terrific people through all those 11 bombings. Amazing. Well, you Vivien have a great family and now have made a great movie, one that will ensure that this family’s experiences are not forgotten.
Here are some photos from the premiere. It’s me and my dad and one with Sen. Maria Cantwell.
