Director Tamara Segura invites the viewer of the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary “Seguridad” to travel through modern Cuban history, current Cuban life and most importantly through a scarring journey of her life as a child in Cuba. Through her memories, discussions with relatives and documents and photos the emotional journey will be taken.
The journey begins with her grandmother explaining fleeing to the safety of the rebel-controlled mountains awaiting the conclusion of Fidel Castro’s successful revolution. Segura’s father, Jorge, completed his military training and enrolled in university obtaining a degree in mathematics eventually teaching the subject. Well respected by his professorial colleagues he married shortly after university graduation.
Tamara was born on the anniversary date of the Revolution winning recognition through territorial militias as “tender fruit of the Cuban Revolution” as one Cuban newspaper referred to her as. At her birth she was named an honorary member of a territorial militia making her “Cuba’s youngest soldier”. The celebratory party in the family continued for a month with a plenitude of liquor. But Jorge just kept on imbibing becoming increasingly violent fortunately focused on house trashing more than physical violence.
Segura’s mother divorced Jorge as his violence had escalated to an intolerable level. Segura drifted away from her father but she remained extremely close with her paternal grandmother. Jorge did have a photographic hobby with a makeshift developing room which also served as a laundry room. Segura was his favourite subject.
Segura accepted a filmmaking scholarship in Montreal in 2010 tired of being called Cuba’s youngest soldier and always waiting for her father she made the escape to Canada. While in Montreal after not hearing from her father for years she received a letter of apology from him sending her into a rage. She responded with an angry letter stating her early memories of him were neglect often caused by familial efforts to manage his drunken violence. Yes, we are all cursing the cad of a man.
Segura returned to Cuba some 4 years later for a visit hoping to set matters straight with Jorge but he died in an intensive care ward 5 days after she arrived. At this point we are saying good riddance. But then a shocking revelation about Jorge so fundamental it caused Segura to rethink her animosity and start on the road to forgiveness putting her in the position of facing her own revolution about her own life and Cuba.
Segura’s narration is lyrical and poetical but her life story raw and jagged. A story about secrets, abandonment, forgiveness and personal and societal betrayal. Follow her story, her pain and the commencement of her rocky personal revolution.
You can see an excerpt from the film here https://vimeo.com/915206857
Screening at Hot DOCS in Toronto 29/30April2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 90/100.
Set the Bar 